Quote:Negative.  If you shoot someone on your property and you say that it was in self defense, there is no DA that will indict you unless their is evidence to the contrary.  The "authorities" aren't going to jail.  Its the individual officer.

 

And you're wrong again.  An officer's word carries more weight than your average joe in court.  An officer usually loses his job if caught up in a lie in court or even just lying to his bosses about who spilled coffee in the patrol car.  The reason being is that a defense attorney will pick apart any officer's testimony if he has ever shown to be untruthful in the past.  Every case the cop has that goes to court will be dismissed in the future. 

 

Being held to a higher standard because of a position of authority doesn't change the weight of legality in a prosecution. The word of any suspect, officer or not, is not evidence. 

 

If I shoot someone on my property and claim self defense they first confiscate my weapon and then open an investigation. Based upon that investigation the DA decides weather on not to press any charges. That's not the same as me shooting someone and saying self defense case closed.

 

The officer shot an unarmed man, it's on the authorities to prove their was justification for lethal force. That's the law. 

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