Some people in the “business” of being an expert witness in court have oversize egos. They think they are the smartest guy in the room, and many accept them as such. Ayoob is in that category. He can be very dogmatic at times. He can be very dramatic. His deep voice adds gravitas to “It was a dark and stormy night” stories. I watched the video. I think it misses a key point-why are you searching with a gun in the first place? (Stophel made this point a few hours ago.) If you just need a flashlight for illumination and attach a gun to it like some sort of multi-tool, that’s just stupid and a good way to get into trouble. If you need a gun, having a flashlight attached to it adds versatility. He starts out with a premise that is true enough, that a weapon light is not a substitute for a separate handheld light as a primary search tool. But then he spins it into a theoretical rabbit trail replete with bad analogies (hunting scope) and scary war stories. The war stories include multiple concepts, most of which do not appear to have anything to do with the use of weapon mounted lights but with pointing guns at people generally. It then segues into a unique issue involving WMLs that he turns into the focal point of the video rather than focusing on the main issue. Did any of the war stories actually involve people who got jammed up because of the WML?
Without getting into too much theory, which varies from state to state, pointing guns at people or merely holding guns in a certain manner can result in criminal charges. Everybody knows that. When you do it, you need to have a valid legal basis, whether it is that your actions do not meet the statutory elements of a crime or because the elements of a crime were met but the law recognizes justifications that excuse the otherwise illegal behavior. The valid justification is that something occurred for which your actions were reasonable under the circumstances and authorized by law even if technically illegal.
So, why are you searching with a gun in the first place? If it is just so you can find your cat in the back yard and you use your WML, that obviously is stupid. If you are out in public and you need to figure out what’s going on before deciding if an armed response is necessary, using a WML is stupid. Everybody here knows that (I hope). Is it because you are asleep in your house and you hear glass breaking consistent with forcible entry? Did you arrive home and find the place ransacked? Are you a police officer summoned by a property owner or his mechanical or human authorized representative (alarm or alarm company) who believes a burglary may be in progress, or kicking a door because it sounds like someone inside literally is getting the life beaten out of them? Aren’t those the types of crimes in your state for which a search with a drawn firearm is legally defensible? (Of course, you should first analyze the circumstances and consider whether or not there is the possibility of innocents present and adjust actions, such as an announcement, accordingly.) The justification for the firearm, whether deemed “brandishing” at low ready, pointing a gun at someone temporarily, or holding someone at gunpoint, is the same whether you actually catch a criminal or frighten someone who is not a criminal but somehow found themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. Ayoob dismisses that by saying it’s “no harm, no foul” if you actually catch a criminal, but that you can go to jail for aggravated assault if it turns out to not be a criminal. I don’t know what state(s) he is talking about, but he’s not talking about mine as long as you reasonably thought that a crime involving the threat of death or serious injury was occurring.
BTW, if someone is searching something with a separate handheld light and someone pops out from around the corner, how many people out of a hundred won’t instinctively raise their gun anyway and start barking commands (or worse). The location of the light on the gun or in the off- hand is not going to be much of a distinction in real life. Also, before the WML became common, most of the handheld flashlight techniques involved mating the flashlight with the gun in a number of different ways (including some claimed to have been developed by Ayoob) that roughly equated to using a WML while searching. (viking alluded to that.) Then there are searches with carbines and shotguns, movement while holding something or someone in the flashlight hand, opening doors, etc. Dogma can be very problematic in real life. It’s a straitjacket. The ability to think in real time, to apply logic and to explain your actions is important. “One size fits most” pronunciations provide little benefit when dealing with something as serious as people’s lives and freedom, as discussed earlier by Waders. Use them with caution and get advice specific to your locale.
I’ve wasted too much time on this. In a past life I must have been a YouTube video critic. I need to get back in the woods with my bow. Y’all take care.
P.S. I’ve been to two Ayoob classes, but those were a long time ago. Ayoob used to be a Glock hater because he thought their triggers were dangerously light. He would have lost a lot of business had he not adjusted his thoughts about them. I also think that 30 years ago he would not have advocated tricked out guns with bells and whistles or those bearing names like “Wilson Combat” engraved on their sides for display in front of a jury. “Combat” sounds very martial and could give district attorneys and plaintiffs’ lawyers theoretical arguments to use against you in court. Wilson Combat guns are OK, handloads are bad. Alrighty. Dogma shift, unpublished shifts in positions over time, and/or just inconsistent?
P.P.S. If an “expert” puts out a paper or video saying that something is good or not good, it is good for business. If you follow the expert’s advice, you are a potential client. If you don’t follow the advice, you are a potential target. “Experts” can make money either way and enhance their CV.
