Thread: Support for tighter Acat storage

Hypothetical situation here

If I was to be driving down the road and saw a group of youths going to town on a young girl with baseball bats and one was getting a machete from the car, would it be within my rights to pull a rifle or pistol from my car that was there with legal intentions (wife calls cops I'm the mean time) and I take the time to load the rifle and threaten them to no avail... proceed to take a pot shot or two to try to scare them off to no avail... And then finally shoot the guy with the machete centre of mass as a show of force because I truly believed the woman would die. Would this not still be use of excessive force as i had a gun while they had bats/machete? Is that not the same as the cop shooting the guy who had a hammer?

No intentions to point fingers at the police here, Just curious.

Originally Posted by Macca

Hypothetical situation here

If I was to be driving down the road and saw a group of youths going to town on a young girl with baseball bats and one was getting a machete from the car, would it be within my rights to pull a rifle or pistol from my car that was there with legal intentions (wife calls cops I'm the mean time) and I take the time to load the rifle and threaten them to no avail... proceed to take a pot shot or two to try to scare them off to no avail... And then finally shoot the guy with the machete centre of mass as a show of force because I truly believed the woman would die. Would this not still be use of excessive force as i had a gun while they had bats/machete? Is that not the same as the cop shooting the guy who had a hammer?

No intentions to point fingers at the police here, Just curious.

I would say that is reasonable and not excessive. There is a spectrum of force that can be applied in any situation, from restraining someone, to pushing them, to striking them, to using a blunt instrument, to using an edged weapon, to using a distance weapon like a bow or a firearm. The likelihood of lethality increases along the spectrum.

In my mind it would likely be deemed excessive to meet non-lethal force with likely lethal force. You don't shoot someone for shoving you. If someone comes at you (or anyone else) with a machete (a likely lethal means), then that threat can be REASONABLY countered with the minimum available means that is likely to stop the threat.

I wouldn't get into a sword fight with another swordsman of equal skill. I would shoot him. But it might be seen as unreasonable to mag dump into him.

I recall a lesson on vehicle checkpoints and rules of engagement. If a vehicle tried to crash through the barrier, you weren't allowed to open fire. But if you or another soldier were standing in the way, then the car and driver became a lethal threat, to be countered with lots of bullets.

All just my P.O.V. Not to be treated as legal advice.

If someone runs at you with a golf club you can shoot them.

Originally Posted by inglishill

If someone runs at you with a golf club you can shoot them.

Yep, because a blow to the head would most likely be lethal.

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Yeah, I was referencing that bloke the police shot a few years back for it.

Originally Posted by inglishill

Yeah, I was referencing that bloke the police shot a few years back for it.

Yep. That case features in the stuff article with various examples I linked to earlier.

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