Welcome to Aftermath, a portion of our First Line email newsletter where Attorney Anthony L. DeWitt walks you through a real-life self-defense incident and shares his key takeaways.
A Denver man claimed self-defense after being attacked in a road rage incident. Two brothers blocked the man’s car when traffic came to a standstill, then exited their vehicle and hit him through the window. The driver feared for his life and shot both men. Instead of calling 911, he fled the scene. A detective followed the driver and called for help. He was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. After 19 months in jail, the murder charges were dropped, and the defender was freed from custody.
Do you know the law regarding self-defense in a vehicle for your state? What steps should the defender have taken immediately after the incident to protect himself legally?
I wouldn’t fault someone for leaving the scene after being attacked if they are not 100% certain that the threat has been stopped and that there are no other threats around.
If I was not sure of my safety I hope I would have the mental capacity to remember to dial 911 as I was trying to get away from the potential threats and to a place of safety. In this case the driver telling 911 they were just attacked and are trying to get to safety and asking where the nearest LEO station or vehicle was that they could drive to might have saved them a lot of time behind bars.
Excellent point, that’s not fleeing, that’s retreating to safety! Calling while being attacked and driving, I only have two hands. Furthermore it’s not legal to text and drive. Sorry, but 911 is not on my favorites list in my car!
Would any of us have the presence of mind to hold the perps at gunpoint while another traveler calls 911. I mean, if I saw a guy holding a gun on people I would surely dial for him!
Colorados castle doctrine extends to your car, he was well within his rights to open fire after being assaulted through his window as explained in the story.
While I can’t fault him for retreating, (id likely do the same, put distance between yourself and your attacker is sound logic, and are they down and OUT? If not are they armed? Is there someone else with them who is armed?)
Where the mistake was made was NOT calling 911.
Shooting two people and just leaving is a really bad look, and perhaps if he had been the reporting party, he could’ve spent the time in litigation as a free man instead of in jail.
The Motorist was charged w/ (2) counts of MURDER correct?
If I put some rounds in some folks I generally see the results firsthand.
If they are DOWN, the Threats are Neutralized I STICK. Call 911, then USCCA. then Lawyer
If the Threats were still alive, threatening my or others lives and I can EVADE I would Evade.
Nobody really KNOWS what they would do until they are tested. That’s why we train.
We Train to develop ‘Muscle Memory’ so we don’t PANIC or get Brain Overload and Freeze.
I’d like to think from my past experiences I’d act accordingly to the situation @ hand.
I’m not in my 30’s anymore, I can’t go toe to toe w/ multiple attackers
If I feel my life is truly in danger I will defend myself
Even two threats were down… you don’t know who else might me on their side… so leaving the scene wasn’t a bad tactics. Better do this than staying in he car, trapped in unknown environment.
What was completely unacceptable - not calling 911 to report the incident.
Situations like this one may vary, since people react differently in stress, especially after shooting.
Leaving the scene is not a crime as long as you report everything asap.
First - be sure you are safe, then - call 911, call USCCA / CCWSAFE / AOR (whichever your card is).
How about contacting 911 when the road rage began? If someone is being aggressive on the road and you are trying to escape and avoid any situation that you contact 911 to report that someone is being aggressive, and you are trying to get out of the situation. That way you are taking the first steps in self-defense.
If the situation escalates like it did, then you have already confirmed you are not being aggressive yourself and your self defense has already been established.
It’s unclear from what was presented above how long the incident was going on for and how quickly it escalated.
But I agree that if you see that the incident is escalating beyond rude words and gestures and have time to make the call it could be a good idea to dial 911 before it turns into a self defense situation. Though then your reactions will be recorded by LEOs so you have to do your best to make sure they can’t be misinterpreted as improperly contributing to the escalation.
It is easy to Monday night quarter back to me the bottom line here is what USCCA is telling us is to know the law and requirements of our own States. Everyone here has great thoughts and ideas but that’s all they are until you are in the situation you don’t know for sure what you would do and every situation is different.
IDK if anyone mentioned it. I think the best thing to do is be your own first responder. Get names and #s of any witnesses. Take pictures call 911. Wait for police and call USCCA.