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I can appreciate that the risk of being tackled, or punched, or kicked, or whatever is greater than the general public appreciates. But can you tell me with a straight face that it's comparable to being shot or stabbed? Because that's the current standard. You can argue that the standard should be changed, and that's fine, but by that same token the penalties for punching someone without killing them should be comparable to those for shooting at someone without killing them.
Yes. Having some familiarity with the common outcomes of all three; If you give me the choice between getting my skull cracked open, getting shot or stabbed, or getting set on fire. I am going to choose the option of getting shot or stabbed every single time, it's not even up for debate.
That was not the question which @Rov_Scam asked, which was if you would rather be tackled or shot.
One outcome of tackling is a fractured skull, but it is not particularly likely. One outcome of getting shot is to get a bullet through a vital organ or major artery. My gut feeling would place p(fractured skull|tackled)=0.1, and p(life threatening gunshot wound|shot)>0.1.
Depends on what you're getting shot with. A non-trivial percentage of the decline in homicides over time in America has been street-level criminals switching over to weapons shooting smaller bullets from .45's, magnum revolvers, and sawn-off shotguns.
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No, the question for self defense is not whether you are perfectly proportional with your defense but whether you have a reasonable belief your attacker may seriously harm or potentially kill you. Once you do that, you ca. use lethal force while the threat remains.
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The mere threat of being shot or stabbed is enough to permit self defense, you don't have to wait until you're bleeding out to fight back. He actually was tackled, not just threatened with bodily contact.
Actually tackling someone is at least as threatening as aggressively brandishing a knife or gun, and both might justify lethal self defense. If Gannon had been shot as he was approaching, then I'd be a lot more sympathetic to your argument.
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If you are carrying a handgun or a knife openly and someone tackles you, you are at risk of being shot or stabbed.
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Can't find that in Massachusetts law anywhere. I did find a case where throwing a radio at a cop is considered deadly force.
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Comparable? Everything is comparable, even apples and oranges (they're both fruit). I don't claim that being punched is as risky as being shot or stabbed. But being punched can, depending on a variety of factors, cause permanent injury or death.
Since I think being slapped is so low risk it doesn't count for me (for almost every reasonable scenario), I'm clearly considering thresholds. Sneezing can kill you, and sneezing on someone can kill them too. I would rather that we didn't go around shooting people on the bus for not having a hanky at hand.
Note that I specifically suggested that actuarial evidence or a proper risk analysis be used to set the standards. In this particular instance, the facts (as presented here) would make me imagine that I would be in sufficient fear of permanent injury or death to not worry very hard about how I get out of it. I extend the same courtesy here, to people getting jumped by someone with clearly belligerent intent. Being tackled or shoved to the ground is rather different to being yelled at or having the finger flipped at you.
I also expect that the establishment of a norm that starting physical violence without cause might end in being shot would have a chilling effect. I can't recall the last time I attacked anyone in the past few decades, so I can live with the risk.
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