A Self-Defense Shooting and Another Victim Charged

When I saw the headline, "Cabdriver charged with shooting alleged robber," I thought it must be Cambridge, but I was wrong.  It's Lawrence, in Essex County, where they've just charged the victim of a violent crime with a felony.

It seems a robber pulled a knife, got a cabdriver's money, and fled.  At that point, the cabdriver fired one round from his pistol into the robber's back.  The Boston Globe reports,

[Cabdriver] Rodriguez's lawyer said yesterday that her client feared for his life, but Lawrence Police Chief John Romero said Rodriguez went too far.

"When a guy is fleeing, he no longer poses a threat to you," and a person cannot legally use deadly force as their attacker runs away, he said.

It strikes me as unjust that the crime victim should be charged.  He was probably in fear and shaken.  Suppose the robber came back for more, like the car?  Or ran off to rob someone else at knifepoint.  The cabdriver did a public service, as far as I'm concerned.

Also, that's an unwise statement from a police chief.  If an officer did the same thing, I'm sure the chief would be defending it (as he should).  I'd hate for his words to come back to bite him.

Comments

[Ralph]

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