I agree with you on the duty to protect others. I grew up on a ranch and the nearest deputy was probably 45-60 minutes away. You looked out for yourself and for your neighbors because it's all you realistically had. Even in an urban area, the response time to a violent crime is going to be on the order of 8-12 minutes, and it's going to be over and done by then. Armed citizens are responsible for their own self defense, and when possible, the defense of others.
I have not worn a uniform since the late 1980s, but it still bothers me when I read comments from former or currently serving officers who state very clearly they're only going to look out for themselves and their family in an active shooter situation. It bothers me even worse when I read a new article about an initial responding officer who doesn't engage the shooter when department policy is for him/her to do exactly that. It goes with the job and if he/she is not committed to that, he/she needs to find a more appropriate line of work.
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That said, defense of others can be very problematic. For example, you see a guy pulling a child out of a lady's car. You assume it's a kidnapping and shoot the guy. The problem is that he was the custodial parent taking his child back from a non custodial mother who illegally took her/was trying to take her in the first place. Make that mistake, even with the best of intentions, and you better plan on spending the next 20 years in prison.
Consequently, you need to be sure that you really understand what is happening and or that it is truly an active shooter event AND that you have correctly identified the bad guy before you get involved. There is no police department to back you up when you make that mistake, and there is none of the latitude for an armed citizen that is extended to a police officer when a mistake of fact shooting occurs.
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I partly agree about the Zimmerman case. He exceeded his authority and went looking for trouble until he found it. He stalked Martin (who had every right to be there) until Martin turned on him. However, once Martin started banging Zimmerman's head into the sidewalk Zimmerman now faced an imminent threat and had a justification to shoot. But it was still a shoot that was 100% preventable.
Despite his poorly thought out actions Zimmerman should not have been charged, and certainly not with second degree murder. However he did use incredibly poor judgement. The reality is that if you shoot someone in self defense you can reasonably expect to be arrested, charged and end up in court sorting it out, unless the facts are VERY clear and VERY clearly indicate it was self defense in a situation you in no way provoked or escalated.
Zimmerman was acting in defense of others but in a situation where no threat existed until he put himself in a situation where he could be threatened, and at best he was protecting property, not lives. Really bad call on his part.
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