DISCUSSION: What can a person LEGALLY do if they feel they're being followed and their life ....

[uponit7771]

DISCUSSION: What can a person LEGALLY do if they feel they're being followed and their life is in danger?

I'm thinking...yell fire...don't yell help because people will be reluctant to help


your suggestion?


Jus trying to get something positive out of this

regards

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Yelling Fire works

But I don't think we should run or struggle. Just take the bullet and hope its not fatal.

[HiPointDem]

13. yeah, because if you hit your stalker that means he has carte blanche to kill you. and then

smear you as a 'vicious killer' when you're dead.

[JustAnotherGen]

15. You got it!

I've learned my lesson - take the bullet and hope they get to me in time so I can explain my pot use was six years ago, I've never had v.d, I've never been a suspect in a crime let alone arrested, I've never been on welfare, and I'm not fucking punk.

[mstinamotorcity2]

2. Change

Skin colors and by all means don't drink fruit drinks or consume candy while doing so/ n/t

[Blackford]

3. Use a gun?

At least in Florida that seems the only recourse anybody has since in any trial the prosecution will have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you did not believe your life was threatened.

[bluestate10]

27. Fundamentally, that is what it boils down to. In addition, since events leading up

to the confrontation is not admissible as evidence in Florida and you are the only one to survive the encounter, pull out the "I feared for my life" defense and walk free.

[uponit7771]

39. +1

[BainsBane]

29. Only if you're white

[SoCalMusicLover]

35. Bingo!

Unless of course, you're black. Then you're probably going to get arrested and be facing 15-life.

[TDale313]

4. There's the problem.

There's no answer.

[randome]

5. Don't die, apparently. If you do then you take the blame.

[hr][font color="blue"][center]You should never stop having childhood dreams.[/center][/font][hr]

[JustAnotherGen]

16. +1

[TexasProgresive]

6. Shoot 'em!

But only if you're white and they are not.

[NoOneMan]

7. Depends on their skin color

[jwirr]

8. Maybe it would have worked to call 911? Of course they had Z on their private line already so

I wonder if they would have listened?

[bluestate10]

25. Such a call being logged by Martin may not have resulted in him not being killed,

but it would have been such a critical piece of evidence that Martin feared for his safety, that there would have been no way that it could have been excluded from the trial. And that evidence would have likely resulted in a different result.

One common rule of thumb is that if you are being followed, look for a well lit place that hopefully has other people around. Failing finding a safe place, don't confront the stalker, keep running and calling 911.

[Ikonoklast]

9. You better submit to the armed lunatic who already thinks you are a criminal.

Or he can kill you and get away with it.

[MH1]

10. Serious answer: try to get to a place where there are witnesses and good light.

(while yelling Fire! or something to draw attention)

I realize that's a shitty answer because many times it won't be possible. What if Trayvon had run back to the store? Would he have been gunned down before he got into a lit area? If he walked he may still not have been able to avoid the confrontation.

However, that is always my plan - make sure there are witnesses. When I am alone in a dark area that is unfamiliar to me, I try to be cognizant of my escape route, i.e. where is the closest well-lit place where there will be people. Of course, that wouldn't have helped Trayvon, because he wasn't really in an unfamiliar area, he was somewhere most of use would have assumed to be safe.

[msongs]

11. same thing one should do if stopped by a "police" person nt

[YarnAddict]

12. Run.

Run home, if you're close, lock the door behind you, and call the cops.

Run to a place where there are other people.

Run into a well-lit place.

Call 911 on your cell phone.

[pnwmom]

14. I know he probably didn't trust the police, but he could have called 911

or asked his girlfriend to do so while he kept running.

[Horse with no Name]

22. I vaguely remember hearing at one point

that his girlfriend did call 911...but I am not sure where I read it or if it was even true.

[SoCalMusicLover]

36. His Girlfriend

She was so wonderful as a witness. She should be proud of how she represented her former boyfriend.

She's a definite keeper. Someone will be lucky to get her.

[bettyellen]

44. because female teenage witnesses really give a fuck about how you rate their desirability?

You sir, are not a "keeper".

[kestrel91316]

17. What can they do in FL? Prepare to die.

Because the guy with the gun will ALWAYS be seen to be the aggrieved and heroic victim.

[moondust]

18. Die quickly. n/t

[forgotmylogin]

19. Yell "Please stop following me", stay out of arm's reach, and show your empty hands at your sides.

Keep distance between you and your antagonist and your hands in sight.

Engage them verbally only. "I mean you no harm. Do you have a reason to be following me? Please stay back. I am calling the police with my cell phone."

If they don't identify or explain fully and you still feel uncomfortable. Run and yell for help. Do not let them get near you.

[PD Turk]

20. It depends

If you are underage and unable to carry a firearm , run like hell.

If you are of legal age, arm yourselves. I know, it sounds like the "wild west" and I really wish things were different, but, it is what it is. If that's how they want it, then maybe we should oblige them.

If they insist on being able to go "thug hunting" , maybe having a target that shoots back would make them think twice about it

[bluestate10]

24. "thug hunting" is going to result in a lot of dead thug hunters. True criminals

are going to arm themselves to the teeth and won't take a chance with wannabe cops. The bad outcome from the mindset that the Zimmerman case outcome has brought forward is that more cops will die while just trying to do their jobs, and more non law enforcement innocent people will be slain under questionable circumstances.

[PD Turk]

38. I know

It looks like its just going to be one of those things that will have to get worse before it has a chance to get better.

[uponit7771]

40. +1

[Horse with no Name]

21. Yell "rape"?

Very loudly.

[BainsBane]

30. No

[bluestate10]

23. You raise a valid question if a person lives in states where the castle doctrine or it's

variants is law. Fundamentally, in many of those states, a person can follow you across the state before you turn to fight him or her, and if they kill you during that encounter, they get off free. All the killer has to claim is that at some point during the fight, he or she feared for his or her life. The laws that allow such an outcome are pure insanity and just one more illustration of what happens with republicans in control of the law making mechanisms.

[LittleBlue]

26. Run, yell, call the police

That's all I can think of.

[Egalitarian Thug]

28. As a white, middle aged man, I can just blow their fucking head off.

As for what those of you that don't look like me can do, I guess you could run.

(sort of)

[blm]

31. What is someone not old enough to own a gun taught to do by child safety officers?

Therein lies the entire problem with the way the case's narrative was allowed to play out in court.

Young people are taught to trust their fear instinct when confronted by the situation that Martin was in - being followed by an adult stranger for no reason then the adult stranger gets close enough to grab you and you fear their intentions.

Young people are not allowed to own guns - they are taught to use their physical selves in that situation and to fight, punch, kick, scream in hopes that the startled adult stranger would turn and rush off.

Last night's verdict made it legal for armed adults to target young people for any bad intention they have in mind for them, and get away with it by making sure they can present a few scratches and a bloody nose and call it self-defense when they shoot them.

That's the bottom line to the entire case.

[Quixote1818]

32. I carry pepper spray simply because I don't want to kill someone on accident

but I do want some protection.

[matt819]

33. Despite the anti-police attitude here

If you're feeling threatened, call 911 and make it very clear you're under threat. Think about it. If Martin or his friend had called the police, this might have turned out differently.

[uponit7771]

42. That's if you feel that the police are there to protect you, in certain areas they're not. We were

...taught to protect ourselves from the police by walking in twos and turning on cell phones during stops.

[Niceguy1]

34. don't throw

First punch...or start a confrontation. Run anf attempt of remove yourself from the situation.

[flvegan]

37. Keep moving, call the police and keep them on the line until they arrive.

Announce that you have the police on the phone, put it on speaker and while on speaker, start taking video of the person following you. Upload the video, delete (depending on how much data storage you have), start recording again.

Other options exist, but I'll leave them out of it to keep it positive and not start fights.

[geek tragedy]

41. Depends on their skin color and the skin color of the person following them.

That's not the way the law is written, but that's the way the law is.

[Blackford]

43. If you are white, you can legally kill your stalker

If you are black, you die.

[Nye Bevan]

45. Dial 911 on your cellphone and get out of there ASAP.

While the dispatcher is on the line, so everything is being recorded, run as quickly as possible to a public place like a gas station or supermarket.

[Lee-Lee]

46. If you are just being followed..

#1, get to where people are. Even if they are reluctant to help, they become a witness. Predators hate a witness. If nit at least stay in open, well lit areas and be noisy to attract attention.

#2 get inside your residence if you can and are close. A locked door buys you some security, and it gives you stronger legal footing in most states (and with most juries if it comes to that) should you need to use force against the predator.

#3- call 911. Start help on the way, stay on the line, make it known to the person that you have called 911. This means a recording of the rest of the encounter is being made and this is key.

#4- know the self defense laws in your state, and be prepared to resist with force if the person escalates the encounter. I teach CCW and encourage all women that can do so to be armed, but I recognize some are not comfortable with guns or have a moral objection. Second best is a taser (not a stun gun) if it is not banned in your state, after that pepper spray (if not banned in your state), or at a minimum some sort of key chain designed as a striking weapon- but this is worst case as it requires you be within arms reach of the person. The cops will be on the way if you called, but on the way is still not there.

[hack89]

47. Call 911? Run to a public area? Knock on someone's door and ask for help? nt