If a cop gets shot and i happen witness it can i shoot the criminal with my own gun?

THat has happened, after the shooting of Officer McKay. RIP <3

THat Mr. Kenney (20 something yr old), would harass that officer on purpose, & finally killed him. ={

THis is a very rare opposite case of a criminal harassing an officer, instead of an innocent person being harassed by a corrupt officer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-BtESLEsU ~Warning! I hate this video; it's very disturbing to see the last several minutes of this fine officer's life. <3

The ex-military gentleman, that shot Kenney as he tried to flee after executing Officer McKay, I don't believe was prosecuted. Altho, what he did was wrong, since it was Capital Murder, no one has tried to convict him (I don't believe), even Kenney's own family cuz they know how cruelly he killed this officer in cold blood for doing his job, all becuz the officer had to respond to Kenney being lawless. ={

~and most DAs wouldn't even try to prosecute, nor should they. Why not let it be a law that if someone is soo bold & as crazy to kill an officer, that the public can act w/in the scope of/for the shot officer & bring justice? That person is a huge threat to the rest of the public, & other officers as well. The gentleman (ex-military) should've been commended & herald as a hero, which he probably was.

added: no, you are NOT required to assist an officer if he/she tells you... that's why the Rice University officer got fired when he responded to an "officer needs assistance" call on the radio (but that whole situation was arguable & shameful because Rice typically did provide back-up, etc. ~thankfully, about a year after being terminated, the ex-Rice officer is now working in another TX city as an officer! =] ). And the public is NOT required to put themselves in harm's way or to have to handle a gun or to assist in getting physical with &/or to detain someone, etc. I accidentally thumbed that guy up; an officer would NEVER show a ride-along, or junior explorer, or anyone else how to disarm him/take his gun if he went down! The officer knows that that would be the responsibility of responding officers. That's why this Q & its answers could be dangerous. It's not something you should do; but given the circumstances, if someone didn't plan it & it just happened in self-defense, etc., they might NOT get prosecuted.

~Even w/him being a police explorer, goes on ride-alongs cuz he's schooling to be an officer, the officer still shouldn't tell him to be doing that as that would be unethical.

added after thumb down: I'd BA Nick G. =]

And by "bring justice", I meant that if the person was armed & dangerous, why couldn't a licensed gun carrier not help, assist, & protect the public if someone is on a shooting spree? (THat's what licensed gun carriers can do.) Of course, you do not have the right to be judge & jury & execute someone who does not seem to, any longer, pose a threat to you or others. The Kenney guy probably did not drop his gun, so the ex-military guy that witnessed it all could have felt that himself, & others, & other police officers were in imminent deadly danger. Which was obviously the case since that Kenney had just shot Officer McKay in the BACK several times, & then ran over his body w/his car as he was leaving. Do you think that Kenney wouldn't mind shooting at anyone else or any other officer? You can not defend yourself & others that are in imminent danger (that's why you have a license to carry a registered gun)? Obviously, that ex-military guy was licensed to carry. He also knew it was safe to shoot at that time. Depending on the situation & if there are bystanders or other officers nearby to assist, it could/would be different.

You better have all the proper paperwork that permits you to carry a weapon. A lot of it has to do with situation. You have to have been directly under threat from the suspect who shot the officer to justify shooting him. If you were to shoot someone just because you witnesses them shooting an officer, you would essentially by taking the justice system (i.e. the death penalty) into your own hands. Even if you witnessed the shooting, the suspect is still innocent untill proven guilty. That's the number one principal of our justice system. Keep in mind, many states have equal force laws that only permit you to use force equal and not greater than the force being used directly against you. Meaning, if he isn't shooting at you, you can't shoot back to defend yourself. And you couldn't shoot him and lie to the detectives and say you were shot at because ballistics evidence is very advanced and can easily tell wether he was or was not. This is the type of situation that could easily get you a Murder 2, or Manslaughter charge. Not to mention interference, tampering with witnesses (as the suspect is just as much a witness as you are) and other firearms related charges. Your best bet in a situation like that is to get away, and call 911.

There will be an investigation, and the investigation is always conducted like a criminal investigation. If, after the criminal investigation they cannot find anything to charge you with, then you will be cleared and you will be told thank you. Be prepared to have your gun taken away until after trial for the suspect, and you will sit through many interviews. A good thing to do is if you have a camera, video tape the incident. It may help to capture the suspect if he gets away, and may be the evidence needed for a conviction.

contrary to what people might think, NO you can NOT fire on someone whoo is firing at a cop you would be charged the sameway as the man/woman firing on the officer. you are putting the officers life in danger more than what it already is and you are putting yourself in danger and you are putting every innocent bystander around the area in danger even if you were to stop the person who is shooting at the cop after that the same cop youu helped will place you in custody and you will get a long list of heavy charges , it just doesnt work the way people think it does when they see it on tv or in the movies.

is your gun licensed? do you have a carry permit? were you facing deadly force? these are the questions that you will face. why would you want to involve yourself in a situation like this? if you did shoot the the bad guy and accidentally shoot an innocent bystander then you would face charges and be sued, not a good idea to get involved in a police situation

That is a very iffy situation. The officer may think you are also shooting at him and return fire. The best thing you can do in a situation like this is be a good witness and remember as much as you can and give it to the authorities.

i am pretty sure it would depend on the State and even on who the DA was. For instance, you might be charged, but with the sentence dismissed. you probably wouldn't go to jail unless you had planned to work with the killer ( then changed your mind.) part of the issue is how sure of you what was going on - for instance, did you shoot a cop who was trying to bring down a suspect.

Criminal Record Search Database : http://www.infosearchdetective.com/Official

A relative of a famous Olympic skier shot a cop dead... but a passerby (a former Marine) arrived and grabbed the cop's weapon and shot the assailant.

Of course all events are subject to investigation and circumstance, as well as local laws (that are all different), but I HAVE heard that you are legally obligated to assist a police officer in peril.

Of course, it probably really depends on what the laws are for your area. There is no one right answer.

You are required to assist a police officer if they tell you, that being said if they don't tell you it's questionable on what you should do... I was on a ride along with a cop I know really well, and he showed me how to take the gun out of his holster if he went down... (In a trouble town)