Q:

 A buddy of mine and I had a disagreement today about when to use lethal force on someone who has BROKEN into your house. I said that since my doors are locked, he would have to actually break in and would be fair game. What is your input?

A.

There are some legal grey areas still on this depending on where you live.  In some states you still have a duty to retreat.

Fortunately, in many states there still exists a strong concept of "Your Home is Your Castle". We don't have to show an effort to retreat here in Phoenix. Plus, a violent or "tumultuous" entry is usually evidence prima facia that someone is entering your home with ill intent.

Still, the test that you are going to face is, would an objective person put in your shoes under the same circumstances known to you at the time see your actions as "reasonable"?

Maybe you didn't have the doors locked like you thought. Or, like what happened to my buddy, a guy was found in my friend's house in the middle of the night. Did my friend waste him? No, turns out the guy was an Alzheimer's patient and somehow managed to walk in through an unlocked garage door. In that case, my friend would have been unreasonable if he used lethal force on the guy.

However, you need to be prepared to defend yourself against a stranger who is busting in your doors or windows to get inside.

Personally, I'm arming myself, calling 911 while my wife takes the kids to a safe area as I prepare to repel boarders.

Tactically, I will either send my family upstairs and will defend the staircase or I will send my family to a back bedroom and I will defend the hallway. I want the bad guys to stack up in one or the other funnels.

Once when I thought we were facing a threat from someone outside my home I mistakenly unlocked the front door and went outside to investigate. Upon further reflection, we decided that I'll never do that again. We will stay buttoned up and not breach our defenses. I have the ability to go out on an upstairs deck to observe the back yard without opening any ground floor doors.

Whether you use a handgun, shotgun or carbine, you should consider putting a weapon mounted light on it. You're going to need to light up and identify your target before you shoot. They are expensive, but put them on your defensive firearms -- particularly long guns.

If you are going to use just a handgun, then get a small flashlight that you can use with your handgun in a Harries hold and which can double as an impact weapon.

I'm praying that you and I will never have to resort to this, but home invasions are on the increase. The bad guys usually get more money and stuff from a home invasion than they get from simple armed robberies, plus there is more privacy in your home than out on the street by the ATM, etc.

For more clarification regarding these legal questions in your area, you should contact a knowledgeable attorney.


Good luck.

Brad Parker