Dragonfighter wrote:(corrected typo, I think)
yes, thank you, I had left the e off note and it can change the meaning.
Sound advice. Any arrest irrespective of the LEO's personal opinion now is an adversarial situation, they don't warn "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law" for no reason.
But before Miranda, I have questions. I have always been of the opinion that when I call 9-1-1 after a shooting I would say something to the effect, "I am [name], I'm at [location], I had to shoot someone because they attacked me, send an ambulance and police." I would not tell them anything different or elaborate unless they asked for a description of myself. I had worked this out before Ayoob did his informative video. Good?
Next, again before Miranda at the location, I always thought that answering bare fact questions with, I am "X" born "X", there he is, my weapon is here, he came from there, the witnesses are over there (Ayoob) etc. were okay. My question here is three fold, as an LEO what would information would help you size up the case AND ease your attitude about the CHL? What is admissible before Miranda and at what point do you clam up and ask, am I under arrest?
OK, the questions here are very important and of great danger to you. The rule is that anything you say, before or after you are warned of your rights, is admissible in court UNLESS you are in custody, have made the unequivocal invocation of your rights, and are asked questions by the government agents that are designed to gain information about the crime.
So, if you are not in custody, you do not have to be advised of your rights and anything you say can be used. This includes the call to 9-1-1. it also includes the first explanatory comments to the officer when he arrives at the scene. And, it includes spontaneous exclamations you make when you are in custody and have invoked your rights.
But there is an old saying about the first liar wins. The person who calls the police first is generally setting the officer's frame of mind and how he will see things. So, yes, explain that you were forced to shoot someone to protect your life, but not much more. When the officer arrives, explaining to him that you were forced to shoot someone, giving him your ID and weapon, and then saying you want a lawyer is also probably a good idea, but it is somewhat risky. It is very likely that the officer may want to believe you and then will look very skeptically at you when you want a lawyer. Most cops will think a normal honest person will talk with them and cooperate. So, invoking your rights is likely to make them more suspicious of you. It might make it harder that night to deal with, but it probably makes the overall case easier to deal with.
And remember that there are some questions that you must answer. These include your name, date of birth, and home address. You cannot lie about anything material to the investigation, but other than that, you can remain silent until you talk with your lawyer.
Many people ask for medical attention because of their nerves. If you have just been involved in a shooting, this is probably true and you should do it. It is one way to postpone serious questioning until your lawyer can get to you.
The difference between tactics and strategy is the time frame involved. Talking with the cops about what happened is probably good tactics for going home that night and bad strategy for staying our of jail long term.
