I participated in some pretty spirited discussions about the Joe Horn shooting incident, with a clear divide between civilians that like the idea of legal cover allowing them to shoot thieves and other property crime offenders, and cops, who by training and experience are disinclined to use lethal force unless there is no better option.
It is interesting to me to discuss with folks their options in a incident where the possibility exists that they may have to use force against another individual - the less training and knowledge the person I'm speaking with has under their belt, the more inclined they are to use force - up to lethal force - and the less inclined they are to take steps to de-escalate or defuse the situation.
LEO's know that if they use force within their agencies sop and guidelines, and the use of force is upheld by the department's review board and the DA's office, the municipality they're employed by will pick up the tab for his/her defense in the event a civil suit is filed against them.
Unless a civilian resides in a state where there is a legal preemption against civil suits arising out of a use of force incident, they will only be protected by whatever liability insurance they may carry, or their financial health.
If you as a civilian use force (at any level from slight to lethal,) you can count on being on the receiving end of a civil suit.
Here's a pretty good local example:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/07/07/MN79118.DTL
The aftermath:
http://overlawyered.com/early-years/march-2001-archives-part-3/#0321a
March 21-22 – Hostage-taker sues victims. “Richard Gable Stevens’ hostage-taking rampage at Santa Clara’s National Shooting Club 18 months ago will cost him the next 50 years of his life behind bars in state prison,” Judge Kevin Murphy ruled earlier this month. “Stevens, 23, was convicted of kidnapping, robbery, false imprisonment, threats and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the July 5, 1999 incident. … Murphy questioned the sincerity of Stevens’ remorse, noting that he has filed a lawsuit for monetary damages against the very people he was convicted of having wronged.” (Bill Romano, “Man gets 50 years for rampage at gun club “, San Jose Mercury News, March 10 (search fee-based archive on “Richard Gable Stevens”, retrieval $1.95) The incident ended when Stevens was shot and wounded by one of his intended victims. According to columnist Vin Suprynowicz, police found a note in which Stevens told his parents he would get revenge on them because they would be bankrupted by lawsuits from the survivors of his intended victims (Vin Suprynowicz, “No serial killings this week in Santa Clara”, Las Vegas Review-Journal, July 11, 1999). (DURABLE LINK)
The insurance carrier for the range paid Stevens $5,000.00 out-of-court to settle...
My advice? walk softly, and never put youself into a use of force incident deliberately - Horn lived in a place where his actions had no economic or criminal consequences - others may not be as lucky, even when you're 100% morally and legally justified in your actions.
