mikefeld asked this question on 4/5/2000:

How can the general public learn what amount of force is acceptable for self-defense and/or defending family members from attackers? A girl from our church was almost raped and her brother used a knife to stop the attacker, stabbing him twice (the attacker lived). The second stab was considered excessive force. I have read stories of police shooting criminals two or more times and the criminals don't go down. Does a victim have to be injured before one is legally allowed to use force to escape/avoid being maimed or killed?

Sweetwater_Deputy gave this response on 4/5/2000:

Well, you have to understand that the Police are bound by the same constraints as any normal person when it comes to stopping a violent attack or defending another person. The courts have ruled that a person can use the "necessary" force to STOP an attack or to precent a life threat to another or on themselves. Basically what this means is you are allowed to use force to protect yourself from bodily harm or death up to the point where it stops the threat. Most Police Officers will tell you that they do not shoot someone to kill them, by no means. We are taught to shoot to stop a threat. If the shooting ends up in death, then that is just the risk. Any amount of force that goes beyond stopping will be considered excessive. Who judges what is excessive? Judges and courts.. thats it. An officer can be charged, as well as can a normal citizen, with negligent homicide if excessive force is beleived to be used, however the judge and jury are the final arbitrators of whether it was excessive or reasonable. Basically what it boils down to is that you can't know from one minute to the next what is reasonable or not.. you can only attempt to do what is right at the time, and hope that justice finds its way into what is right and wrong.

Hope this helps.

mikefeld asked this follow-up question on 4/6/2000:

I would like to collect some information on how people can avoid being a victim of a violent crime and not end up end jail, trapped with the kind of criminals they were defending themselves from in the first place. Do you have any suggestions on researching court rulings about these cases or what laws govern court decisions? Thank you!

Sweetwater_Deputy gave this response on 4/7/2000:

Well,

it is hard to direct you in any specific direction on how to find this information. It would pretty much be hit and miss as far as finding court rulings dealing with this issue. However I am sure they are out there. I would suggest going to this site to start with, it is excellent as far as finding court rulings for US Supreme and State Supreme court rulings,

http://www.findlaw.com/

Also I would call your local Attorney General's office or maybe even your local Prosecuting Attorney's office and ask them for somewhere to look, I am sure they would be willing to help in any way they can. I would also check with any local Fraternal Order of Police information sites or national ones, for they commonly defend officers against law suits dealing with this issue also. I am sure they would be able to direct you in the right direction.

Thanks for the questions.

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mikefeld rated this answer a 4.