When should USCCA Hotline or Your Lawyer be called after a self-defense incident?

So for purposes of this question, assume I was just in a self-defense situation and had to use my firearm. I’m now going to call 911 to get the authorities coming. At what point do I call the USCCA hotline and my lawyer? Should I tell the dispatcher to have the officers call me when they arrive and hang up so I can call USCCA/lawyer or should I stay on the line and call them later?

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As soon as you hang up with 911. They will help you with what to say/not to say. They’ll help call a lawyer. All those wonderful perks of membership in the USCCA will begin to come into play immediately.

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IMMEDIATELY after you call 911. Before you give a statement of any kind you need to call USCCA.

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I guess my question is, when should I hang up with 911? They will probably want me to stay on the line until the police get there, right?

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They will want you to stay on the line, just follow orders and show respect, your the good guy! I hope!
I think there are a few things to remember. First, everyone who arrives after your incident IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! They will lie, cheat, psych you out as the silent guy in the background is taking notes of everything you blurt out. Take a deep breath, compose yourself, breathe again and follow the instructions on the back of your membership card. Stay calm and silent. The adrenaline rush is NORMAL and will wear off!
I have copies posted all over my house. Second, there is a chance you will be handcuffed and read your rights, standard operating procedure, take another breath. Listen to your rights, and respectfully keep silent. Not like ALL the perps on COPS! If you couldn’t make the call for any reason, you will able to make it after the cuffs come off!

Just like any LEO you have the right to calm yourself down. It won’t be easy! It’s only easy if you’re the bad guy! They have no conscience!
Third, don’t second guess yourself out loud! There’s nothing wrong with defending your LIFE! IMHO

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You have a couple of options here depending on the situation, @Kevin10. In no particular order:

  • Have someone else at the scene call 911 to report the incident if you are keeping an eye on the attacker and then have a friend or family member call the USCCA.

  • Call 911, report the incident (be sure to include what you look like and are wearing). Then hang up and call the USCCA.

  • Call 911, report the incident (be sure to include what you look like and are wearing) and have a friend or family member call the USCCA.

You can find the post-incident instructions in your USCCA dashboard here:

https://www.usconcealedcarry.com/dashboard/post-incident-instructions

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Remember, you can be on speaker and send a text at the same time. Speaker phone talking to 911. Message a spouse/friend to call the USCCA and tell them what’s going on.

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You can stay on the line with them until you feel safe but let LEO arrive then you can call the USCCA hotline. Don’t make any statements to the police and be advised by what USCCA tells you. Read the back of your card.

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Nothing to add; all good advice. Up to you to remember it

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One important thing to cover FIRST!!!

If you call 911 yourself, simply say, “there’s been a shooting.” “The address is XXX” then hang up. Don’t stay on the phone…don’t give more information like, “I just shot him”, etc.

Everything you say can (and will) be used against you. This includes any recording they have at 911 from you. Short and to the point.

Then call USCCA and don’t say another word. My CCW instructor says, “Cops are NOT your friend, they are there to collect evidence to prosecute so don’t give them evidence.” He should know, he was a former cop and now trains police and civilians. If you feel a need to say anything, simply say, “Officer, I don’t feel comfortable speaking without my lawyer present.”

Good luck.

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IF you think that you will be able to manipulate a phone following a shooting you are a stone cold cowboy. I would anticipate you will misspell 911 at least a half dozen times and drop the phone twice as many times. Retreat to cover and get SAFE even if that means getting in your car and driving away. Safe may mean out of video range or away from the crowd. Safe may be running for your life.

BE SAFE before you call 911 because your focus will not be on the situation that caused you to shoot it will be on the phone.

I agree with the sentiment that you give name, description and location and “There has been a shooting.” and hang up. I hesitate to agree to this is what I look like and I shot the guy. The police are minutes away. “There has been a shooting we need an ambulance and police at XYZ” Then break contact and if you can, retreat. You can always go to the local precinct later and say " I shot the guy at XYZ and my lawyer is in route and I have no further comment as I am invoking my 5th and 6th amendment rights." Or you could do it from your home or a parking lot where you are SAFE.

Run for your life is an actual defense. Obviously if you are in your home things change but on the street I’ll take the fine for leaving the scene of a crime.

Cheers,

Craig6

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Before I was a member of the USCCA I was actually in this situation.

YES, it is very stressful. In my situation, I had not done the shooting, the victim was brought to my house by the persons who found them on the road. They did not know what to do… I only knew what I had learned from trainings I had taken. I DID have a lawyer I could call right at hand. That is HUGE.

I looked the victim over, they said they had been shot up the road. I looked them over and found bullet holes in the back and butt. DONT think not seeing blood means everything is OK, it is NOT! There was only entry wounds that looked like someone had poked them in the back with a small stick and a little blood on the cloths.

I called 911 on the neighbors phone and administered first aide per the 911 operators instructions. THEY kept saying, stop the bleeding with pressure. I kept saying, there is no blood to stop! The Sheriff showed up and took over the situation. Then I was quarantined/separated and was accompanied EVERY MINUTE by the Sheriff as I was considered a suspect, EVEN THOUGH I WAS NO WHERE NEAR THE SHOOTING WHEN IT TOOK PLACE. Then 2 minutes a swat team showed up and secured the area (I live way out in the country). Then 10(?) minutes later 2 ambulances showed up. I had First responder vehicles from my garage down 200 yards of my driveway bumper to bumper. THEN the medivac chopper landed a couple miles up the road.

Stress? Yeh, there is a LOT of stress.This all happened around maybe 3 in the afternoon(?). I sat outside with the Sheriff while investigators did their thing until almost midnight. It was cold. The Sheriff kept asking me questions, I answered a few. Then he wanted to go in the house. This was maybe around 6PM. That is when I told him I do not consent to searches and would have to call my lawyer first.

I knew I was innocent but also knew if he went into my house my guns would likely be confiscated. After I mentioned the Lawyer the whole conversation changed for the night. We just talked about the weather, some of his personal experiences etc. He was a good guy just doing his job.

Around midnight they found they guy who had shot the person. They were a mile up the road target shooting without a background and across a road, which is where the person got shot. The Sheriff left, I went to bed and didnt sleep for 2 days.

Stress. Dont underestimate it. Knowing I was completely innocent I was still feeling pressured. Calm on the outside, ready to explode on the inside. I just wanted to go to bed.

Person lived. As I said, dont underestimate a wound. I am no Dr. But so glad to have called 911. All the bleeding was internal. Bullet in the butt just painful, but the one in the lower back, just above the waist had been a ricochet from the pavement of the road and was traveling upwards and stopped about 2 inches from the heart.

From my experience, stay calm. Say only what is required. Invoke representation/Lawyer rights right up front. And, dont underestimate the stress of the moment and how it affects your decisions years later.

Would I do thing differently now? Probably. But each situation is going to be different. I have had a lot more training and learned a lot since then. USCCA Advice is right on.

John

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After the situation/ you hang up before the police get their and call your USCCA, right away and explain to them what happened!!! When your taken by police you don’t say a word, but only to say I want my Attorney/phone call. You then call USCCA. And do nothing after that. I have heard through a friend he wrote the # down with a marker on his arm so when it came time to make that phone call, he had it right their

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The number is right on the membership card. :+1::+1:

I’ve got the number saved in my phone. I can “Hey Siri” and call without even taking my eyes off my surroundings.

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