In Indiana, you can now “stand your ground” against police. It would be ironic if this marked the end of police busting down people’s doors to find some drugs. Then the NRA might actually be defending liberty. But I suspect it’s just going to escalate matters. Yes, at least in Indiana, you can kill a cop… but only as long as you reasonably believe you’re in the right. Call me old fashioned, but I’m against this.
By the Force Science Institute and PoliceOne:
You may have heard of the bill passed recently by the Indiana General Assembly that gives citizens the right to physically resist — even with deadly force — any LEO they “reasonably believe” is unlawfully entering their dwelling or is about to cause them injury.
Last week, Gov. Mitch Daniels signed the bill, meaning its now law in the state of Indiana.
“It will mean basically open season on police officers,” predicts Tim Downs, president of the state FOP, which campaigned vigorously although unsuccessfully against the bill. “Law enforcement officers are definitely going to be put in harm’s way.”
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The bill specifies that even deadly force can be justified in resisting the police if a citizen “reasonably believes” an officer is “acting unlawfully” and “the force is reasonably necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person.” In other words, Downs states, “There is no limit on the resistance that can be used.”
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Force Science News: Are there any subtleties in this law that make it less crazy than it seems?Downs: No, it’s insane.
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FSN: Who was the driving force behind this legislation?Downs: Well, one group that sticks out and that surprised me was the National Rifle Assn.
Doesn’t surprise me. The NRA always chooses guns over cops. I wish more cops would realize that.
Seems like a good law to me. After all, sometimes those cops might be carrying Skittles.
call ME old fashioned:
supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/177/529/case.html
Read it and weep.
Police- and by that I mean the institutions more than the cops on the beat- seem to have long ago decided that police lives were more important than non-police lives.
Isn't this simply a signal to them that they may be wrong?
Everybody thinks their life is more important than the next guy's. That's what self-defense if all about. And society tends to cut police a little slack since we're asking them to place themselves in dangerous situations. I think that is good. You may not. Fair enough.
Regardless…
I do not think that is the intention of the law. I do not think people who support the law are supporting it because of what it does to police. I think the law is wrapped in NRA nonsense about protecting liberty. And like the Stand-Your-Ground B.S. in Florida, it is a poorly written law that is designed to encourage more shooting.
Cutting the police in the rest of the world outside of my house is okay. However, when they come inside my house police deserve, and should get, no slack. If they come in my house, they better be right about whatever it is they think.
Slack is for the sidewalk. If you need slack then stay out of people's residences. That is a bad place to give slack.
And remember, that is what the Indiana law is about — police who decide they need to come into your home without permission and without a warrant. One cannot overstate the level of scrutiny to police who go in people's houses without warrants and without permission or invitation.
If Indiana police get a warrant, dress in their uniforms, give time to answer the door before breaching, and activate overheads and sirens for 30 seconds before breaching then nobody gets to shoot them and get away with it.
If they want to keep playing gotcha games then they need to go back to being sidewalk kings and stay out of the peasants' houses.
In a related story, today the Indiana police decided that they will now wear uniforms on warrant service.
Sah-weeeeeeet!