A few things that bother me about that article:
The author is NOT a lawyer, yet he bemoans non-lawyers giving out legal advice, while giving out some himself. That he includes a disclaimer does not make what he is saying any less reprehensible than non-lawyers giving advice on a message board. The gentleman in the video IS a lawyer giving legal advice. To whom do you think we should listen?
I do not need to tell the police what happened to get them looking for evidence of self-defense. I only need to tell him that I feared for my life. I don't even need to tell him that I shot the perp. They'll be able to figure that out for themselves. I can also mention the weapon (if any) that I feared. That should get them looking for it while, again, I have not said anything about what I did.
I can say nothing in the 911 call without sounding dumb as in the article: "Please send the police and an ambulance to _______. There has been a shooting and a person is hurt." I will make sure the dispatcher has those pieces of information and only those pieces.
What the witnesses say will not change simply because I provided no details as to what exactly happened. As long as I mentioned that I feared for my life, the police will either adjust their interviews to include questions about what prompted me to shoot or they would not have asked those questions anyway because they are lousy investigators. The point is that providing details of what happened will not essentially alter witness statements.
Anyway, I said all of the above, not as legal advice, but as support for what I will do. I will make the 911 call above. Then I will say to the police even less than skid would, not because his words would be ineffective or dangerous. It is just more than I will remember when I have more adrenaline in my veins than I have blood. I will say: "I feared for my life. He had a [insert weapon here]. Look, there it is." I will say nothing about what he did. I will say nothing about what I did. I will gladly provide my CPL to the officers for identification. For some reason, that piece of paper also seems to soothe the men in blue, so showing it will only have a positive effect. Lastly, at the appropriate moment, I will tell the officer that more details will be forthcoming once I have consulted an attorney.
Remember, the person who wrote the cited article is not a practicing attorney. Because he mentions that he would become a lawyer if he deigns to take the bar, I assume he has been to law school. However, I wonder why he does not mention having been to law school. The person who made the cited video IS a practicing CRIMINAL attorney. He knows whereof he speaks.
Again, this post is not legal advice. It presents what I will do and my reasoning behind it. I encourage all users to do their own research and to speak with attorneys (actual practicing attorneys) before deciding what they will do in the immediate minutes following their having defended themselves with a firearm. And that is all you really need to decide: what to do before discussing further actions with an attorney (again, an actual practicing attorney).
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