Laws vary from State to State and sometimes region to region, but generally a person must be able to articulate that they felt that they or a third person we under imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury before they may use force against an aggressor. Under no circumstances should a "warning shot" ever be fired. A firearm should only be discharged in a defensive situation in an aimed manner with the intent of stopping an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the person legally possessing the firearm or another person. That warning shot might end up hitting an innocent bystander.
Man Shoots At Shoplifter In Parking Lot
12/30/2009 6:00:00 PM
By STEVEN THOMAS
Staff Reporter
A disabled man wearing a neck brace is charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits after trying to "take the law into his own hands" and stop an alleged shoplifter on Christmas Eve, the authorities said.
James D. Russell, 52, of 14420 Road 450, Union, was arrested at 2:20 p.m. Thursday and charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits and with disturbance of the peace.
Police initially received a report of a shoplifter at Wal-Mart and almost immediately afterwards a second caller reported shots being fired in the parking lot.
When police arrived at Wal-Mart they found Russell in the parking lot.
He told police that he saw a man put several boxes of bullets in a bag and then proceeded to leave Wal-Mart, said Chief of Police Dickie Sistrunk.
Russell told authorities that he followed the man to the parking lot where there was a confrontation.
When the man ran across the parking lot, Russell followed and later admitted to firing one shot into the ground as a warning sign for him to stop, Sistrunk said.
The alleged shoplifter then dropped the bag and ran off, he said.
When police arrived they found Russell in possession of a Glock .40 caliber handgun, which he had a permit to carry.
"Just because he has a permit does not give him the right to fire at shoplifters," said Sistrunk said. "My officers do not even have this right over shoplifters."
While no one was harmed in the incident, Sistrunk said it could have resulted in a more serious situation. If Russell had fired into another direction someone may have been hit by the bullet, he said.
Russell claimed that he only wanted to help the police, the chief said.
If convicted, Russell could face jail time and/or a fine.
Police took his handgun and are seeking to have his permit pulled and the weapon destroyed, Sistrunk said.
"You don't take the law into your own hands," he said.
The alleged shoplifter remains at-large.
This use of force wheel above is a good tool for visualizing the proper use of force. Start with a particular situation. What is the situation, what are the actions of the aggressor? Is he trying to escape and you are preventing him from leaving or is he actively offering physical violence? Maybe it's somewhere in between.
Draw a straight line from the aggressors actions through the outside ring of the force wheel and that will give you an idea of the level of force that is authorized for a given situation. This should not be construed as giving you carte blanch to use force as every situation is different. But you get an idea of why as a concealed carry permit holder, it is your duty to obtain training in the proper use of force.
You must also be aware that just as situations can quickly escalate, they can also quickly de-escalate and you must change you force posture with those changes in the threat environment. Once, when I was working as an armed security officer at the Seattle Field Division of the FBI, a mentally ill individual entered the lobby and began to damage the property in the lobby. As I made contact with him he attacked me with a flagpole that he had ripped off the wall. I backed up, trying to put distance between myself and the suspect while drawing my service firearm. I was yelling at him to drop the weapon the whole time, but he didn't comply until my back was literally against the wall and I was just clearing the holster. At that point he dropped his weapon and ran to the other side of the lobby.
The confrontation wasn't over, but because he had dropped his weapon the situation had de-escalated and a lethal force response was no longer authorized. I reholstered and took my pepper foam out of my duty belt. My partner and I were ordering the suspect to the ground so that we could handcuff him when he charged my partner. This escalated the situation again, but not to the previous level of deadly force. I applied a shot of pepper foam to his face all the while verbally commanding him to stop attacking us and to get on the ground. After two more application of pepper foam he was subdued and arrested when the police finally arrived.
This is a good example of how the proper use of force can rise and fall within one incident. You can be authorized to shoot at one moment and not at the next and then be using force again the next minute.
The two most important things that you can remember in a use of force situation are to:
- Use only that force which is NECESSARY to overcome the aggressive act of the suspect.
- VERBALIZE, VERBALIZE, VERBALIZE!
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