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If "protesters" get in front of me on a city street, or on a highway or on a freeway, I am not stopping. I will put my truck in the lowest possible gear, and go as slow as possible, to give them every opportunity to get out of the way, but I will not stop.
No, the driver should not be charged. If he is charged, the prosecutor would not want me on the jury. If the injured person files a civil suit, the same applies.
If you want to protest, obey the law and stay out of the roadway. It amazes me that any person could be so foolish as to think that such actions will make people receptive to their protest. IMO, it makes me wish they would go home and shut up!
Remember the time those bikers surrounded a family in NYC while in their SUV on the West Side Highway? They attempted to open his door and he took off and ran over a biker in the process. They followed him and when he got stuck in traffic, they busted his windows, yanked him out and assaulted him. The driver of the SUV was vindicated while the bikers involved were all prosecuted.
Here's the video for those unaware of the incident.
You don't get to run someone over because they annoy you.
So let's say you're stopped at a red light when suddenly a group of people surround your car, bang on your hood, tell you that you cannot proceed, and start putting their hands through the open window.
Are you okay with that? And if the police are involved, are you going to tell them the crowd was "annoying you"?
The driver started threatening them FIRST, which is what caused them to get angry. The driver kept revving the engine and making small moves forward. That is threatening behavior.
If that is true, then the protestors may have had an obligation/duty to retreat. I would not be surprised if you argued that George Zimmerman should have retreated from Trayvon Martin?
However, once the protestors moved in the direction of the driver/car and started to beat on the car and threaten the driver and reach into the car, the protestors lost their right to claim a reasonable fear of imminent threat of serious bodily injury or death at the hand of the driver. Once they became the party issuing the threat, the analysis changes over to the driver's point of view and the issue then becomes whether the driver had a reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury or death at the hand of the protesters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox Terrier
Where are your 'rules of self defense' now?
LOL. I assure you I am well-versed in the law of self defence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox Terrier
The driver was picking a fight. I guess he was surprised when there was a chance he would actually became engaged in a fight. That is not self defense.
You are wrong.
Typically, the initial aggressor in an altercation is not allowed to claim self defence. By initiating an altercation, said initial aggressor essentially forfeits his right to use that defence. However, one of the two situations in which an initial aggressor will regain the right to use self defence exists where the defendant initiated the aggression but has used non deadly force and the victim responds to that non deadly force with deadly force. In this case, even though the defendant was the initial aggressor, he may use whatever force is necessary, including deadly force, to protect himself. The second situation exists where the aggressor withdraws from the altercation either by physically removing himself from the altercation or informing the other person/s that he no longer wants to fight and the other person/s continue fighting... in such situation, the defendant may use whatever force is necessary to defend himself although he was the initial aggressor.
Hassling the protesters does not likely rise to the level of initiating an altercation. I could not tell for certain, but, it appeared to me from the video that the driver was trying to remove himself from the confrontation (the incident did not, IMO, reach the level of an altercation until the protesters approached the car/driver and started to beat on the car, threaten the driver, and reach into the driver's window) when his car was surrounded and the protesters began to beat his car and threaten the driver.
This is basic knowledge of self defence and the relevant law.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fox Terrier
The protesters were not picking a fight. They had reason to defend themselves.
The protesters likely had an obligation to retreat. Once the driver was surrounded, he had no way to retreat and may have been justified in driving through the crowd to escape his reasonably-held fear of imminent death/grave bodily injury.
No. He had the legal right-of-way in his car on a highway. They didn't. Don't play in traffic if you don't want to get run over. You needn't even go into the driver's "perceived threat," etc.
No. He had the legal right-of-way in his car on a highway.
No. Pedestrians almost always have the right-of-way.
An exception to that rule arises when pedestrians threaten a car/driver such that the driver has a reasonable fear of imminent death or grave bodily injury.
Always keep driving. It is easy to sit back and say they were peaceful protestors, but at the moment, you don't know when protestors become rioters. Always keep driving, especially if you are white and other group is colored, that is not a racist statement, that is good sound advice.
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