First Contact: What To Say and Do When Calling 911 And After

Jon Low is always adamant about not talking to police after a shooting incident; a topic he revisited in his March 15 newsletter. He is equally adamant that you should have some sort of insurance to pay for the lawyer. These same basic thoughts are shared by David Burnett, who has penned a couple articles at The Truth About Guns on what to say and do when you call 911 after a defensive encounter (this applies to more than just the shooting of a burglar inside your home) and what to do when the police show up:

• "First Contact Part I: An Armed Citizen’s Guide on What To Do When Calling 911."
• "First Contact Part II: An Armed Citizen’s Guide on What To Do When the Police Arrive After Calling 911."

The main point of the article is "silence is golden" so don't give the 911 operator or police any more information than you have to. In this regard, the author notes that 911 systems start recording as soon as you hit the second "1" even if the operator has not yet picked up, so don't say anything during that pause. He recommends given the 911 operator just the bare minimum of information such as: name; address (or nearest cross street); a short truthful statement of what happened; ask for help; and then tell the operator you are disconnecting. 

    The author suggests that your first call after an incident be to 911 and then second to your attorney (or self-defense insurance) as a delay in calling 911 will be viewed with suspicion and may be used by a prosecutor against you.

    He warns that the operator will try and get more information or may try calling back, but just hang up and do not answer any call backs. 

    As for the statement, the author writes:

    It may be tempting to describe yourself so police will know who you are, but knowledgable self-defense attorneys point out that 99 percent of the time, the descriptions police get while en route to a crime are of the suspect.

    “You may not want police arriving with an image of you in their minds,” says Richard Hayes, a program at­torney in Texas.

    The statement should be very short and focused on what happened, something like, “A crime has taken place,” or, “A person was attacked,” or, “Shots have been fired.” Avoid reporting your own actions (e.g., “I just killed somebody”) and avoid ex­pressions of guilt, remorse or fear of consequences that prosecutors could later use as the evidence of a guilty conscience.

    “Even the tone of your voice may betray emotion,” says Phillips. “It may be justified by circumstances, but it will still look bad, or at least require work to overcome.”

    Likewise, it’s best to avoid dispar­aging the perpetrator—such as one 911 caller who, when asked about the shot intruder, exclaimed “I don’t know if he’s alive or not, I don’t care!” In the courtroom calculus of a hostile prosecutor, that could look like callous disregard for life.

    You may want to avoid canned expressions like, “I feared for my life.” This is a common instruction in self-defense classes, but attorneys say at this point such phrases sound rehearsed, like that South Park episode where poachers shout, “He’s coming right for us!” to justify killing endan­gered animals.

    Ask 911 to send two ambulances if someone has indeed been shot or hurt–one for the person who attacked you and now lies wounded and one for you–you’ve just been what is likely the most traumatic event in your life. Cardiac issues and other health issues are not uncommon at such moments.

He says to avoid talking to anyone other than your attorney; and when talking to your attorney, make sure it is in a private location with no one else around in order to maintain attorney-client privilege and allow you to speak freely with your attorney.

    Once police are on scene, the author advises you to keep silent, listing several reasons including:

    Third, you know this from the crime shows, any statement you make can be used against you in court. That’s es­pecially true right after events happen since people in general, certainly ju­ries, assume you’re more truthful when you’ve had less time to concoct a story.

    “The only thing you can do is make the facts worse,” says Kilgo. “Silence will make them better. Don’t speak in a way that undermines your actions. The only person you should speak to is the person who has your best interests at heart—your lawyer.” Remember, your right to speak to an attorney and remain silent are not just for criminals. These rights are protected by the U.S. Constitution for everybody.

    Fourth, because you are likely to make a mistake, and even an honest mistake could spell trouble for your court case.

    “Adrenaline is not a truth serum,” Kilgo adds. “In the heat of the moment, humans experience tunnel vision, memory occlusion and elevated vital signs.” There’s virtually zero chance your perception, memory and recall will all be intact and functional after the most savage and excitable mo­ments of your life.

There is a lot more in each article, so please be sure to study them carefully. 

Related: A couple articles from Jon Low that are related:

• "Never Talk To The Police"--Defensive Pistolcraft.
• "Self Defense Insurance"--Defensive Pistolcraft.