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Imagine you and your wife come out of a movie theater at about 10:00 in the evening. The two of you have finally had an opportunity to go out on a date, and have had a great time with each other. As you approach your car, you notice a commotion about 20 yards away. You tell your wife you’re going to see what’s going on, and she needs to wait by the car. As you approach, you notice a man violently assaulting a woman.
As you draw your weapon, you yell at your wife to call 9-1-1 and then yell at the assailant to stop what he’s doing. He looks up, launches a string of profanity in your direction, and charges you. You yell at him to stop, and when he fails to comply, you shoot your magazine dry, striking the assailant in the chest fatally wounding him. You run a fresh magazine into the mag well, and scan for a new threat. Only then does it hit you—you just took the life of another human being.
What do you do?
Unfortunately, your next steps after a shooting may influence the District Attorney’s office in how to proceed; should charges be filed or not? Whenever there is a corpse, the law says a crime has occurred, and whether you committed a homicide or a justifiable homicide will be determined by the evidence and your actions. The police will investigate to their fullest extent. Witnesses will be questioned, ballistics will be noted, the scene will be photographed, and your weapon may be confiscated for the duration of the investigation. You may find yourself in an interrogation room with an investigator trying to be your “friend.”
We all have heard someone being Marandized. If you have never heard it, turn on Law And Order, CSI: Miami, or COPS. They will say it at least twice an episode. There will come a time after a shooting where it becomes imperative to speak to a criminal defense attorney. Do not think that you understand the situation regarding the shooting that you will be able to adequately defend yourself should you end up in court. A man who represents himself has a fool for a client. When to invoke your right to an attorney depends on you; too early and you look guilty of a crime and too late and you could say something that would indicate guilt even when that statement was innocuous. The safest way to handle it is to provide the police with the facts; anything outside of what actually happened, ask for an attorney to be present. Once you make that determination, keep quiet until counsel arrives.
One hates to give step-by-step instructions especially in something as dynamic as jurisprudence and homicide, but some instruction would help. The following are NOT hard and fast rules. They are, however, very important methods to helping you prove your innocence.
- Holster your weapon after the shooting.
- Do not leave the scene. Wait for the police to arrive.
- Do not touch the evidence.
- Make certain there are no injuries to anyone else and call 9-1-1 Emergency Response.
- Answer questions generally. Specifics should come later.
Step 1: Holster That Weapon
This may sound obvious, but in the heat of the moment you may forget the obvious. By returning your weapon to your holster you show your confidence to law enfor
cement that you took the correct action. When a criminal commits a murder, one of the first things they try to do is get rid of the murder weapon; drop the gun in the river or in the woods somewhere. The weapon is a critical piece of evidence since fingerprints can be lifted and ballistics can be matched. If you go back to your car and put your gun in the glovebox, you would be indicating your desire to cover up a murder—you’re hiding the murder weapon!
Holstering your firearm has another nice benefit. When the police show up, you won’t be the guy waving around a gun. Responding officers know they are showing up to a shooting and they will be on high alert. If you have a gun in your hand, you could wind up catching lead from friendly fire. To say this is undesirable is an understatement. With a holstered weapon, the first responders can see empty hands and you can respond quickly to their commands; it will de-escalate a very tense situation.
Step 2: Do Not Leave the Scene
The human body reacts in very interesting ways under stress. The “fight or flight” response kicks in and some will stand their ground and fight back, while others seek cover. In our scenario, you have made the choice to fight for the safety of another citizen. Now that the threat has been dealt with, you may feel an overwhelming desire to run to safety. This is a desire that must be resisted! If you run, you can count on needing an attorney immediately. The police will definitely find you, and when they do, count on charges being filed.
Texas Penal Code Title 8, Chapter 38 §4 Evading Arrest or Detention says:
(a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally flees from a person he knows is a peace officer attempting lawfully to arrest or detain him.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
(1) a state jail felony if the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has not been previously convicted under this section;
(2) a felony of the third degree if:
(A) the actor uses a vehicle while the actor is in flight and the actor has been previously convicted under this section; or
(B) another suffers serious bodily injury as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight; or
(3) a felony of the second degree if another suffers death as a direct result of an attempt by the officer from whom the actor is fleeing to apprehend the actor while the actor is in flight.
(c) In this section, “vehicle” has the meaning assigned by Section 541.201, Transportation Code.
(d) A person who is subject to prosecution under both this section and another law may be prosecuted under either or both this section and the other law.
By leaving the scene you also give up your ability to tell responding officers what happened. You are relying on them to figure out your story, and not having their judgement clouded by your flight. Investigators have a lot of training and are fantastic at putting the pieces together but it’s your life on the line. Stick around and give them the facts. Facts are going to be critical to showing your innocence; don’t offer commentary on what happened, just tell them what happened. Think of the officer taking your statement as Joe Friday, “Just the facts, sir.”