flame throwers, 30/06, CS tear gas.. now we're talkin'.
In the California Republic when a would be theif gets injured by some device
of your doing you can be sued for the inflicted injuries and charged with
(some pre-meditated form of) assult. Don't ask me, I didn't make up the
laws.
According to a few Officers and a former local Deputy DA (my terminology
might need correcting. lawyers? =)...
Say, I opened Tom's car up without leaving any signs of forced entry. I
start tugging on the stereo and notice a familiar looking finger fall on the
floor. The cops arrive and playfully throw my dismembered index finger and
thumb at each other. I make my statement, "Silly me! This isn't my car.
It was unlocked and I entered the car to look for my wallet"... I get
charged for trespassing and not B&E. In turn, Tom gets charged with assult
w/ intent to commit bodily harm, I get to sue, not just for the stereo I
tried to steal, but the entire car. Since I'm now technically permanently
disabled, probably a whole lot more.
Apparently the same goes for beating up the theif (or shooting him in the
leg) for breaking in your car.
The only reasoning I can get out of this is "a car is not really worth
taking someone's life away"... or perhaps the police are thinking, "we
can't beotch slap the perps when we feel like it so the public at large
should not either".
Aren't laws suppose to be interpretted? I am told by un-named Police to,
"Make sure the theif is [dragged] in[to] your house [after]/before you shoot
him in the leg". At which time, "you might find the theif, unaware of his
surroundings, may continuously trip over himself and fall on his face".
As funny as that is, I once took my friend's car keys so I could return to
the car for my phone. I opened the car door after jiggling the key around,
turned on the ignition so I could power on the A/C, and then proceeded to
look for my phone. As I looked down I said, "Sh**! He doesn't have a 5
speed!" and I promptly exited the vehicle almost locking my friends' key
inside the car. It was someone else's Mazda, identical 929 model and
color except it had a stick and not an auto-tranny.
I could imagine myself trying to explain things to the owner and his
3-combined-IQ-of-50-former-WWF buddies as they bounce me around like a new
toy.
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