L.A. Assassin's With Badges Strike Again

[RuralEngineer]

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/13 ... g-20130514

As near as I can tell from the story, it appears the unarmed man (father of four) fell asleep across the street from a hospital, after being denied care for emotional trouble.  Somehow this lead to him being face down and beaten to death by 8 L.A. police officers.

Deadly force is authorized in the defense of your own life or that of someone else.  It's obvious that this man was being beaten to death, eight men were striking him in the head and neck.  If I'd been living nearby and fired out a window with an AR15 and saved his life, I'd like to think I'd have avoided jail time.  I'd be horribly wrong, especially in California, but it would be nice to live in a place where one could use deadly force to stop a beating like this, even if those doing the beating are cops, and not get the death penalty or life in prison.

[Pointedstick]

Isn't that the case in Indiana now? Aren't you permitted to defend yourself against unlawful attempts on your life by police with deadly force of your own?

Either way, were I on that hypothetical jury, I'd vote to acquit.

The problem is that I doubt very much that you would make it to the court room. Those thugs were all armed with more than just batons and I think they'd have broken out the big guns in response to gunfire that attempted to save the life of their victim.

[Ad Orientem]

I minor correction. These thugs weren't LAPD. They are sheriffs deputies from Kern County which is in the Central Valley well north of LA.

[RuralEngineer]

I minor correction. These thugs weren't LAPD. They are sheriffs deputies from Kern County which is in the Central Valley well north of LA.

My mistake.  I saw LAtimes and police murdering unarmed people and immediately thought of the LAPD.

[Ad Orientem]

The mistake is understandable considering the source and the LAPD's own reputation. But Kern County has its own long history of police abuse.

[MediumTex]

Those thugs were all armed with more than just batons and I think they'd have broken out the big guns in response to gunfire that attempted to save the life of their victim.

I doubt they would have done that.  They seem to prefer to find out where you are at and just burn down the structure with you inside.

[Pointedstick]

True. Same result, though: the only way you're entering the courthouse is as forensic evidence.