Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Man was acting in self-defense when he killed sheriff's deputy.

The most important bit of info in the news article is that Dick DeGuerin is representing him. He is one of the top trial lawyers in Texas..... which means one of the tops in the country.

The family evidently convinced him the cops are in the wrong in this deal. It ain't likely they can afford his fee, and he don't take pro bono cases that are un-winnable.

"Don't answer the door, tell them you are calling 911 to verify they their is a unit at your address serving a warrant. Instead of undertaking an active search for an intruder, take a defensive position inside your home, ypu have the tactical advantage of knowing your home's layout, why give that advantage up to find an individual who may lye in wait in the shadows for you to find him. Make him come to uou, use cover and again make contact with 911 and give them your name, address, and tell them that you are armed. Confirm that they infact are LE at your residence.

Unless you are a dope dealing felon in possession of firearms."



Following your advice would cost me time that I can't afford to loose in a situation such as this. Trailer house doors are not all that hard to bust open and there just are not many good hiding places in the ones I have been in. I would have to choose to defend myself. My life is on the line.

Unless you are a dope dealing felon in possession of firearms

Then what should I do?

A modified version of this worked well for me. Years ago, I was up studying late and got a knock on the door. The front door to the apartment was about 3 inches thick and solid oak. I went to the door and opened it a crack to see who was there. (not the smartest thing to do, looking back, but I wasn't doing anything wrong, and had no reason to expect what happened next.) A plain clothes officer (according to him, I never saw a badge, marked car, lights or anything that identified them as LEO's) asked to see a Mr. Nessmith. I told him there was nobody there by that name. He hit the door with his shoulder before I could blink, trying to break in. I had my tennis shoe blocking the door from opening any further and the guy bounced off the door and back into his partner.

At the time I remember thinking Mean Joe Green couldn't have forced that door open with a 10 yard running start. I shut the door, dead bolted it, went to the phone and called the police. The two guys drove around to the back and started trying to break in my bedroom window. I had the lights out and was standing in the hall watching them. I told the police who I was, my address and asked the police if they had an officer named whatever. If they did, they might want to call him off. I told them that whoever he was, he was trying to break into my apartment window and if he succeeded in getting inside, they were going to lose him. It didn't take but a second for his radio to start blaring and somebody called him off. I figured I would be getting a visit later that night or the next day about the incident, but I never heard a word about it.

Having a solid front door, a secure place to retreat to and a phone in that location allowed me the option to deal with a situation, that was going wrong in a hurry, in a manner that kept everybody safe. Quick action on the part of the police department in calling off their officers was a big plus too. I didn't need any more coffee to stay awake while I finished studying that night.

Pot plants, effing pot plants?? Explosions, and no knock warrant? Seems a little extreme to me. And how were the officers briefed before they tried to serve the warrant? If they were looking for illegal weapons, and the inhabitant was a convicted felon, don't you think they would have been a little more careful about their entry?
They found out the hard way that they can't continue to trample people's rights, and deservedly so. Sorry about the dead officer, but I saw this coming a long time ago, and mentioned to my wife that it would take a few dead cops before they review their arrest techniques.
Is it just me, or do a majority of the posters agree that this time, the cops were on the wrong side of the law? Seems like it's leaning that way.

Very good answer!

Pat:

Based on what you know right now; convicted felon in possession of a firearm, shoots a leo in the performance of his duties �

How could he be charged in Texas, do you reckon?

My brother was involved in a "wrong address" raid where the search warrant clearly stated an address across the street. The focus of the search had sent them across the street to the "right house"...

They broke the door in knowing the address on the warrant did not match the broken door...

I can see where someone doing absolutely nothing wrong could find himself in a position where he had to shoot. Were cops infallible it would not be so...

If they didn't come back, I doubt it was the police. Sounds like a bad guy with a police radio.

Your bedroom is next to your front door?

Or you just admitted that john q public knows the layout of your house better than you

You say that as though "police" and "bad guy" are mutually incompatible ideas.

A modified version of this worked well for me. Years ago, I was up studying late and got a knock on the door. The front door to the apartment was about 3 inches thick and solid oak. I went to the door and opened it a crack to see who was there. (not the smartest thing to do, looking back, but I wasn't doing anything wrong, and had no reason to expect what happened next.) A plain clothes officer (according to him, I never saw a badge, marked car, lights or anything that identified them as LEO's) asked to see a Mr. Nessmith. I told him there was nobody there by that name. He hit the door with his shoulder before I could blink, trying to break in. I had my tennis shoe blocking the door from opening any further and the guy bounced off the door and back into his partner.

At the time I remember thinking Mean Joe Green couldn't have forced that door open with a 10 yard running start. I shut the door, dead bolted it, went to the phone and called the police. The two guys drove around to the back and started trying to break in my bedroom window. I had the lights out and was standing in the hall watching them. I told the police who I was, my address and asked the police if they had an officer named whatever. If they did, they might want to call him off. I told them that whoever he was, he was trying to break into my apartment window and if he succeeded in getting inside, they were going to lose him. It didn't take but a second for his radio to start blaring and somebody called him off. I figured I would be getting a visit later that night or the next day about the incident, but I never heard a word about it.

Having a solid front door, a secure place to retreat to and a phone in that location allowed me the option to deal with a situation, that was going wrong in a hurry, in a manner that kept everybody safe. Quick action on the part of the police department in calling off their officers was a big plus too. I didn't need any more coffee to stay awake while I finished studying that night.

The police had a signed warrant for the residence. No violation of the residents constitutional rights. The courts allow no knocks under certain circumstances. I agree that that procedure makes the entry risky for all parties involved, but your position that the mans 4a rights were violated has no standing.

Don't worry boys. You're a lot scarier than we are.

Don't worry boys. You're a lot scarier than we are.

Don't worry boys. You're a lot scarier than we are.

Wrong dude. The red dog squad killed an 80 year old woman in a wheel chair in Atlanta a few years back with a no knock warrent issued on an informants word. Several went to jail but the lady is dead.