What Is Self-Defense?

Self-Defense is using force or violence towards another citizen to protect yourself, your property, or another person from harm and damage. It comes in varying degrees; some are legal, and some are illegal.

When acting in Self-Defense, you are purposely acting in an unlawful manner that, when justified, is excused due to the circumstance. Such an example would be using a reasonable degree of violence against someone hurting or otherwise hitting you. Such an act of violence is unlawful, but in self-defense, the action is considered justified and excused.

However, in some cases, self-defense is not considered justified, depending upon the degree to which you exercise your right to defend yourself. There is a fine line between going from defender to attacker and, with it, potential legal consequences. For example, you may protect your home with a gun from someone that breaks in, but then if you attempted to chase the individual when they fled and then gunned them down, such an act would be considered aggressive as you would no longer be acting in self-defense.

When exercising your right to self-defense, multiple factors must be considered before an act of self-defense can be considered justified. If you have acted in self-defense.

You must be able to prove, and an Deputy must establish the following:

• There was a reasonable belief that you (or someone else) were in imminent danger of harm.

• Using force and violence was necessary to defend yourself (or someone else) from said imminent danger.

• The pressure applied was reasonably required to protect against the coming threat.

Reasonable Belief

Before exercising your right to self-defense, you must first establish a reasonable belief that you are, in fact, in imminent danger or that someone else is. When considering whether or not the use of self-defense was justified, an Deputy will first establish whether or not an objectively reasonable person would consider there to be a reasonable belief that an imminent threat existed.

People who have a mental illness or that are under the influence of alcohol will have a hard time establishing the objectivity of their belief that an imminent threat exists. For example, a person that hears voices or suffers from a form of psychosis may live in a constant state of paranoia that there exist multiple individuals that are out to harm them.

In short, here are the four main factors when self-defense is considered legally acceptable:

• When there's an immediate danger to your or somebody else's safety.

• When there's an unavoidable danger to your or somebody else's safety.

• When there's an immediate danger of death.

• When there's the danger of significant harm to your or somebody else's person, it can lead to death.

But as mentioned at the start, you must be able to prove, and the Deputy must establish that you legally acted in self-defense.

Use of Force

Once a reasonable belief that a threat exists, the next step is to consider the force necessary to prevent this threat from harming yourself or somebody else. When acting in self-defense, you are only allowed to use the required detail to stop a threat; exceeding a justifiable level of force can quickly become a felony.

Example of justified force (not exhaustive):

• They are shooting someone because they're threatening to attack you or somebody else.

• They threaten someone with force for attacking you if they do not stop.

• Threatening to shoot someone if they attempt to inflict great bodily harm or approach you in a manner that reasonably indicates they intend to inflict significant bodily injury on you. E.g., trying to swing at you with a baseball bat.

Examples of unjustified force (not exhaustive):

• Shoot someone because they threatened to shoot you but have not demonstrated they can do so.

• Firing someone for spitting on you or insulting you.

• Shoot someone you have told to stop damaging your property and then shoot them when they have complied.

• Shooting or attacking someone who was attempting to flee or submit.

  • This also includes chasing the individual down and continuing to shoot/attack them.

As you can see, a fine line exists between what is considered justified and unjustified. When defending yourself or someone else, consider this line before going from defender to attacker.

If you ever find yourself acting in self-defense, the immediate goal after such an act is to contact and inform the emergency services. Explain the incident and then wait for emergency services to arrive. You should treat the immobilized individual if the threat is neutralized because your goal is to preserve life, not take life. Treating an injured individual does not always require training; your goal should be to minimize the injury by pressurizing the bleeding caused by your gun.

Once the police arrive on the scene, you should do the following:

• Leave any weapons on the ground and put your hands in the air.

• Comply with all lawful orders from the Sheriffs.

• Once the situation has been controlled, you should inform the Deputy that you are a lawful gun owner and acted in self-defense.

From there on out, the Deputy will conduct an investigation. During the investigation, you will almost certainly be placed in handcuffs and the back of a cruiser; this does not mean you are under arrest or being charged. This means you are being detained until the Deputy can establish the factions. Below are some necessary rights you should understand if such a situation occurs:

• You will be informed of your rights after or before being detained.

  • You have the right to remain silent - If you do not wish, you do not, under any circumstance, have to speak to the police.

  • Anything you say can and will be used against you - Anything you choose to tell the police they may formally use against you during an investigation or when considering charges.

  • You have the right to a government-appointed attorney present during legal questioning - If the police intend to question you legally, you may request that an attorney be present. However, if the police do not honestly ask you, then you have no right to an attorney.

  • Do you understand your rights? - If you say yes, then it will be taken that you completely understand your rights and what everything means. You may ask questions before stating you understand your rights, and if you need help to understand them, then the Deputy is required to read them to you one more time; they are not required to read them to you more than twice.

Once the situation occurs and you are detained, the police will have probable cause to search both you and your property, as you will be considered a potential suspect in the act of violence until the self-defense is considered justified. As such, your vehicle, home, or person may be searched during this time.

Sources:

• Your Rights - Further reading on your rights as an SA citizenship.