The Aftermath of a Self-Defense Shooting

I covered this information in the Deadly Force Law Seminar earlier this year, but there are a whole lot of you out there that were not able to make it to the seminar so here is part of what that seminar covered.  One of my students recently asked what he should do after the police arrive if he was involved in a self defense shooting?
Let's take this one step at a time.  Immediately after shooting the bad guy and stopping the threat you should find cover if you are not already behind cover.  DO NOT APPROACH THE DOWNED SUSPECT!!!!  Stay far away and behind cover.  Once you are behind cover - SCAN the area for other bad guys while you keep your muzzle pointed at the bad guy that is down.  Since about 40% of attacks on law enforcement officers involves multiple assailants, you can count on similar circumstances as a civilian.  If there are more threats out there, you need to find them quickly before they get the jump on you.

After scanning, you need to make sure the 911 call has been made and the police and an ambulance are in en route.  You need to describe yourself to the dispatcher so the arriving police officers will have a better idea that you are not the threat, but the armed citizen victim.  Do not get over confident when the police arrive and NEVER, EVER face the police with a gun in your hand.  If you do, you will find out very quickly what a police silhouette target feels like.  I can tell you from experience, you will be treated as a threat and that is not good.


Put your gun down as the police arrive and face the officers with your hands held high in the air with your palms forward.  Do not make any sudden movements.  Do not move at all.  Just wait for the officers' commands.  You are in a VERY DANGEROUS POSITION!  Do not argue with the police, just do exactly what they tell you to do.  There is a very excellent chance that they will have you step away from your gun on the ground, they will have you get down on your knees while facing away from them, and then prone you out on the ground with your arms straight out and away from your body with your palms up.  JUST DO IT!

All of this is done to protect the police officers and any innocent bystanders in the area.  Don't be shocked if the police are pointing guns at you.  This is what the police do when they encounter unknown armed persons.  Remember, the police do not know you and have no idea who you are.  They will not endanger their lives, and they will be very cautious while dealing with you.

If they allow you to talk to them, do not get hateful, excited, or angry, this will only add to an already very bad situation.  Talk to them with a calm voice and show a little respect as a courtesy.  Do not argue with them, do what they tell you to do and you should be okay.  Again, do not be surprised if you are searched and handcuffed and placed in the back seat of a squad car.  This does not mean this is the way it will be, it just means the officers have to sort things out in a SAFE environment.  Try your best to understand their predicament.


Once they determine that you were involved in a self defense shooting, they are very likely to take the handcuffs off and give you an "apology and I hope you understand" type explanation.  You must understand that all the police know when they arrive at the scene where someone has been shot, is that the shooter is still on scene.  They will not know for sure if your are the good guy or the bad guy upon arrival and they will take nothing for granted.


Now, you have survived the shooting, scanned for additional threats, contacted the police, and you have survived the arrival of the police.  Now you need to know - "What should I say?"  Here is my advice based on 33 years of police experience with 17 of those years working as an Adult Investigations detective that has worked a boatload of shootings.

Tell the police your name, date of birth, address, phone number, and let them have your photo ID and your concealed carry permit.  Do not get it out, they will most likely get it out for you while you are still in handcuffs.  Just do what they tell you to do, or let them get it out of your wallet.  After providing this basic information this is what I encourage legally armed citizens to say, "My gun is laying over there, and that is the gun that I used to shoot my attacker in self defense because I feared for my life.  Other than that, I do not want to say anything else until I have had time to talk to my attorney.  I want to cooperate with the investigation completely, but I need to talk to my attorney first.  I hope you understand."

Once you have said this, SHUT UP!!!!  Do not talk to the police officers no matter how nice they may be!!!  Wait for the opportunity to call your attorney and then follow your attorney's advice - EXPLICITLY!!!  


Now that we have talked about attorneys, it is important to already have an attorney in mind that you are going to call.  I have had several people ask me who I would call and I do not mind name dropping.  I would call Dennis Vowels.  Dennis is a public defender and he has a lot of trial experience and he is a former deputy prosecutor.  I met Dennis when he was a Vanderburgh County Deputy Prosecutor and he was a damn good one.  We never lost a case together.  I consider Dennis to be a friend.

I have gone to trial with Dennis when he was representing the State, and I have gone to trial when Dennis was the defense attorney.  Dennis is very smart and very savvy.  He knows his way around in the courtroom.  I should be getting paid for a commercial, but I am not.  I just think an awful lot of Dennis Vowels.  There are several very good attorneys out there.  Do your homework and make sure you find a good one and then put his card in your wallet and keep it there just in case.


There is more to the aftermath of a shooting.  You can be 100% right and still be sued by the scumbag or his family.  It is damn tough for the bad guy to win a judgment.  Law suits are no fun to go through and can get expensive.  I look at it this way, I would rather be alive and get sued, than be dead.

Another part of the aftermath is how you handle it.  The better trained you are and better your mind set is, the less likely it will bother you too much.  But, if you are not trained well, and you do not have the right mind set, it can be emotionally devastating.  Just know this, if you were justified in shooting this skuzz bucket, shame on him for causing you to end his worthless life.  Do not beat up on yourself for doing what you had to do to survive.  Try to remember this, he had options that day, you did not.

I think it is very important that if you are involved in a deadly force encounter that you should seek out others that have been involved in like situations.  Perhaps someone formerly in the military that is a combat veteran, or a cop, or some other citizen that you may know that has been involved in something like this.  It really helps to talk to these people because you will quickly find out that you are most likely experiencing the same symptoms that they went through.  It will get better with time, I promise.

You are always welcome to call and talk to me.  I will be more than happy to share with you my deadly force encounter experience.  Talking about it does help.  I have myself committed to my students and I will do whatever I can to help.