Last week my poor Honda was stolen for the 3rd - and most probably the last time. 280k miles - leaky rack - impending euthanasia - but still a loyal little car I had grown attached to.
So I quickly got on the phone to report her missing. (Last time she 'escaped' she apparently was an unwilling participant in a local crime spree!)
On hold for 35 minutes - but the officers arrived pretty quickly.
During our conversation I learned that over a dozen cars were lifted near here in only the previous 3 days. Lot of activity here in The Flats lately I guess.
Lots of property theft from homes, too. During our chat the subject of clearing a homeowners yard at night with a weapon and light came up.
It was on the fly. I had never thought about the situation before and the question came up - When does my using my weapon light as illumination tool (on my own property) turn into a menacing / brandishing event should I find someone hiding in my yard? (ORS 166.190 ; ORS 166.220)
As far as he was concerned - if I found a trespasser on my property he'd feel it reasonable that I would be naturally fearful, which would justify my 'light' turning into my 'weapon'. We went back and forth on the topic and agreed it was a head scratch-er - but he also warned me that just because an officer could give a pass - anyone else down hill of his report (DA's office) could reinterpret it as straight brandishing (menacing) if they really wanted. No guarantees. Especially with today's politics motivating every action by city council.
Just wanted to share and see what other's opinions would be. Up until then I had never given it a thought. But now that I have (Port Sumter!) I realize that short of a reasonable and fair officer showing on scene and helping with creative report writing - this could get messy as hell with the wrong perspective.
So I quickly got on the phone to report her missing. (Last time she 'escaped' she apparently was an unwilling participant in a local crime spree!)
On hold for 35 minutes - but the officers arrived pretty quickly.
During our conversation I learned that over a dozen cars were lifted near here in only the previous 3 days. Lot of activity here in The Flats lately I guess.
Lots of property theft from homes, too. During our chat the subject of clearing a homeowners yard at night with a weapon and light came up.
It was on the fly. I had never thought about the situation before and the question came up - When does my using my weapon light as illumination tool (on my own property) turn into a menacing / brandishing event should I find someone hiding in my yard? (ORS 166.190 ; ORS 166.220)
As far as he was concerned - if I found a trespasser on my property he'd feel it reasonable that I would be naturally fearful, which would justify my 'light' turning into my 'weapon'. We went back and forth on the topic and agreed it was a head scratch-er - but he also warned me that just because an officer could give a pass - anyone else down hill of his report (DA's office) could reinterpret it as straight brandishing (menacing) if they really wanted. No guarantees. Especially with today's politics motivating every action by city council.
Just wanted to share and see what other's opinions would be. Up until then I had never given it a thought. But now that I have (Port Sumter!) I realize that short of a reasonable and fair officer showing on scene and helping with creative report writing - this could get messy as hell with the wrong perspective.