SLC police investigating deadly shooting; CCW holder was the shooter

[Python2]

Originally Posted by RomanDad

Its a bad shoot.

Its a bad shoot indeed. He should have hold fire and waited to see what he was pulling out of his pack.

[Quietpi]

I agree with most -- we don't have enough information. Assuming that there wasn't more of a threat than the article reveals, then I consider it a bad shoot no matter what the prosecutor decides to do. S/he may even decide that the shooting was not justified, but also believe that s/he'll never get a jury to convict the shooter under the circumstances.

Another possibility -- Given the public support that may well arise for the shooter, the prosecutor could elect to take it to a grand jury, and go for an indictment, thereby taking some of the political heat off him/her.

Not true that in California a shooter will be arrested in all cases regardless of the circumstances. Given the parties' prior actions, to the extent that we know them, the police may well not have thought that they had sufficient "reasonable cause" to effect an arrest before more investigation was conducted. Were I a prosecutor, faced with the facts to the extent that we know them right now, I would want to know a lot more, like toxicology reports for instance. That's going to take a couple weeks.

I'm glad the shooter wasn't arrested, but he certainly is not "out of the woods" yet.

[Justaguy]

My experience with newspaper accounts of anything are:

1. they don't include all the facts.
or
2. The facts they provide are wrong.

Keeping that in mind, IF what the paper reported is correct (snicker), IMHO it doesn't look like a reasonable person with the same information and in the same situation would have come to the same conclusions...

[TripleT]

From what was in the original post, this could go number of different ways and it will likely hinge on the judge, the jury and the defense attorney. You can argue the "facts" and "the law" all day long but a bad attorney can screw up a good case and a good attorney can win a bad case.

I will submit that handled correctly and with a reasonable judge and jury, it will likely be decided on what the attorney can convince the jury was the shooter's perception of the situation and there's no way we can know that...

Now if the DA decides not to charge the shooter, then he just won the lotto, IMHO...

[Ken_In_Colo]

Originally Posted by FiringLion

Do I understand this as:
the July 6 2008 article quoted the handout?
or
I took a Utah CCW course where the July 6 2008 article was a handout?

In either case I agree:

The paragraph I quoted, regarding not having to wait for the attack to come, comes from The Legal Aspects Of Self-Defense, by D.R. Browning. It was Xerox copy of what looked like a magazine article, which was one of several handouts in the Utah CCW class I attended this past March. I do not know when the article was written nor do I know the publication in which it was originally published. The article seemed to be a generic self defense piece, only mentioning Texas as an exception to the use of deadly force and "standing your ground", however, since the CCW instructor included it as a handout, he probably felt it was germane to Utah.

[FiringLion]

Originally Posted by Ken_In_Colo

The paragraph I quoted, regarding not having to wait for the attack to come, comes from The Legal Aspects Of Self-Defense, by D.R. Browning. It was Xerox copy of what looked like a magazine article, which was one of several handouts in the Utah CCW class I attended this past March. I do not know when the article was written nor do I know the publication in which it was originally published. The article seemed to be a generic self defense piece, only mentioning Texas as an exception to the use of deadly force and "standing your ground", however, since the CCW instructor included it as a handout, he probably felt it was germane to Utah.

Thanks Ken_In_Colo, I appreciate the clarification - I just wasn't sure what you meant.
Anyone else familiar with the Browning book?

[Greg-Dawg®]

UPDATE: Shooter was cleared...and no, he doesn't play guitar.

Link.

DA clears security guard in fatal shooting
By Erin Alberty
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 07/31/2008 04:47:27 PM MDT

Posted: 4:46 PM- Salt Lake County prosecutors have decided not to press charges in a fatal shooting last month outside Mama's Plantation restaurant.
Michael James Mays was shot dead July 9 outside the restaurant, 1394 S. West Temple, during an altercation with off-duty security guard George Harrison.
In a statement released Thursday, Salt Lake County prosectors wrote that Harrison had good reason to believe he was in danger when he shot Mays.
"Mr. Harrison believed that Mr. Mays was reaching for a gun to shoot him," the release states. "Under the circumstances of Mr. May's verbal threats, aggressive approach toward Mr. Harrison, and action of lifting his shirt and reaching his hand toward his waistband, Mr. Harrison's belief was reasonable. The Salt Lake County District Attorneys' Office therefore declines to file any charges against Mr. Harrison arising out of this incident."

[maldos]

One down and one to go...

Interesting to follow the Civil trial. Did Mays have close family?

[YankeeDog]

I wonder what would have happened if the shooter was a SLC LEO with training far better than a security guard (hopefully). The police confront the guy, he is acting irratioinal. Police order him to put the bag down, step back and keep his hands in view over his head. Instead he reaches into the bag.......

Fill in the rest yourselves.

my .02
YD

[X-ffdo]

That guy was lucky he was in SLC.
Some parts of California, say the bay area, just because he was packing, he must have been a bad guy. Those with a badge excepted, then if he had a badge it is automatically assumed he must have been ok.
Info manipulation or just talking to the herd!!!!

[NSP]

Originally Posted by YankeeDog

I wonder what would have happened if the shooter was a SLC LEO

Then the article would have been a small blurb in the police blotter about an officer defending himself.