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That's important -- here in WA you can be in one town and the interpretation of events will be treated very differently than in a town 200 miles away on the other side of the state. It's important to know where you are in the ideological sense.
Couldn't agree more. That quality exists across the country as far as I know.
And the authority and responsibility of officers varies greatly as well. A county attorney told me that state troopers served as criminal investigator besides holding traditional duties. I had asked about detectives or criminal investigators and was told there are none. I don't believe that to be totally accurate but is true in a general sense.
You can imagine the difference in the application and function of the law between my community and the Bronx, in New York. My town has 1500 people and maybe six officers. The county sheriff is about the same. If they were to say a SD shoot was good I think the system would concur. In the Bronx you'd be going away.
So with self defense shooting you need to know the turf and who's who. In particular, who has he authority to deem a self defense shooting justifiable. I never saw a patrolman or investigator with that authority but their reports and testimony carry considerable weight.
In the Southern U.S. a sheriff might be able to do it, especially if the county coroner and county attorney agree. In other places it may take the prosecuting attorney or even attorney general.
One size seems to fit almost nobody.