Don’t Make a Stupid “Heat of the Moment” Mistake

By now you should know that when it comes to armed self defense, it’s usually not the shooting itself that trips you up legally. More often than not, it’s what you do afterward that gets you in hot water.

Assuming you have made your 911 call, kept it brief, and limited your information to the essentials we gave you, your second call should be to arrange legal representation.

While you may be absolutely certain that you have done nothing wrong, you need representation anyway. This isn’t about being right or wrong, it’s about avoiding mistakes and protecting your rights.

Ideally, you will be able to call a competent attorney nearby who has experience dealing with criminal cases and knows the laws related to firearms and self defense.

Assuming you don’t get voice mail (few attorneys answer outside of business hours) and you have money for a retainer, your attorney will advise you to say nothing and assert your 5th Amendment rights until he or she can meet with you personally and take on your case.

Note for Second Call Defense Members Only:

As a member of Second Call Defense, you don’t have to worry about arranging legal representation at a moment when you’re upset, confused, and scared. Your membership benefits operate as a ready-to-go plan that you can activate with one phone call.

The Second Call Defense Emergency Legal Hotline is a private number printed on your membership card. This hotline is manned by an experienced criminal defense attorney 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week, including all holidays.

You can call from any location in the United States for immediate assistance.

Explain what happened. The Second Call Defense Attorney will help you interact with police. If necessary, you can hand the phone to police and the attorney can speak with them directly. This means you do not have to deal with police alone. We will be there with you to guide and advise.

In addition, we will immediately notify your emergency contacts, arrange for legal representation in the jurisdiction of the shooting, wire an attorney retainer, set up a bail bond if necessary, and take care of any other details.

Apart from calling the emergency number, there is nothing for you to remember, do, or worry about. Everything will be done for you immediately the moment you call us and we will continue to assist throughout the entire process until you are released, found not guilty, or charges are dropped.

How to deal with police on the scene
Just as calling 911 takes a certain amount of emotional control and discipline in order to avoid saying too much or saying the wrong thing, such is the case when speaking to responding police. The rule of thumb is be courteous and cooperative, but limit your comments to the bare minimum.

Here’s what you should say when speaking to police:

• Officer, this person attacked me.
• I will sign the complaint.
• Here is the evidence (whatever tool the assailant used to attack you).
• These are the witnesses (if there are any).
• You will have my full cooperation within 24 hours after I meet with my attorney. Until then, I wish to assert my 5th Amendment right and remain silent.

Every self defense situation is different. It is impossible to predict how local authorities will react to your particular situation. However, you should mentally and emotionally prepare to be arrested and taken to jail. In some jurisdictions, the police will arrest anyone who shoots another person regardless of the circumstances. So don’t be surprised or alarmed if this happens.

Once a police officer makes the decision to arrest you, there is nothing you can say to avoid going to jail. Don’t argue. Don’t try to plead your case. Just SHUT UP!

Cooperate fully with all police commands, but say nothing more about the attack.

This is an excerpt from our Free Report, 7
Proven Strategies to Survive the Legal Aftermath of Armed Self Defense. Click here to request a copy.