Who needs a paintball gun ...

[synoptic]

Cops use paintball guns on crowds, does that mean I get to whip out a M-16 and shoot the cop to protect the people in the crowd?

no, that does not mean you can open up on the officer. They have training with the weapons, and more importantly, liability. I would not be in a crowd that was getting shot by the police with paintballs anyways I try to stay away from those situations. If you were getting shot by the cops with paintballs you have probably done something to be considered the aggressor and a self defense claim would not work.

If an officer tried to arrest you and place you in handcuffs would you try and fight him? no, you prolly wouldn't, but if some random stranger came up to you and tried to handcuff you would you fight back then? I'll bet you would.

Our reactions are all dependant on the situation at hand. I would hate to ever have to shoot anyone as would, I'm guessing, all of the pro shooters in this discussion, but depending on the situation returning fire may be necessary as I wouldn't want to go through the rest of my life with 1 eye or loss of hearing or be prone to siezures because some punk kid thought it would be funny to shoot me with paintballs.

 

[outfieldjack]

Ya.......

Ditto what synoptic said......

 

[jsalcedo]

I remember the famous video that some kids took of themselves
driving around at night with paintball guns shooting kids, knocking people off bikes, people carrying groceries home etc..

These people being shot were screaming in surprise and pain. It would seem that the uninitiated would think that a red paintball marker was their own blood.

With kids aty least a sharp blow to the chest at the right time can cause the heart to stop. It happens all the time.


What is the proper level of response?

Going home and getting a shotgun? Probably not.

Driving away and calling police? probably the most rational.

I'm wondering why the kids didn't run when they saw the car come back
and the guy get out with the shotgun.

I'm wonderig if he was just going to try to scare the kids off when they
started shooting him with paintballs at close range..

If the kids didn't run it makes me think they were a little more brazen than just innocent pranksters having fun.

 

[Penforhire]

I was unaware police have used paintball markers as crowd control devices. Anyone have a news reference link?

Most painful paintball shot I ever saw was at an indoor range. My buddy and I had one enemy trapped in a small room. After some fruitless blind exchanges I went in low and my buddy went high. Let's just say that guy wasn't wearing a cup and my COM shot was a little low (from about three feet away on the floor). For a while there I was worried he'd stop breathing...

 

[Vitamin G]

To the best of my knowledge, there are a few areas that have pepperspray-filled paintballs for use in breaking up hostile groups. Last I ever saw. they were firing them from Tippmann Pro-Lites.

 

[synoptic]

I was unaware police have used paintball markers as crowd control devices. Anyone have a news reference link?

Sorry, no link, I saw it on a discovery channel special. It showed how they would use the pepper filled paintballs to fire on an aggressor then when he was subdued would spray him with hairspray I think to keep the stuff on him so it didn't get all over the police car. Was interesting but it was only a short bit about the paintball. I think the show was about less than lethal weapons used by police

 

[Futo Inu]

GRD, I would like my picture taken with you, since you are now the pope. A paintball to the eye could =no more eye. That IS "grave bodily harm" in my book (though I agree with most everything else you said).

 

[El Rojo]

If it were some random paintballing, unless they have you completely surrounded, you are going to get this question at your trial. "Could you have turned away from them and walked away?" You are going to have to answer that question. The problem with this whole scenario of malicous paintball gangs is that it rides the border of being something very potentially dangerous and not. What it is going to come down to is someone is going to have to be the test case. If one or two dumb kids are shooting at me with paintball guns, I probably am not going to be the test case. I will withdraw and call the cops. If they don't give me much choice, this might be one of the only times I could see using the old warning shot. I think the sight of your "victim" pulling a handgun and making that loud noise with it might convince the paintballers they are in over their heads.

Now as far as this specific situation goes, the kid didn't deserve to die obviously. However, lots of kids now a days don't have much respect and seem to think they are invincible. It is situations like this that teach some kids some real quick lessons in respect. They think they are real tough until they see someone get shot or get shot themselves. Tough lesson.