Home defense -- no shots fired

[Cal44]

This may be in the wrong section, but here goes.

I have a question.

Suppose someone breaks into your home while you are there, and you confront him pointing a firearm at him, order him to leave, and he complies.

No shots fired.

No one hurt.

Perhaps the door or window broken, but that's it.

My question is:

Do you report the incident to the police?

I can't see much upside benefit to doing so.

And there is a potential downside.

Would the officer confiscate your gun?

There would be a report in the police database, and depending on wording, might make you look trigger happy or make you look like a gun nut.

Remember I live in California where perhaps a majority feel private individuals shouldn't even have guns.

My inclination is to make no report and just fix the door or window and consider the issue over.

Dave

 

[Flattops]

Thats what I would do. Anything else can easily open yourself up to a world of unknown options, none of which, I will add, would be to your benifit.

 

[Doug M.]

Not sure I agree, with the caveat that I do not know the political/social environment of which you speak and never will. If there is a future incident, there is now a record that you have had a prior problem. That knowledge may impact your decision making as to the ue of force, and claiming it happened without a record may have a bad impact on your credibility. Further, there is intel value to LE in collected data about potential and attempted burglaries. Percentage wise, few burglars are caught, and resources being what they are, these have become low priority to most agencies - they are often busy just responding to emergencies. Additional data helps fill in pieces of a puzzle.

Of course, I will admit that the event would have come out differently at my house, more likely because of the dogs than myself, and there would be blood, and noise, and all sorts of fuss. There would certainly be a report then, even without shots fired (which is itself an unlikely event).

 

[snubbiefan]

Luckily....I live in a place where your home, anything connected to your home (meaning property) and your vehicle are considered your domain. If some uninvited guest crashes thru my window or breaks down a door......if I can get to him/her/it before they get out the door....they will get shot. I've already had to demonstrate that one time.

I really feel for you folks that can't live free and protect your property. I remember some years ago hearing some of the very early gun-control debating. I remember the senator suggesting one should go climb out a window and call the police. This is no political statement, so I'm not taking it there, but that has to be the stupidest thing I ever heard. This sort of attitude comes from people that live in gated communities with private (or public) security 24-hours a day. I live at least 30-minutes away from any LEO and that's after they get the call.

So far....if anyone threatens my or my families safety, or attempts to take my property, I have the right to defend it. There are many other states out here in the land-of-the-free that still support that. For how much longer.....who knows. I for one will not abandon my house or property for somebody to have their way with it.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

This may be in the wrong section, but here goes.

I have a question.

Suppose someone breaks into your home while you are there, and you confront him pointing a firearm at him, order him to leave, and he complies.

No shots fired.

No one hurt.

Perhaps the door or window broken, but that's it.

My question is:

Do you report the incident to the police?

I can't see much upside benefit to doing so.

And there is a potential downside.

Would the officer confiscate your gun?

There would be a report in the police database, and depending on wording, might make you look trigger happy or make you look like a gun nut.

Remember I live in California where perhaps a majority feel private individuals shouldn't even have guns.

My inclination is to make no report and just fix the door or window and consider the issue over.

Dave

The other side of the argument is that helping them catch the guy might prevent someone else, or even yourself, being victimized in the future.

 

[ptgarcia]

I live in SoCal and I would report it. And you probably have more restraint than me. With a wife and two kids in my house I'm not sure I would have let that guy go.

 

[Nframecollector]

I would hold him/her at gunpoint till the police arrive!

 

[snubbiefan]

That is a very good point Hawkeye. The "incident" that I had involved a repeat offender who had a warrant issued at the time for his arrest.

 

[finesse_r]

This may be in the wrong section, but here goes.

I have a question. Suppose someone breaks into your home while you are there, and you confront him pointing a firearm at him, order him to leave, and he complies. No shots fired. No one hurt. Perhaps the door or window broken, but that's it. My question is: Do you report the incident to the police? I can't see much upside benefit to doing so. And there is a potential downside. Would the officer confiscate your gun? There would be a report in the police database, and depending on wording, might make you look trigger happy or make you look like a gun nut.
Remember I live in California where perhaps a majority feel private individuals shouldn't even have guns. My inclination is to make no report and just fix the door or window and consider the issue over.
Dave

Well Dave, I would say we need more facts to truly say for certain what you should do in that situation.

First of all where I live you would call the city or county morgue and the police to come clean up the mess as he would be dead inside the house.

Second even if you don't hold him while you call the police to come get him and let him go, you should at least keep his driver license or some way to make positive ID.

If it happens as you say, was the gun you used legal for you to own and have in your home. If you used an unlicensed sawed off shotgun or a machine gun that is not legal for you to own, then you might want to just keep quite.

However, if you broke no laws it is your responsibility as a citizen to report the crime and to do all in your power to help the police apprehend the villain. After all he will probably just move to the next block and rob some little old lady who cannot protect herself, and you will have to bear at least some responsibility for that if you do not report him.

If the laws in Kalifornia have reached a point where you are afraid to behave like a man, then you need to move to a state with sensible laws or get active in changing the laws there.

I spend some time in Kalifornia, back in the late 60's and early 70's, some involuntary (USMC) and some voluntary six months as a civilian before I had had enough of the weirdness. I expect it has changed a lot since then and not for the better.

 

[Cal44]

if you broke no laws it is your responsibility as a citizen to report the crime and to do all in your power to help the police apprehend the villain. After all he will probably just move to the next block and rob some little old lady who cannot protect herself

Well, I understand what you are saying, but we are all a product of our life experiences.

Years ago, while living in the SF Bay Area, over a 8 year period my home was burglarized five times.

Each time I dutifully reported it to the police.

Nothing was ever recovered, and as far as I know, no one was ever apprehended.

Only one out of five times did I even receive a followup call from the police department.

And that call from from a community relations person asking me if I was happy with the police response, and how could they improve.

Of course I said, finding the guy who did it and getting my stuff back would be nice.

I pretty much concluded that as far as burglaries were concerned, the police were useless.

So I figured I'd have to deal with the problem myself, and bought a safe and put in an alarm and improved my locks and the problem didn't happen again.

In my little hypothetical scenario, I really don't think reporting the incident would have any effect as the police don't have time to follow up on burglaries anyway -- and certainly not a burglary that was thwarted before anything was taken.

As for holding someone at gun point until the police arrive, I don't know the legality of that. I think it might get me into more trouble than the scumbag I'm holding -- particularly if he tried to get away and I shot him.

 

[snubbiefan]

This is not a LEO bash.....they know what the problem is and they are just as frustrated as we are sometimes. They know full-well when they haul this trash off to jail, they will be out in less than 24-hours and we pay for the lawyer. It's so frustrating. I have a few LEO buddies and they tell me that LAST thing on the priority list they are dispatched on are home burglar alarm calls and I don't blame them. The burglars can be in and out of a house long before the law officer can respond. They have home invasion down to a fine art. Unless you are there to prevent it, they will be in-and-out in 10-minutes or less.

 

[scooter123]

So, your willing to allow someone to invade your home, determine that you have a firearm that you aren't really willing to use, and then walk away without so much as a Police Report. To me that sounds like an effective way to insure that Home Invader returns with weapons. Think about it.

If someone breaks into my home when I am there they will have just two choices. Choice one is to prone out and wait until the police arrive to arrest them. Choice two is to get shot.

Note, I would greatly prefer they choose option one, because I really would prefer to simply see that home invader in prison. However, if I have no other choice than use my gun to protect myself I am both willing and capable of doing that.

Final note. In my area if no shots are fired your weapon will only be secured as a temporary safeguard as the immediate investigation is conducted and the perpetrator handcuffed and hauled away. Once the police leave your home they will leave that weapon in your possession. It's only when shots are fired that they will take your weapon and in that case you can expect to see it locked up as evidence for a minimum of 2 or 3 years. Balance that against still being alive and kicking and that's only a minor inconvenience.

 

[finesse_r]

Citizen's Arrest

As for holding someone at gun point until the police arrive, I don't know the legality of that. I think it might get me into more trouble than the scumbag I'm holding -- particularly if he tried to get away and I shot him.

It is called making a citizen's arrest and it was still legal the last time I checked. Unless Kalifornia is now part of some communist nation it should be legal there also. If you cannot citizen's arrest someone who has broke into your home while they are still in your home, I don't know when it would be justified. Certainly an overworked police department would be delighted to have a criminal handed to them without their having to do any work, even in kalifornia.

 

[nachogrande]

POLICE REPORT?

OF COURSE REPORT IT! the next guy/woman might not be so lucky. try to get as good of a possible description of the guy/ his car and lic plate if able. I live in a castle doctrine state but would hope I would only shoot if I really had to (this time). you could do some serious home damage or worse with misses if you have others/dogs in the house. if you do manage to hit / kill someone over a broken window or some items of ?$ value. then you have the clean up, gun confiscation for how long, possible civil suit, even though you will likely win theres a possibility you won't. more time and money for a lawyer and trial time. for what? macho bragging rights? that's why you have insurance. make the police report, you don't have to mention anything about the gun. about the citizens arrest, good luck, you can try the old "stop or I'll shoot" but when they take of like a jackrabbit, I know I'm not gonna be able to run them down. if you shoot at/ or hit someone "that just came to the wrong door" as he will likely claim, then ran away from a crazy with a gun in fear for his life? you may end up the one in cuffs. don't ask me how I know.

 

[1madss]

I would certainly report the break in, but no need to mention the fact that you were armed when you confronted the intruder.

 

[Cal44]

I am so glad that you and your family were not hurt during the incident.

Just to be clear, this is a hypothetical discussion. There was no break-in. (The five burglaries long ago happened, though)

But I figure the time to think things through is before something happens.

I'm considering checking out courses in legal aspects of self defense.

 

[ken158]

So, you don't report a felony - and the guy does it again and an innocent person gets hurt or killed.... Read 18 USC 4 for a start regarding this can of worms...

 

[laskt9]

Wait, so you're saying there are states where pulling a gun on an intruder... In your own home... Is a crime and the police will take your gun for it?

 

[Riverkilt]

Last time my wife convinced me "not to get involved" turned out the noise in the middle of the night was her best friend's car being stolen. It was found weeks later stripped. Wouldn't hesitate to hold them at gunpoint until police arrived AND press charges.

Will say that holding another person at gunpoint is the scariest thing I've ever done -and I've been in firefights. Once had three tough guys at gun point for a very long time until police arrived....can't help but wonder what they might do and what I'll do if they do that...will they test me? Always a relief when the cops finally show up. Of course the cops take an immediate interest in my weapon. I follow their instructions. But it works. Some worried about retribution but seems bad guys don't wanna go back around where they were held at gunpoint and arrested before.

For sure would hold them at gunpoint and press charges. One thing I was taught back in the 60s as a young LEO was to act crazy while you're holding someone at gunpoint. Act like you're so mad you could just shoot them now...give me an excuse...mumble something like not having shot anyone since the war and how you miss it sooo much....anything to give them pause and keep them not wanting to upset you....

 

[rwsmith]

I'm for reporting

I'm for reporting it and giving a description because they may be looking for him and seeing a pattern. I don't know why they would confiscate your gun since no shots were fired, but then, I live in a gun friendly state.