The Illustrated Guide to Criminal Law
Chapter 15: It Was Either Him or Me
Self-Defense pg 4: Non-Deadly Force
Eddie and Albert galloping through the rocks
EDDIE
Non-deadly force, huh? So how does that work?
ALBERT
You can use non-deadly force if you reasonably believe you need to, to prevent someone from unlawfully taking your stuff right now.
(Not to prevent some hypothetical future theft, or take back stuff that’s already been stolen.)
Eddie and Albert are catching up to Rico in the moonlight
EDDIE
But Rico’s already stolen our steer.
ALBERT
He’s trying to, but we’re in hot pursuit. We’re still trying to prevent the theft.
Question: If Rico started shooting over his shoulder here (trying to shake pursuit), would that escalate the situation to deadly force allowing the pursuers to retaliate in like kind; or do the pursuers then have a duty to retreat?
Also, are the hot pursuit rules here similar to the ones that apply to police in your “Emergency Exceptions” portion of criminal procedure?
I guess my question at its core is this. If my home was robbed, the criminals flee with some of my goods, I grab my gun from my room and take chase, they shoot at me, and I then shoot back (killing the criminals); would my actions be deemed unlawful? Also, does grabbing the gun from my room as opposed to immediately pursuing waive my ability to claim hot pursuit.
Thanks for putting together this awesome comic. It’s been a great read.