Originally posted on 04/15/2021:

Quote Originally Posted by Wrongside View Post
Truly, I'm not saying this as a cute political or rhetorical point, but does anyone remember hearing over and over again when they were a kid:
"stop or I'll shoot" ??
Either when we were playing games or on the TV - it was implied that if you ran, perhaps run in a zig-zag direction cause the officer is going to shoot....
First the phrase was used in fake TV shows and does not mimic real life. But on TV the perp was not running away, they were running towards the officer. The officer would say stop or take one more step and I'll shoot. Not shooting someone in the back. That shit didn't fly back in the wild wild west.

Texas law is fairly sketchy if someone burglarizes your house and you see them fleeing. Can you use deadly force? Maybe. The law says if you think you are not in a position to retrieve your stolen property that you can use deadly force but who defines you not being able to retrieve it? How do you really know they stole something from your property? They could be just trespassing and you cannot shoot someone just for trespassing. So most likely, you are going to go to trial where a jury will decide if you could not retrieve the property later. Good luck putting your freedom in the hands of 12 people. It's much easier to let the person go. You shoot that person and they don't die, they or their gang friend may come knocking one ay. Or you might go to jail over something most likely replaceable.

Shooting someone fleeing is very tough to justify. Doesn't matter if you are a police officer.