coffee w/ the Chief Protecting oneself keen interest at 'Cof

[RPB]

Protecting oneself keen interest at 'Coffee'
By Christina Sampson
August 13, 2012 - 4:45 pm

I thought coffee with the chief was an interesting educational concept ... wonder if they furnish Starbucks.

http://www.inmaricopa.com/Article/2012/ ... teve-stahl" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Citizen’s arrests, road rage and when it is legal to shoot a home invader were topics touched on during Saturday’s Coffee with the Chief at the Maricopa Public Library.

In the best attended coffee since they started in December, and at the request of those who attend the monthly meetings, Maricopa Police Chief Steve Stahl discussed citizen rights to protect themselves, their loved ones and their property.

“This is a pretty important topic,” Stahl told the attendees, adding that his goal was to have a “balanced discussion.”

“There’s too much rhetoric going on, on both sides of the equation,” Stahl said, referring primarily to gun rights.
more at link above

[The Annoyed Man]

First, Stahl explained the most basic guiding principle anytime there’s a question of force being used, either by an officer or a citizen against a potential criminal.

“The key word is ‘reasonable,’” Stahl said. “And I’m going to keep going back to that word again and again. What is ‘reasonable’ in the situation?”

"A reasonable person would figure out if they were in danger,” Stahl said

That sounds reasonable, but there's a few things in there I'm not sure I agree with:

As an invader attempting to steal property, the chief pointed out it may be a case of “I’m not a threat to you; I just want to take your stuff.”

Stahl also said if one were to come home and find a stranger stacking appliances up by the door, the best course of action is to “call 911, stay hidden and let us handle it when we get there.”

Anyone unafraid to invade my home IS by very definition a threat to me. Once they're in my home, stacking my stuff up, I'm going to draw my gun on them and order them to desist. Since they're in there illegally and despite my presence, whatever follows next is entirely on them, and my guess is that a court would agree.

[SQLGeek]

Contrary to popular belief, Stahl said, those laws were written to protect citizens against unlawful arrest and often are exploited by gang members and other criminals to avoid arrest.

For that reason, Stahl said, “most police departments are not in favor of it.”

Say what now?

TAM, I agree. That is a tall assumption the chief makes and not one I'd be comfortable betting the lives of my family on. I'd like to know if he'd do the same.

[RHenriksen]

I love the idea of the police chief hosting these sorts of discussions. If your particular chief espouses views that you don't agree with, one can always hope that it's a either an elected position, or you can expression your preferences for the mayor's office at the next election

[sjfcontrol]

Bah! Sounds like a really BAD CHL class. Here's to hoping its Arizona law differences.