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You guys need to go back and watch the video again. Then take an hour and watch it again. Try to put it in context. The guy no doubt said something racially derogative to the woman. She was pissed. Duuhh. She gets all up in the guys face and he and her are yelling at each other. When her boyfriend shows up he gets real sheepish. Uh, where's my phone? Uh. Uh. He was now in the middle of a confrontation with two pissed people whom he pissed off. What is he doing looking down at the ground or at his phone? If he was so fearing for his life why didn't he walk or run away? Could he not at any point have tried to leave? Did he put his hands up and say 'Sorry man, I didn't mean it' Looked to me like he knew what was going to happen. I counted 6 punches. Agreed, a couple were doozies. No one else in that room was fearing for their lives. No one walked or ran away or even screamed. The store manager even gets the guys attention and tells him to leave. The big guy didn't punch him or make any move towards anyone else.
All of the statutes that have been quoted put some onus on the affected person to try to get away, except if you are in your own home. Watch the video again, if you were the guy in the red shirt and pulled a gun from your waistband and shot him dead, do you honestly think that would be considered justifiable homicide? Do you know all the facts - maybe these two had a running fued - maybe they had fought before - maybe they guy who got beat up was an ex-con too- you don't know - but hey, you don't care and it doesn't matter, he's dead. You would not be a hero. You would be going to jail. The states attorney would press charges. You would stand trial. There would be people on the jury like me who would try to see both sides.
Don't get me wrong. I am certainly not defending anybodies actions here. How can you defend somebody beating someone else up. Ever see cops break up a fight between two guys with no weapons? They usually let them fight until somebody goes down on the ground and it isn't a fight anymore. It's a cruel world. It is something that the average person does not see often and is repulsed. Police officers see stuff like this all the time. They are much better judges of how things start, how they escalate and how they end than the average joe. That doesn't make them heroes either.
If she was in uniform, I doubt there would have been a fight then and there. If she was off duty- who knows what would have been done.. Anybody who says they know what they would have done is just spouting off, you just don't know till you're there.
BTW, no, she is not required to carry her gun on her person at all times.
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