Happening in My Neighborhood - Clown

ZigZagZeke · Oct 15, 2016

Had this show up on the neighborhood association Facebook page tonight. I will be sleeping very lightly tonight, as this is maybe 1/4 mile from us..

"PSA for South Eugene:

(Not me, someone in our group) I just wanted to let South Eugene families know that our neighbor, who owns a house right behind our apartments, just let us know that while he was at work about an hour ago, his wife called to tell him that a very large man in a clown suit was trying to break into his back sliding glass door. His wife and 6 year old niece were inside and his niece saw the clown and was laughing, then his wife went to the backdoor and told the clown she had a gun while he was trying to get the door open. He wouldn't stop so she got on the phone with the police and got her gun and told him she would shoot him if he didn't leave and he just kept laughing at her and trying to force the door open. He disappeared just before the police arrived. We are at the corner of Donald and Fox Hollow. There have been quite a few police officers walking and driving around and the man from the house and a few of his friends are also out walking trying to find the guy."

L84Cabo · Oct 15, 2016

WTF!? That's messed up!

nammac · Oct 15, 2016

So the clown wasn't threatened by a good woman with a gun? That's kind of disturbing...

Clowns playing dumb games will be awarded dumb prizes...

Osarion · Oct 16, 2016

Right. Just before I go to bed lol.

What might have happened had she blown him out of his clownshoes while he was trying to force the door? Legally I mean, would she be on solid grounds for self defense? Would it only be a self defense shoot if he'd forced the door open first?

Camelfilter · Oct 16, 2016

Osarion said:
Right. Just before I go to bed lol.

What might have happened had she blown him out of his clownshoes while he was trying to force the door? Legally I mean, would she be on solid grounds for self defense? Would it only be a self defense shoot if he'd forced the door open first?

Good question.

This snippet from the Oregonian regarding those 2 home invasion shooting up Portland way over the summer doesn't make it clear to me anyways.

snip-"...It's not that hard to prove justifiable cause for shooting a home intruder in Oregon, said Jack Levin, a criminology professor emeritus at Northeastern University.

Oregon is among about 20 states that have "castle laws" that protect homeowners in these scenarios, Levin said. The Oregon statute says a person is justified in using "deadly physical force upon another person" if the other person is burglarizing or trying to burglarize a home.

"Your home is your castle according to the law," Levin said.

Under the laws, "you don't have to wait until your life is being threatened or your property is taken," Levin said. "You can open fire almost immediately."

And when making the justification to use deadly force, a resident must prove that a home invasion occurred and that the person shot was the perpetrator, but "beyond that you don't really have to prove much else," he said...." end snip.

Article: Experts weigh in on Oregon's 'castle law,' copycat effect after spate of home intruder shootings

Camelfilter · Oct 16, 2016

Oregon law (copied from the interwebs (Oregon laws.org), so unknown if this is current:

§ 161.219¹
Limitations on use of deadly physical force in defense of a person

Notwithstanding the provisions of ORS 161.209 (Use of physical force in defense of a person), a person is not justified in using deadly physical force upon another person unless the person reasonably believes that the other person is:

(1) Committing or attempting to commit a felony involving the use or threatened imminent use of physical force against a person; or

(2) Committing or attempting to commit a burglary in a dwelling; or

(3) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force against a person. [1971 c.743 §23]

ThemGunsThough · Oct 16, 2016

My wife said she would have done the same thing. Not worth it to shoot unless they enter.

MilitantBEEMER · Oct 16, 2016

Glad I did not read this last night as well... I live in Eugene and this would have kept me up.
Pays to have good security system in place and get some sort of video monitoring on front, side and back entry points.
I am not afraid of clowns in particular, I would however be opposed to any stranger trying to force access to my humble abode.

teflon6string · Oct 16, 2016

MilitantBEEMER said:
Glad I did not read this last night as well... I live in Eugene and this would have kept me up.
Pays to have good security system in place and get some sort of video monitoring on front, side and back entry points.
I am not afraid of clowns in particular, I would however be opposed to any stranger trying to force access to my humble abode.

Agreed. I defend myself and those I care for regardless of the attacker's nose color or shoe size.

OLDNEWBIE · Oct 16, 2016

Is it considered bigoted to have a bias against clowns aka Coulrophobia ?
Be careful, Eugene probably has a Clown lives matter chapter.

The Heretic · Oct 16, 2016

You don't have to prove anything. The state has to prove that you weren't justified.

If anyone is trying to get into a house that they are not authorized to enter, then I don't have a problem shooting them whether they have entered or not. I am not going to wait for someone to succeed in getting in, they will get shot.

Yes, that might make it difficult in court, but I would rather have things be difficult in court than difficult at my home once an intruder breaks in.

Someone in a clown outfit at a back door trying to get in? They are obviously not there to share recipes or ask for some sugar. They are up to no good.

That said, I have a suspicion that most of these clown sightings are people making stuff up. They are going to get someone hurt.

I've seen a few vids where supposedly some people are driving along and just happen to be video taping themselves in the car (yeah right), come upon a clown in the road and they stop, get out and beat up the clown. They are obviously faking it.

Last time some "clown" (not dressed as one) tried to stop me while I was driving, he was waving a gun (I didn't notice it at the time), I tried to run him down - yes, literally (it was a group of of teenagers after a girl I had in the car and I was a teenager too).

Sstrand · Oct 16, 2016

oldnewbie
They likely do have such a chapter . . . Doesn't Prozanski come from Eugene??

Sheldon

Camelfilter · Oct 16, 2016

Interesting.

The only thing I notice on the Eugene police dispatch log near that area is listed as a "dispute"

10/15/2016 06:59:51 PM 10/15/2016 07:01:40 PM Dispute EPD125 EPD998 EPD665 EPD346 PCHK 16251655 5455 DONALD ST, EUG 3

Location is mapped as apartments rite by Donald & Fox hollow.

I would imagine that the call would go in as attempted b/e.

Sounds as though someone on the Facebook may be dissembling information...

The Heretic · Oct 16, 2016

Camelfilter said:
Interesting.

The only thing I notice on the Eugene police dispatch log near that area is listed as a "dispute"

10/15/2016 06:59:51 PM 10/15/2016 07:01:40 PM Dispute EPD125 EPD998 EPD665 EPD346 PCHK 16251655 5455 DONALD ST, EUG 3

Location is mapped as apartments rite by Donald & Fox hollow.

I would imagine that the call would go in as attempted b/e.

Sounds as though someone on the Facebook may be dissembling information...

PaulB47 · Oct 16, 2016

What might have happened had she blown him out of his clownshoes while he was trying to force the door?

Nothing. Anyone in a clown suit is obviously guilty.

Ralgha · Oct 16, 2016

While it may be justified, I wouldn't shoot him unless/until he got the door open. I'd rather not deal with the fallout.

11Charlie · Oct 16, 2016

Not sure what I would do until I was put into that exact spot. I guess it would depend on if I was home alone or if the family was with me. Alone I would probably wait for him to gain entry before doing anything. If my family is in the house then I would send them to a different room to call the police and then go from there. One thing is for sure if he gained entry he would get shot.