Told by a CCW instructor and cop that my size would make me guilty in court

[FIREARMZ]

Ability, Opportunity and Jeopardy is the minimum standards we must meet (usually). How ever there are disparity of force issues at hand.

Size
Age
Gender
Numbers
Or if known to you prior that they are a professional fighter or possess some form of special skills.

Any of these could either resort to you using potentially deadly force or not to use it.

Also you will find some LE that are just anti-gun and will paint it they way he wants it to be.

Personally if someone of your stature, size and anyone else who is trying to handle a situation physically and the adversary felt and went for the gun, I would say that you were justified in that force as long as you did not initiate the crime.

Always be aware that district attorneys and grand juries usually have the word in if a case is prosecuted, the arresting officer is only a messenger.

Have a good attorney on retainer so that you can get him or her there quickly and let them handle the legal aspects. You just need to stay alive and win!!!

 

[pax]

Richmond ~

Great post. Thanks for taking the time to put that up!

pax

 

[Correia]

Richmond, excellent post. Thank you.

 

[LAK]

Expert witness testimony could prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person's physical size alone is not at all any measure of violent injury or death infliction capabilities, nor the ability to fend off such injuries or death.

This is in no way confined to the oriental martial arts. It could be easily proven from the realm of olympic sports, other competition sports of physical strength, professional fighting and defensive fighting schools and institutions, and case histories of violent assaults resulting in serious bodily harm or death of the victims where the assailant was physically smaller than the victim.

 

[WeedWhacker]

JLStorm,

My experience with Mr. Eaton was thought-provoking and informative in many areas including legal, mental, and practical. From your original post, it seems that Mr. Eaton was warning you about the likely reality of court, should you be so unfortunate as to be forced to defend yourself with a lethal weapon.

Also do keep in mind that Mr. Eaton has been teaching similar classes for years, if not decades. He sees many people wander through his classroom, and many are complete idiots:
Remember that silly "what if" scenario training video involving a guy with a concealed pistol and two bums? One clip was played: the business owner with a weapon entered an alley and was rudely accosted by one of the bums, who got right up in the business owner's face and started calling him every name in the book. The business owner promptly drew his firearm and shot one (if not both) bums dead. There were several students which immediately stated that they felt the business owner was properly using lethal force in that scenario!

Scared the crap out of me, let me tell you.

I'm now much more aware of the makeup of Mr. Eaton regular audience.

I now believe that most, if not all, of the odd nuances present in his lecture are made firmly and purposefully with the knowledge that more people like those above are present in his classroom.