

18-1-705. Use of physical force in defense of premises
A person in possession or control of any building, realty, or other premises, or a person who is licensed or privileged to be thereon, is justified in using reasonable and appropriate physical force upon another person when and to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to prevent or terminate what he reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted commission of an unlawful trespass by the other person in or upon the building, realty, or premises. However, he may use deadly force only in defense of himself or another as described in section 18-1-704, or when he reasonably believes it necessary to prevent what he reasonably believes to be an attempt by the trespasser to commit first degree arson.
Canada
Man faces jail after protecting home from masked attackers
Tamsin McMahon | Jan 20, 2011 9:20 PM ET | Last Updated: Aug 5, 2011 5:42 PM ET
More from Tamsin McMahon | @tamsinmcmahon
Ian Thomson moved to a rural homestead in Southwestern Ontario to lead a quiet life investing in a little fixer-upper. Then his neighbour’s chickens began showing up on his property. He warned his neighbour, then killed one of the birds.
The incident began six years of trouble for Mr. Thomson that culminated early one Sunday morning last August when the 53-year-old former mobile-crane operator woke up to the sound of three masked men firebombing his Port Colborne, Ont., home.
“I was horrified,” he said. “I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t know what was happening. I had no idea what was going on.”
So Mr. Thomson, a former firearms instructor, grabbed one of his Smith & Wesson revolvers from his safe, loaded it and headed outside dressed in only his underwear.
“He exited his house and fired his revolver two, maybe three times, we’re not sure. Then these firebombing culprits, they ran off,” said his lawyer, Edward Burlew.
His surveillance cameras caught the attackers lobbing at least six Molotov cocktails at his house and bombing his doghouse, singeing one of his Siberian Huskies. But when Mr. Thomson handed the video footage to Niagara Regional Police, he found himself charged with careless use of a firearm.
The local Crown attorney’s office later laid a charge of pointing a firearm, along with two counts of careless storage of a firearm. The Crown has recommended Mr. Thomson go to jail, his lawyer said.
His collection of seven guns, five pistols and two rifles was seized, along with his firearms licence. Mr. Thomson said he lives in fear that his attackers will return and has taken to arming himself with a fire extinguisher.
“I don’t have enemies,” said the soft-spoken man, who now studies environmental geosciences full-time at Brock University after being injured in a workplace accident. “I don’t know that many people. I’m a quiet man. I just want to go back to my life and be able to live out my days in relative peace.”
Mr. Thomson’s is the latest in a series of high-profile cases in which people have been charged after defending their homes and businesses against criminals. Central Alberta farmer Brian Knight became a local hero after shooting a thief who was trying to steal his ATV. He pleaded guilty to criminal negligence earlier this month. In October, Toronto shopkeeper David Chen was acquitted of forcible confinement charges after he tied up a repeat shoplifter and demanded he stop raiding his grocery store.
Their cases are renewing calls for Canada to introduce a version of the “Castle Doctrine” found in many U.S. states, which allows citizens to defend their property with force.
“I hear some people, some being police officers, some being Crown attorneys, some being ordinary people, say we don’t want vigilantism, to which I can only give an emphatic pardon me?” Mr. Burlew said. “When you’re under attack, it’s not a vigilante act. Vigilantism talks about vengeance and retribution. This is about saving your life and saving your property.
“I’m sure that will be recognized at trial, but why would a citizen, where it’s so obvious that what he was doing was protecting himself during a continued attack, be put to the expense of a trial? It’s demeaning.”
Canada allows people to claim self-defence for using force, including guns, to protect their life as long as the force is reasonable and they believe they have no other options.
“If the public are wondering can you run out of your house and [fire a handgun at an intruder], the bottom line is, according to the laws of Canada, no, you can’t,” said Constable Nilan Dave of the Niagara Regional Police Service, which charged Mr. Thomson. “That’s why the courts are there, to give a person an opportunity to explain their actions.”
Mr. Burlew, a Toronto-area lawyer whose practice mainly consists of firearms-related charges, said he is trying to hire a psychiatrist to prove that Mr. Thomson feared for his life when he grabbed his revolver. A target shooter and hunting-safety instructor, Mr. Thomson had the skill to shoot his attackers if he’d wanted to, Mr. Burlew said, but missed on purpose.
Police said no one was injured in the shooting and the attackers got into a car and sped off. They charged Randy Weaver, 48, of Port Colborne, and Justin Lee, 19, of Welland, with arson in December, alleging the men and a third suspect “intentionally set the home on fire while the homeowner was inside.”
Mr. Thomson’s neighbour, who had received a suspended sentence for uttering threats against Mr. Thomson in 2007, has not been charged in connection with the attack on his house.
Mr. Thomson said he has added extra security to his home after the firebombing and hardly sleeps anymore. The charges, he said, have destroyed him.
“This is just an absolute nightmare, this whole thing,” he said. “People need to know that this is what can happen to you and which side of the victim line do you want to stand on? Lying down dead or in court? That’s the way it seems it has to go.”
National Post
tmcmahon@nationalpost.com
And it probably cost him about $50,000 to be "acquitted" when he never should have been arrested in the first place.MrJonno wrote:A 10 second google shows the Canadian was acquitted, strangely enough the police probably went on the assumption that he was lying the burden of proof is not with the police when they arrest someone that comes later with the courts
Yes he should have. It's the law.Seth wrote:And it probably cost him about $50,000 to be "acquitted" when he never should have been arrested in the first place.MrJonno wrote:A 10 second google shows the Canadian was acquitted, strangely enough the police probably went on the assumption that he was lying the burden of proof is not with the police when they arrest someone that comes later with the courts
The point is that Canadian law sucks big hairy balls in this regard. Nobody whose house is being firebombed should have to worry for one second about being prosecuted for shooting and killing the perpetrators. But, it's Canada, so who gives a fuck, really. They are all enslaved sheeple so they get what they deserve.Făkünamę wrote:Yes he should have. It's the law.Seth wrote:And it probably cost him about $50,000 to be "acquitted" when he never should have been arrested in the first place.MrJonno wrote:A 10 second google shows the Canadian was acquitted, strangely enough the police probably went on the assumption that he was lying the burden of proof is not with the police when they arrest someone that comes later with the courts
He was an idiot and a nutcase and he got what he deserved, and now he's a crispy critter.Tero wrote:Better stick to guns when you can't drive a boat:
(Dorner)
"The attempt failed when the bow line of the boat became caught in the boat's propeller, and the suspect fled," according to the affidavit by inspector U.S. Marshal Craig McClusky.
Crime
Heroic ‘Super Dad’ Dies Protecting His 11-Year-Old Daughter From Armed Home Invaders
Feb. 13, 2013 4:00pm Jason Howerton
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A heroic father is dead after he tried to protect his 11-year-old daughter from two heavily armed men during a home invasion.
Police say the incident occurred late Tuesday night in Miami after two black males entered the home with the intent to rob. The dad, identified as Maurice Harris, 36, jumped up and fought the suspects when they attempted to enter his 11-year-old daughter’s bedroom. The dad was fatally shot “several times” during the scuffle.
Certainly a father and husband’s worst nightmare, the two armed men also held Harris’ wife at gunpoint during the home invasion, according to the victim’s mother-in-law Annie Streeter.
“One of the guys tried to get to his daughter’s room, he jumped up and they were fighting back and forth,” Streeter told WSVN-TV. “I guess that’s when the gun went off.”
Harris was transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“We call these two men beasts. These men are beasts…They storm inside the house. A little girl was asleep when she was surprised by the gunfire. The father was just trying to protect her,” a spokeswoman from Miami police told the Miami Herald.
Neighbors are recognizing Harris as a real hero. “Unfortunately, he died but he’s super dad,” Terry Jones told WSVN-TV. “I hope I have that much courage if something like that would’ve happened to me.”
Yes. We get a very low murder rate per capita. We deserve it.Seth wrote:The point is that Canadian law sucks big hairy balls in this regard. Nobody whose house is being firebombed should have to worry for one second about being prosecuted for shooting and killing the perpetrators. But, it's Canada, so who gives a fuck, really. They are all enslaved sheeple so they get what they deserve.Făkünamę wrote:Yes he should have. It's the law.Seth wrote:And it probably cost him about $50,000 to be "acquitted" when he never should have been arrested in the first place.MrJonno wrote:A 10 second google shows the Canadian was acquitted, strangely enough the police probably went on the assumption that he was lying the burden of proof is not with the police when they arrest someone that comes later with the courts
Crime
Burglar Breaks Into Home of Armed Off-Duty Sheriff’s Deputy — And It’s the Last Thing He Ever Did
Feb. 13, 2013 11:10pm Jason Howerton
An off-duty sheriff’s deputy in Fort Washington, Maryland fatally shot a man he found breaking into his home Tuesday night, according to Prince George’s County police. The deputy has reportedly been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident, WJLA-TV reports.
The deputy arrived home at around 11 p.m. Tuesday to find his front door busted open. He quickly realized that a suspected burglar was in his home so he pulled out his firearm and confronted the home intruder.
“He had a confrontation with the suspect which led to the homeowner shooting the suspect,” Cpl. Larry Johnson said.
The off-duty deputy shot the burglary suspect inside the home but he then ran outside after he was hit, police said. It was unclear whether he died at the scene or was pronounced dead at the hospital.
“There is a very strong argument for home owners if they are inside their home. There is a strong presumption that they fear for their safety if they end up shooting a suspect,”Lt. William Alexander of the Prince George’s Police Department said.
The Alexandria Sheriff’s Office has not identified the deputy, but did confirm he has been placed on administrative leave pending completion of an investigation into the incident. Officials say the deputy killed the suspect with a gun that was not his service weapon.
Police identified the dead suspected burglar as 20-year-old Jon Adgrain Pocknett of Indian Head, Maryland.
Another question that remains to be answered is whether the burglary suspect was armed. Police are also investigating whether one or more additional suspects were at the house.
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