He wasn't charged and only received a reprimand for shooting at the vehicle to disable it. Lucky fellow considering he obviously wasn't shooting to defend himself much of the time and TN law is pretty clear that SD is the only acceptable reason for firing on another person. The article is pretty good (excepting the "AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle" mistake).
The article is well balanced and well written (save for the "AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle" mistake).
I can understand Mr. Harris's frustration, anger and fear and am sympathetic with his actions. On the other hand, use of a firearm in any other situation than self defense is a huge issue in the RKBA community.
Many people support using deadly force to protect property, arguing that theft of property represents theft of that part of their life needed to earn the property and theft of that part of their life to replace it. The equivalent of the threat of "grave bodily harm" in their minds and justifying the use of deadly force. I'm not sure taking ALL the days of a thief's life is warranted when they're only taking days or weeks of our effort spent on the item being stolen.
Others argue that deadly force only applies directly to the threat to a person of death or grave bodily harm.
Mr. Harris shooting at the vehicle to disable it in the belief that no one was in it isn't as clear an issue for some. Since he had no reason to believe that anyone was in the vehicle and he stopped shooting as soon as he was alerted to the fact that someone was in it I think his actions were justified.
Shooting at the vehicle with someone in it wouldn't have been defensible if not for the fact that the driver tried to run him down. Even then he didn't shoot at the driver, but instead shot to disable the vehicle. Admirable restraint under the circumstances. Most of us in that situation might have fired at the driver in self defense.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/17/boundaries-of-defense/
The article is well balanced and well written (save for the "AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle" mistake).
I can understand Mr. Harris's frustration, anger and fear and am sympathetic with his actions. On the other hand, use of a firearm in any other situation than self defense is a huge issue in the RKBA community.
Many people support using deadly force to protect property, arguing that theft of property represents theft of that part of their life needed to earn the property and theft of that part of their life to replace it. The equivalent of the threat of "grave bodily harm" in their minds and justifying the use of deadly force. I'm not sure taking ALL the days of a thief's life is warranted when they're only taking days or weeks of our effort spent on the item being stolen.
Others argue that deadly force only applies directly to the threat to a person of death or grave bodily harm.
Mr. Harris shooting at the vehicle to disable it in the belief that no one was in it isn't as clear an issue for some. Since he had no reason to believe that anyone was in the vehicle and he stopped shooting as soon as he was alerted to the fact that someone was in it I think his actions were justified.
Shooting at the vehicle with someone in it wouldn't have been defensible if not for the fact that the driver tried to run him down. Even then he didn't shoot at the driver, but instead shot to disable the vehicle. Admirable restraint under the circumstances. Most of us in that situation might have fired at the driver in self defense.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/may/17/boundaries-of-defense/
Boundaries of defense
Man reprimanded for shooting at thieves trying to steal metal
By Don Jacobs (Contact)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
After repeated thefts of copper and aluminum from his business and future home, Lonnie Harris decided he needed an armed guard to protect his interests.
For the next two weeks, the 65-year-old North Knox County man spent the night sitting in a patio chair draped with a layer of foam rubber. The chair on the second floor of the home he is building offered a panoramic view of the property. His only companions were an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle and a handgun.
"I'd like to froze some nights, but I didn't mind because they had pissed me off," Harris said. "I've worked too hard to have the things I've got."
At 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Harris got the encounter he wanted, but not the results. In fact, he says, he ended up on the receiving end of a lecture from Knox County Sheriff's Office deputies.
The silent alarm Harris installed after the thefts at the Bent Tree Farms nursery, 2535 Old Callahan Road, alerted the family to another break-in. Harris' wife, Kelly Harris, owns the business.
The alarm sounded in the family's residence above the nursery, where they are living until Harris completes the new home. Because Harris hadn't encountered any thieves, he had resumed sleeping in his own bed.
Someone tripped the alarm when they smashed open a locked metal gate that faces Clinton Highway that leads to the nursery.
As Kelly Harris called E-911 and stayed with the couple's two children, her husband drove his F-350 crew cab truck to the gate to block the thieves inside the property. Lonnie Harris said he grabbed his AK-47 with a 30-round clip and searched the dark lot for the interlopers.
He located a black Chevrolet pickup truck stopped near pallets of aluminum supports for new greenhouses.
"I introduced myself with bam, bam, bam into the truck," Harris said. "I was trying to disable the truck."
Harris said his rounds toward the truck radiator and tires, however, elicited screams of, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" from a man at the rear of the truck.
Harris said he ordered the man to lie down, but the man bolted. Harris darted after the man, but 10 yards into the chase he noticed the pickup truck moving. Harris opted to challenge the truck driver and ran to stand in the path of the truck's route to the smashed gate.
"He saw me and gunned it," Harris said.
Harris opened fire on the truck in an attempt to shoot out the tires and then dove out of the way. As the truck fled, Harris said he continued shooting at the rear bumper and tires.
"I wasn't protecting my property; I was protecting myself," he said.
Harris said he was unable to get a good look at the truck driver.
"I couldn't see him," he said. "I was too busy getting out of the way and he was too busy ducking."
Harris said he aimed all of his rounds low so he didn't "hit the passenger compartment." He found later he had discharged 20 rounds from the assault rifle, chipping concrete from the roadside curb at the nursery.
The pickup truck sped toward the gate on Clinton Highway, where Harris had blocked the way with his large pickup truck. The smaller Chevrolet pickup rammed the rear of Harris' truck, shoving it out of the way and allowing the thief to escape.
"I should have shot at them instead of the truck," he said. "It wouldn't bother me to shoot them - as much trouble as they've caused me being up every night watching my property."
During the commotion, a third man also sprinted from the nursery, Kelly Harris said.
By the time Knox County deputies arrived, all the suspects and the black truck were gone. No arrests have been made.
Thefts of metal for sale to scrap dealers has become so prevalent the Sheriff's Office and Knoxville Police Department created teams of investigators to battle the growing crime.
While thefts of copper and scrap metal continue to be a problem, KPD Investigator Ron Linkins said thieves have shifted their sights in recent months.
"Our No. 1 focus right now is the theft of catalytic converters," Linkins said. The catalytic converter along a vehicle's exhaust system contains platinum metals that can garner "$40 to $50 to several hundred dollars" each, he said.
So far this year, Linkins said, KPD has investigated 30 theft reports involving the loss of more than 100 catalytic converters.
Harris, who said he's lost more than $15,000 in wire stripped from the home under construction, aluminum greenhouse supports and damage to his truck, was cautioned by sheriff's deputies about shooting at thieves.
"If I had been shooting at them, I would have hit them," Harris said defiantly.
Knox County Sheriff Jimmy "J.J." Jones, in a written statement said:
"A person has a right to defend themselves if they feel in fear for their safety or the safety of their family. Once that danger has been removed, meaning the suspect(s) are no longer a threat, then the incident is over."
Knox County District Attorney General Randy Nichols said instances of using deadly force have to be reviewed on an individual basis.
"The general rule in Tennessee is you are allowed to use as much force as necessary to repel an attack," Nichols said. "The question is, are your actions reasonable in light of all the circumstances? It is a gray area."
Nichols cautioned that even if a homeowner doesn't face a criminal charge when shooting at thieves, they may have to endure a civil lawsuit filed by the criminal.
"I would strongly advise citizens to try to avoid such confrontations," he said. "At the same time, I don't think anyone would stand there while someone kicked the door down and attacked their loved ones."
Don Jacobs may be reached at 865-342-6345.