Protection of life and property

[FLLawdog]

Here's an incident that happened locally the other night...

A woman has been dating a man. He's a dirtbag, and has abused her in the past. She dumps him, finally, and he moves out. In comes her new boyfriend, a convicted felon. Both the new boyfriend and the old boyfriend served time together in prison and got into several fights there. Guess you could say bad blood continues to boil.

Anyway, old B/F comes a knockin', breaks through a window and begins to batter his ex-G/F. New B/F, the other convicted felon, grabs GIRLFRIEND'S .380(not .308, Dave http://www.officer.com/ubb/wink.gif)and fires a warning shot into the living room ceiling. Old B/F turns his attention to new B/F and new B/F retreats to the garage and hides. Old B/F finds him. In SELF DEFENSE, new B/F cracks off a shot, shooting old B/F with a through and through to the side. The "victim" lives.

On scene investigators contact the duty officer to advise of the circumstances and to get assistance on how to charge. It was agreed by all to chalk it up to self defense, charge old B/F with burglary and DV and file for charges on the shooting for State Attorney review. You know, let them verify justification of the shooting.

For good measure, the investigators contact the on call State Attorney, who advises the following...

ARREST the new boyfriend for Aggravated assault for the warning shot, aggravated battery for the actual shot, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. BUT, file charges on the old boyfriend for burglary and battery.

The overwhelming opinion around the district in which it happened, myself included, is that even though we have three people of questionable character, they still have a Right to defend themselves. Why, then arrest the person for doing that? Of course he's a convicted felon, but should he just sit back and watch as another person is brutalized? What would have happened had he not stepped in and fired the shot? I think we would have had another domestic violence homicide.

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FLLawdog
"Never try to teach a pig to sing...it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."

[This message has been edited by FLLawdog (edited 08-29-2000).]

[Niteshift]

Sounds like a NIH crime......No Human Involved. http://www.officer.com/ubb/rolleyes.gif

Self defense or not, he violated the statute when that gun was in the house with him. Our SAO has instructed us that if it is anywhere he has access to, he's violated.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[FLLawdog]

We call them SOS(S*** on S***)crimes here.

I agree on the possession by felon, but file on that one. Don't arrest the guy for taking action and file on the guy that started the problems.

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FLLawdog
"Never try to teach a pig to sing...it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."

[Niteshift]

I would agree, except that this is a NIH crime. This way, I can get 2 convicted felons out of town and send "Martha Stewart" in search of my next arrest.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Spider]

Originally posted by FLLawdog:
For good measure, the investigators contact the on call State Attorney, who advises the following...


State Attorney? Where I come from, they call them District Attornies. They are politicians. Case like this is sure to get some press, so he's taking advantage of the situation to advance his political career.

F***ing lawyers. http://www.officer.com/ubb/mad.gif

[This message has been edited by Spider (edited 08-30-2000).]

[Niteshift]

Well, where we live spider, they're called States Attorney's.

Actually, Dog probably talked to an Assistant States Attorney. That is a non-elected position. There is one elected SA for each judicial circuit (usually 2-4 counties), all those under him are Assistant SA's. They are hired and fired at will. Their position is no different than a deputy sheriff in this state, hired and fired at will by an elected officer.

This is hardly the kind of case that they look at to advance a political career. Nobody involved in it is the kind of person the public will get behind. 2 convicted felons and a woman who is attracted to living with abusive convicted felons. The avg. person in this state could care less. They'd just as soon see the one die and the other get the electric chair.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Spider]

Originally posted by Niteshift:
Actually, Dog probably talked to an Assistant States Attorney. That is a non-elected position.


Sounds exactly like our ADA's. They're non-elected, but they're political appointments. These are low paying jobs, and 95% of the people who take them simply see it as a stepping stone to something bigger and better. I consider myself a relatively young guy, but I can't think of any ADA's in my city that are older than I am. But I can think of several that are running for DA themselves, or are already elected to city council or to the state house of reps.

Originally posted by Niteshift:
This is hardly the kind of case that they look at to advance a political career. Nobody involved in it is the kind of person the
public will get behind.

Doesn't matter. If it is being covered by the press, then the ADA covering it can get his face in the paper, he can get quoted, he can get soundbites, etc. Name recognition is a big priority for these political types. Every high profile case is a chance for political gain.

[Niteshift]

Well, maybe in your town the policitcal situation is a big cluster, but don't project your problems on Florida. The SA for the circuit I live in is the only one the circuit has ever had. 4 terms and still going.

The circuit I work in? 3 terms, no opposition last time.

Over half of our ASA's are over 35.

Our ASA's hate to see their name in the paper. They actively avoid it.

Just because your corner of the world is screwed up, doesn't mean everyones is.

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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna