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Notes from Massad Ayoob's presentation at Firearms Law Seminar
{title corrected} I finally found them. He said: if in self defense, you drew your gun, call 911 ASAP. He strongly rejected the advice of some people never to call the police. Police see the world in terms of good guy vs. bad guy. By calling them first, you become the good guy. If you don't, odds are the bad guy will call first and invent a story in which you menaced him with no reason. And never flee the scene! Then you'll be regarded as clearly the bad guy.
Follow CYA, not the usual meaning of those letters, but Can You Articulate? A person who just babbles "I was in fear for my life" sounds like a guy who has memorized a phrase for use whenever he drew. Articulate exactly what caused the fear. Point out the evidence immediately, before someone picks up the cartridge cases or accidentally kicks them around (that might lead to a reconstruction of the event in which you are somewhere that doesn't fit with your testimony).
Whether your state is no retreat or not, anything you do to avoid confrontation works for you, and everything that suggests you played a role in worsening it works against you. Intruder in the garage, don't open the door and step out. Whatever the law might say, a jury finds stuff like that unappealing. It leaves you open to "if he was really afraid, why did he open the door, let alone go through it?"
Someone pounding on the door at 3 AM is more likely a policeman than a crazed killer with 666 carved into his forehead. If you open the door with a gun in your hand, "you don't need some a-rab from out of town to tell you things are going to badly."
It was a great presentation -- Mossad is a very, very fine speaker, and I'm no mean judge of speeches.
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"Someone pounding on the door at 3 AM is more likely a policeman than a crazed killer with 666 carved into his forehead."
I like all of his advice except that. I am a law-abiding guy. There is no reason for me to expect police to be knocking on my door. Assuming it's the police seems a really bad tactical decision.
Yrs ago on ride along the Officer UNSCREWED the outside light before knocking on door...
I suggested he not do that at my place. As I would take that as indication of attack.
A person pounding on door after midnight and they have disabled the light.......
Survival instinct/split second decisions...not ideal situations allowing most persons time to contemplate self defense options.
Guiding principle is Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes quote: "Detached reflection is not demanded in the presence of an upturned knife."
I got a doorbell, anyone beating on my front door at 0200, I'm armed up, behind cover w/sight picture, condition one alert for door kicked in.
My house, my castle. Don't matter...at 0200 only criminals abusing my home in this manner.
Semper Fi, Do or Die...
Came here via an unrelated Google search, but a relevant article was written and posted by Greg Ellifritz just the other day.
http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/when-the-intruder-is-a-cop
Someone pounding on your door at 3 AM? Well, there's no telling WHO it could be. It could be a crazy dude bent on killing you, it could just be a disoriented elderly neighbor, it could be the police. There's all manner of things to consider.
From your title, is Massad in the Mossad, even though he’s (I think) Lebanese? ;-)