Although not as old as the “Castle Doctrine”, there is general principle of law that one may not resist a police officer. Any issues surrounding the appropriateness of the officer’s conduct can be reviewed later. There is a general consensus that to allow otherwise would breed contempt for the rule of law and lead to unnecessary violence....
There is also a practical consideration in not allowing a castle doctrine defense in police-homeowner confrontations. The law as to when the police may enter a home (either with or without a warrant) is very complex. For an ordinary person to understand what police conduct is lawful and what is not is mostly beyond their knowledge. There are nuances to the law. A person may believe that the officer’s conduct is unlawful, when in fact it is perfectly acceptable. I did twenty years in the NYPD, the public perception of police work is woefully misguided, too much education by television. And these perceptions will carry over into real life, with real consequences.
If the law is too complicated, too “nuanced” to permit an average citizen to judge whether the jack-booted thugs of the police state have the power to kick down your door, perhaps we need to revist those “complex” laws and simplifiy them – considerably.
“…one may ...
No comments:
Post a Comment