Chief said:
I don't know of a LEO that will not tell his friends and family to just SHUT UP. But then you may hurt the sensitivities of the investigating officers. If the sensitivities of the investigating officers is important to you, don't carry a weapon. You have other serious problems.
So your suggestion is to otherwise be uncooperative? Do you really think that having the officers on YOUR side is a bad idea (or alternatively, having them be neutral is a GOOD idea)? Sure, having them be neutral is better than ticking them off. But then, why be neutral when you can get them to be on your side? Why on Earth would you want to make things hard for yourself? No, you don’t need the officers on your side to win a court case, but if it were me, I’d take anything I can get.
If you think that the sensitivities of officers isn’t important, the next time you get pulled over (or the first, as it may be), flip the officer off and cuss at him for being a worthless pig. Then, come back and tell me the “sensitivities of the officers” doesn’t matter.
To address your other point, I don’t know of any reasonable person that would tell others to carry a firearm but not have the slightest clue on how to use it. Simply because the LEO’s you know aren’t going to go into great detail and train their friends and family how to behave in a shooting (and after) doesn’t mean that there isn’t a proper way to behave. For most people, using a gun, let alone facing the legal system after doing so, is a big responsibility and very mentally demanding. So I can understand why LEO’s would advise friends and family to keep their mouth shut- it’s certainly better than saying something stupid.
But at the same time, trained individuals who already have an understanding of firearms the moral and legal consequences of using them should not be given the same advice. Would you try to teach someone new to firearms how to clear type III malfunctions and advanced tactical shooting before teaching them the basics like safety, sight picture, so on? Of course not. I presume that most people here have an understanding of those basics, so I’m not going to treat them with kid gloves.
Trust me, staying quiet will not bother any officer investigating a homicide or attempted homicide. And until cleared that is what your shooting will probably be, unless the bad guy is still alive, then he will be accusing you of attacking a poor harmless and Innocent person.
Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. But between having the officer be neutral, and having the officer on my side, I’d take the latter. You can try to argue that people should keep their mouth shut. And if you have no idea what you're doing, I'd agree. But as far as I'm concerned, we are not talking about "most people" here. We are talking about reasonably well-trained, respectful, law-abiding gun owners who know how to properly use their weapon, and now want to properly know how to face the legal consequences of using that weapon.
Giving them advice meant for "most people" is not applicable, in my opinion.
Or you can listen to the internet geniuses with formal training and advice from lawyers that never handled a criminal case, or are afraid of upsetting the sensitivities of an investigating officer. YOUR CHOICE.
Go figure.
Fred
If you are as experienced as you claim, you must know how the system really works. The most important thing you can do before a shooting is to find the
right lawyer. If you find the right lawyer, you should be in good shape (hint: former LEO). No doubt you’ll explain that the LEO community is a very tight one and that lifelong bonds are formed in the LEO community. You’ll explain to us the value of the secretary and the friendships that LEO’s form with the DA and said secretary. And that a case typically doesn’t go to court if the DA isn’t in the mood, and all the other complexities that come along with law.
Tell me- what would be the advantage of having a former LEO lawyer dealing with the same secretary he dealt with while he was in LEO? What would be the advantage of having a former LEO lawyer talking to the DA that he knows from his law enforcement days, and probably plays golf with, about your case?
Oh and Chief? Since you know nothing of how I was trained and where (or who) I got this advice from, I’d appreciate it if you lay off the insults. You can claim whatever you want about your training, but if you believe that the sensitivities of the officers doesn’t matter, then take up my challenge above and tell us how it goes.