The homeowner told police the two men said they were police and claimed they were at the home to serve a warrant.
[The homeowner] became suspicious, because, you know, they have a ring camera too, and the suspects were saying they had a warrant, but it was just two people and they’re masked up and no police cars, no lights or anything like that," said Lt. Khan with HPD.
At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.
The homeowner was not hurt in the gunfire, but the two men were both hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
“Stringer noted that real officers do not wear ski masks.”
It’s going to be very, very interesting to see how this one turns out!
Always a good idea to be aware of lethal force rules where you live:
In this case, Houston, Texas:
https://www.houstoncriminallaw.com/blog/self-defense-or-assault-when-using-force-is-justified-under-texas-law/
"The Role of the Castle Doctrine in Texas
The Castle Doctrine is a key element of Texas self-defense laws. This principle allows individuals to use force, including deadly force, to protect themselves in their homes, vehicles, or workplaces without a duty to retreat. Under Texas law, your “castle” is considered a place where you have a legal right to be, and force may be justified when:
Someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter your home.
The intruder is committing or attempting to commit a violent act, such as robbery or assault.
You reasonably believe force is necessary to protect yourself or others.
There are some limitations to this principle. For example, the use of force is typically not justified if the intruder is retreating or if you initiated the altercation."
So, assuming the story is accurate, and remember, initial reports are almost always INACCURATE…
“At some point, police said the men shot at the homeowner through the door, prompting the homeowner to return fire.”
So, yeah, as soon as they shot through the door, Castle Doctrine is in play.
In reality, if the masked intruder you shoot happens to be a cop, then Castle Doctrine is irrelevant. You’re now a cop murderer. They’ll figure out some legal or extra-legal way to see you behind bars or dead.
Not 100% true. Though I admit it’s rare, but in Texas a man was acquitted after killing a police officer trying to break into his house. Castle-Law absolutely came into play there.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-jury-acquits-man-fatally-shot-off-duty-houston-officer-man-claimed-self-defense
This is the most recent I can find, but it’s happened several times in the past as well. It should happen more often, but unfortunately the defender rarely survives.
Standard self defense law also covers this in every US state and most countries; if someone is shooting at you and there’s no way to quickly get to a place where they can’t hit you, it’s legal to kill them to make them stop.
And what you want to say (with an attorney present) is that you used necessary force to eliminate the threat.
Shut The Fuck Up Friday
I overheard a cop at the hospital I work at kinda laughing about that: apparently it’s super common for people to plead the 5th, then proceed to run their mouth and incriminate themselves.
So, I fucking love that video for how persistent it is about ‘but then the cop keeps asking you questions’ ‘but then they bring you to the station’ and regardless of how far into the process it gets, shut the fuck up.
Funny presentation, but rock solid advice that people really do struggle with.
Not that people with guns trying to break into a house are necessarily very smart (both burglars and Nazis), but what’s the plan here? You hit the homeowner and then you just have a shot guy on the other side of a still locked door. You gotta be really dedicated to robbing that particular house this particular night to jump to do that.
I’m guessing the order of events is off. Shooting at thugs trying to break into your home and those thugs shooting at someone shooting at them makes perfect sense.
Eh, if it’s a standard door in america, a few kicks will stave it in. So they would have open access to the house in just a moment after they ensure there is one less resistor on the inside.
This is Texas we’re talking about. There, people shoot at each other just to say hello some times 🤷
Unless you’re responsible for protecting children during an active shooter situation in a school. In that case, you let the active shooter say hello to everyone while you piss yourself.
Some cops actually wear ski mask-type stuff like that when they do sting operations. Seen it myself a few times.
I want to be clear that the ski mask cops I have seen actually had badges or uniforms or some kind of identification on their person.
Badges and “identification” can be bought at dollar stores.
Nobody is going to be able to check their authenticity in the middle of a firefight, and by the time you let criminals enter your house to show you their “ID”, it’s already too late.
“Police said the two men were wearing bulletproof vests and had some sort of badge around their necks.”
The Nazis want badges alone to be enough of a signifier, but frankly anyone trying to break into your home without presenting identification and a warrant should be treated as a threat.
Maybe this could be a warning sign to those cops that they shouldn’t do that, or they might be shot.
Oh, who am I kidding. That just means cops in ski masks will shoot first more often.
Yeah, they want to turn the temperature up. If they can just start shooting brown people on sight, it’d make everything easier.
ICE agents wear masks more often than not, from what I can tell.
Know your rights!