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K.Mooneyham

A-R wrote:IANAL YMMV

"Verbal provocation alone" ...

Remember, generally, the other party needs 3 things to put you in reasonable fear of imminent serious injury that would necessitate your immediate self-defense response:

Means
Motive
Opportunity

Verbal provocation = motive

But what are the other party's means and opportunity to make good on that verbal threat? If you cannot articulate this, then best not to "jump the gun" with an over aggressive self- defense response.

Words are words alone and cannot hurt you.

Add means like a visible weapon or significant physical disparity (size, youth, athleticism, numbers of attackers) and opportunity like physical proximity to you that would give the attacker ability to use the weapon and you e changed the self-defense equation.

A guy showing a knife and screaming "I'm gonna gut you like a fish" is not an imminent threat if he is 50 yards away on the other side of a river. But put the same guy only 30 feet away on open, level ground? Now THAT is an imminent threat (search "Tueller Drill".

Okay, that's a little more toward what I was thinking. However, that is a pretty far extreme between both of those scenarios. I worry more about something a little more "real-world", though, like a guy who's got 20 or 25 pounds and 2 or 3 inches on me in height with his fists balled up saying he's going to "whoop me" while in a parking lot at the local Wallyworld. Like I said, I'm generally going to beat a hasty retreat, but I would imagine that isn't always possible. And though I probably wasn't clear enough to begin with, I'm most concerned about how {Sec. 9.04. THREATS AS JUSTIFIABLE FORCE. The threat of force is justified when the use of force is justified by this chapter. For purposes of this section, a threat to cause death or serious bodily injury by the production of a weapon or otherwise, as long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an apprehension that he will use deadly force if necessary, does not constitute the use of deadly force.} comes into play in a situation like that.

K.Mooneyham

Oh come on now, no need to get silly with it. Did I say something that should have led things in that direction? I really was trying ask a serious question.

K.Mooneyham

Okay, I'd like to get some clarification about "verbal provocation alone". I understand that would include an individual using foul language toward you, but what about a communicated threat of doing you bodily harm? If possible, personally I'm going to depart the area with a quickness. However, I'm curious where a communicated threat falls in regards to the penal code.

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