Personal Defense for Women

by Gila Hayes

  In regard to dealing with the authorities, let’s again draw up a hypothetical incident. Home alone, you shoot to stop a knife-wielding criminal who breaks through your bedroom window screaming out his specific, evil intent. The criminal falls and is no longer an immediate threat, so you order him into a controllable posture, face down, hands palms up and fully extended from sides, ankles crossed, his face turned away from you. With the danger of continued attack reduced, you reload your gun and call the police.

  He’s Down. Now What?

  Assume your assailant is still dangerous, even if he has fallen. If he is armed with a contact weapon such as a club or knife, find a position behind furniture that would impede a lunge toward you and keep your gun pointed at the assailant. Maintaining control remains paramount; expect a conscious intruder to resist verbally and physically.

  In role play, Kathy faces an assailant brandishing a pipe. She begins with verbal commands, backed up by her Airsoft SIG Sauer. She tells him to drop the weapon, and slowly raise his hands until his elbows are locked and fingers spread.

  After the assailant complies, he is ordered to turn slowly and face away. Since he is complying, her finger remains indexed along the side of the SIG’s frame.

  With the assailant no longer looking at her, Kathy can make an extremely rapid danger scan in case he has accomplices.

  Kathy may need to move to keep his hands in sight as he slowly lowers himself to the ground on her command. In this practice scenario, no cover is available, so she could move away at an angle to increase distance.

  Assailant is spread-eagled, hands visible, and feet crossed to slow his ability to get up and reinitiate the attack. She will continue to control the assailant until police arrive; the risk remains extreme.

  Preparing for the Arrival of the Police

  You need to be able to safely put your gun away when police officers arrive. The police have no choice but to consider any gun a threat, because their information is extremely limited. If your assailant is actively threatening, you need to keep your gun pointed at him while preparing to holster or drop the gun if the police order you to do so when they enter the room. Be sure you maintain enough distance to drop the weapon beyond your assailant’s reach, and get out of his view so he does not know when you have put the gun away.

  Be mentally prepared for the entry of the police officers. This is just one reason to continue talking to the 911 emergency operator until help arrives. If responding officers surprise you and you turn, gun in hand, to see who is coming in, it is likely that you will unintentionally point your gun toward the officers. This may invite gunfire from the police, who cannot automatically determine that you are the innocent party. Don’t let a startled response cost your life.

  Telling Your Story

  You must give the responding officers a truthful account of what occurred. You must not appear secretive or uncooperative, yet must take care to avoid giving confusing information. The catastrophic missteps survivors have made at this point was the impetus to form an organization of which I am one of three founders, the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, LLC.1 Too often, crime victims who fought back have been charged with assault or murder, and too many of those people were convicted and went to prison for doing what was necessary to save their lives. Those who own guns for self defense need a clear understanding of how to report the crime against them that required a deadly force response.

  The first officer on the scene need only know who attacked you, that you feared for your life, and that the assailant forced your response.

  Why not tell the first cops on the scene everything that comes to mind? If you have just survived a look into death’s abyss, you will be eager to talk, to make human contact and to justify the horrible act you were forced to commit. The responding officer, who will file an official, court-admissible report, is not the person with whom to share this emotional unburdening. Maintain emotional control. Later, you can bare your soul to a religious advisor or professional counselor to excise the hurt. Details of sessions with priests and psychiatrists are generally exempt from court subpoena, so they’re safe resources for post-traumatic event therapy.

  There are sound reasons for limiting the information you give to the first law enforcement officer on the scene. Reports of self-defense shootings reveal that the perceptions of trauma survivors are extremely unreliable. A survivor who makes a lengthy statement to the first responder will probably relate incorrect information, especially about exact lengths of time, specific distances and other details. During the stress of a violent encounter, the body and mind narrow their focus to just the threat. This phenomenon, called the tachy psyche effect, causes tunnel vision, distortions in perceptions of time and distance, degradation of fine motor skills, general muscle tightening, and tremors. In addition, hearing shuts down to only that which seems necessary for survival. Called auditory exclusion, this phenomenon causes survivors to report that they did not hear the shots they fired or words yelled by a partner.

  The bottom line here is that after an emotionally traumatic event, your memories and perceptions can trick you. Act accordingly! When law enforcement officers arrive at the scene of a self-defense shooting, it is best to supply only general information to avoid reporting inaccurate details as a result of the tachy psyche effect, while emphasizing that a crime was committed against you. If pressed for details at the scene, it is appropriate to tell the questioning officer: “He attacked me. I was forced to shoot before he killed or crippled me. You know how serious this is. I wish to call my attorney before you ask me anything further.” By invoking the right to counsel, you cannot be compelled to answer further interrogation. Remember, however, any information freely volunteered, even after requesting legal counsel, can be used against the suspect.

  Evan Marshall once told me, “Cops hate to be told ‘no,’ but it is better for you to spend the night in lockup than 20 years in the penitentiary because of [inaccurate] information you gave right after a shooting.”

  Even after justifiable police shootings, the involved officer is usually sequestered away from the press and other information seekers, to let him settle his mind and emotions before making a statement or answering questions. You deserve the same consideration, although you may have to insist that you receive it.

  Stating the “Active Dynamic”

  Have a thoroughly researched survival plan—both against physical attack and to prevent your survival from being seen as a crime. If you ever face this situation, when asked what happened, tell the responding officers, “He broke in and assaulted me. I was forced to shoot to save my life.” Ayoob defines this approach as stating “the active dynamic.” It truthfully describes what occurred and how the assailant’s death or injury occurred.

  Compare “He broke in and assaulted me; I was forced to shoot to save my life” to blurting to the first cop on the scene, “He was in the bedroom and I shot him twice.” Both statements are true, but the first gives a more accurate picture of who caused the shooting. You had to shoot to stop his assault. A statement underscoring the crime perpetrated against you places responsibility for the outcome squarely on he who initiated the confrontation.

  Marshall suggests admitting to fear and a wish to run away. He advises this kind of response to on-the-scene questions: “My first thought was to escape, but that wasn’t possible, so I yelled at him to leave. When he came up the stairs toward me and my family, I had to fire in his direction.”

  At the Police Station

  Unless you are hospitalized as a result of the assault, you may be taken into police custody after shooting in self defense. Women are sometimes treated more gently than men, who may find themselves behind bars. You may be allowed only one phone call. Be sure you have laid the groundwork to make that one call productive. You should know, in advance, how to reach your attorney at all hours. This is no time for interference by an answering service paid not to disturb your lawyer during the hours that most self-defense emergencies tran
spire, i.e., in the dark of night or on weekends.

  The best preparation is advance arrangements for a stable family member, trusted associate or friend to contact attorneys and investigators for you. Explain that you want to prepare for the possibility that you might someday need to defend yourself. Ask if they would be willing to help in an emergency, describing for them the events that may follow a self-defense shooting. If they agree to help, it is their number you memorize and you direct your emergency call to them. From their greater freedom and superior privacy, they can call your attorney, a private investigator and anyone else needed to protect your rights during a shooting investigation.

  Investigators will likely seize your gun, and probably any other firearms in your home. The police have no way of immediately determining your innocence and may well choose to take custody of any firearms you possess until you are cleared of suspicion. The gun fired will be held as evidence until the prosecutor determines if you will be charged with a crime and through any subsequent court proceedings. It is disturbingly common for victims to have difficulty getting authorities to release firearms thus seized.

  And finally, remember that even if authorities decide that there is no reason to charge you with a crime, you may well be sued in civil court by the survivors of the person who assaulted you or by the assailant, if he survives. As incomprehensible as it may seem, rapists’ families may surface to argue in court that their “boy” was a good student, active in his church and quite incapable of violence. (By civil court rules of evidence, the plaintiff need only convince the judge or jury that there is a better than 50% chance that their arguments are the truth. In criminal court, evidence must convince the triers of fact “beyond a reasonable doubt,” a more demanding burden of truth.) The judge or jury will be faced with an additional puzzle: you appear before them alive, a survivor. It is sometimes difficult to view the survivor as the real victim. They weigh your vitality against the grief of a bereaved family. An element of sympathy for the dead person or for their survivors is inevitable, in spite of atrocities committed by the deceased.

  Attorney Selection

  The person who has chosen to possess the power of defensive deadly force needs to have an attorney available, as we just underscored.

  Evan Marshall recommends that citizens should understand their legal environment before they must interact with the courts as a defendant. In very small towns, a private law practice may augment the prosecutor’s salary. In other instances, find a retired judge or prosecutor who has recently returned to private practice. Marshall suggests making an appointment with this lawyer, and spending an hour asking questions and getting advice about armed self defense and the mood of the court in such cases.

  Another alternative Marshall advises is contacting the lawyer who defends the police force after a shooting. This lawyer’s connections with the law enforcement community are valuable, he says.

  Finally, Marshall concludes, “Know the lay of the land.” Local politics, the personal beliefs and the political aspirations of your local prosecutor can influence charges brought against someone who uses force in self defense. Ask the attorney you contact how courts in your area have treated recent self-defense shootings.

  Massad Ayoob emphasizes that citizens should not retain a criminal defense attorney, nor should they seek out a famous criminal attorney to lead their defense. He lectures that keeping an attorney on retainer suggests that you expected to shoot someone. Famous criminal attorneys are remembered for “keeping bad guys out of jail,” planting the suggestion in jurors’ minds that you are not innocent. Instead, he suggests a building a relationship with a retired judge who is likely to be well-connected and understand current judicial attitudes.

  Few criminal defense attorneys have experience representing innocent people and may advise you to confess to a crime you did not commit, in exchange for a lenient sentence. A common tactic is pleading that the gun went off accidentally, instead of in an intentional act of self defense. This goes beyond being unwise, beyond being stupid; it is criminal! Not only is a lie given under oath a crime in itself, it compromises the entire self-defense premise, that of the affirmative defense. The self-defense argument asserts that the defendant indeed used deadly force against the assailant. But it also argues that the accused was justified in so doing, as she acted in defense of her own or other innocent life. This is a demanding legal strategy and requires absolute adherence to ethical behavior by both defendant and attorney.

  Defense Against an Abusive Partner

  You can see that even after a lethal force attack, the survivor faces many ongoing challenges. Preparing for and facing judgment in the courts can be an arduous process, especially in circumstances where the survivor’s right to use deadly force is viewed with suspicion by the investigating police or courts. One of the most challenging deadly force scenarios is found in cases where women were forced to kill or injure domestic partners in defense or themselves or their children.

  In her book When Battered Women Kill2 author Angela Browne cites a study group of 42 female survivors of domestic abuse and battering, who were charged in the death or serious injury of a husband or boyfriend. Of this group, about half were sentenced to jail terms, twelve received probation or suspended sentences, and only nine were acquitted. Jail sentences ranged from six months to 25 years, and one woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

  The courts and juries have historically viewed the killing of a domestic partner as an avoidable danger, thus postulating that the homicide must have been “premeditated.” Juries lacked the education and sensitivity to recognize that the female survivor’s instinct indicated that this time the batterer intended murder, more than the previous battering. Further, the woman’s reticence to act against the abusive mate is demonstrated in the time she refrained from taking action against him. If ever expert testimony about abused women’s psychology is needed, it is in defense of battered women who kill to save their own or their children’s lives.

  Your Best Defense Is the Truth

  If you are charged with a crime after an act of self defense, your job and the job of your defense team is to show the jury the truth—the information and details that prove you acted in response to an unavoidable threat of death or crippling injury at the hands of an assailant who was committing a crime against you. Entire responsibility for the incident must be shown to rest with the perpetrator. Elements of the defense should include specific information about your training—both marksmanship training and studies in rightful use of lethal force.

  Verify that you faced a deadly threat. Demonstrate that you were forced to choose between your life and his. From your first report to the responding officer through testimony in the courtroom, you must always tell the truth. Lies and exaggerations will be uncovered, and if one falsehood is revealed every subsequent statement made becomes dubious. Your justified act of self defense will be tarnished and forever suspect.

  Notes

  1Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network, LLC., P. O. Box 400, Onalaska, WA 98570 360-978-5200 www.armedcitizen-snetwork.org

  2Browne, Angela, When Battered Women Kill, The Free Press, Division of Macmillan, Inc., 1987 pp. 11, 12. Further study: in additional to the above title, home-study resources include The Ayoob Files, available from Police Book-shelf, 800-624-9049 and Ayoob’s ongoing column The “Ayoob Files” in American Handgunner magazine, 619-297-8032. Also contact the Lethal Force Institute, P. O. Box 122, Concord, NH 03302, www.ayoob.com.

  Afterword

  Two words have received extensive use throughout the foregoing pages: “victim” and “survivor.” As this book concludes, take a minute to think about these terms and about yourself. The word “victim” indicates one to whom something is done. The term does not suggest any effective preemptive or defensive action, instead conveying that the person to whom the term is applied is the victim of actions against which she was unwilling or powerless to defend herself.

  When “survivor” is used
in a sentence, the implication is less black and white. A survivor may have suffered injuries, yet overcome them. Survival occurs on many levels: physical, emotional, spiritual and mental, though the latter are often overlooked in our Western society’s preoccupation with the tangible.

  Leaders in the field of armed self defense correctly hesitate to employ the term “victor” in describing those who face deadly danger and prevail. It has been suggested that no one “wins” when the worst happens and good people have no alternative but to use lethal force. This view, however, fails to acknowledge the triumphs of preemptive action, of alert avoidance, of verbal intervention and all the other force options we’ve discussed as ways to avoid criminal attack.

  I don’t think I could overstate the value of a feminine attitude that, while not seeking out dangers, personi?es a woman who is ready, able and willing to use defensive force to prevent injury and abuse to herself and her family. Beyond attitude and belief, this mindset takes form in physical activities such training, personal safety and crime prevention measures, and always remaining alert to unpredictable risks.

  This kind of woman is a survivor. Be that survivor.

  Keep your head up, keep your spirits up. Stay alert and aware; stay safe.

  Table of Contents

  FOREWORD BY MASSAD AYOOB