rdfox
Know what you're doing yet?
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2019
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All I could think of was this moment (spoilered for length):Pfft. The image...
That said, the violent response/defense defense (heh) would only work for a mostly-instinctive/act of passion response that comes in the heat of the moment, before ascertaining that the person doing it indeed had the authority to do so. Doc Goth's rather clear and lucid statement of intent beforehand indicated that he not only was fully conscious (and thus not operating on instinct), but also aware of the situation and had full control over his actions, so it wasn't an act of uncontrollable passion.
Basically, it might not hold up in court as attempted murder, but it'd sure as hell qualify as sufficient for an initial arrest, even if he ends up not being arraigned on that particular charge.
Again, it might not hold up enough for an attempted murder charge... but that statement of intent would legally constitute assault in any US state. (Short version: Assault is doing something that makes them think you're going to try to hurt them; battery is actually attempting to hurt them physically.)
Better would be to say "while subduing you if you resist arrest." For them to get away with destroying your furniture during a search, they need a search warrant (or exigent circumstances such as reasonable cause to believe that a kidnap victim is trapped inside your mattress); otherwise, they're legally on the hook for any damage they cause (not to mention having any evidence they find that wasn't in plain view thrown out as an illegal search). Even with a warrant, they have to be able to demonstrate that it was strictly necessary to the search and seizure of evidence. For example, a search warrant would allow the police to cut a bloodstained portion out of your mattress to seize as evidence; a search warrant for evidence of drug smuggling would allow them to cut open your mattress to search inside it for a hidden stash, but a search warrant for evidence of auto theft wouldn't, as there's no real reasonable way that one could hide a stolen car inside a mattress, and thus cutting the mattress open would be seen as purely vengeful vandalism.
Trivia note: in most jurisdictions, police departments are legally required to financially compensate property owners for any and all damage done during the execution of a warrant or an arrest. So every time a SWAT team breaks down a door and throws tear gas grenades into the room before entering on a high-risk warrant service, the cops will have to reimburse the homeowner for replacement of the door, lock, and frame, and for decontaminating/extracting tear gas residue from everything inside the room. (This is one of many reasons that SWAT teams only make entry as a last resort, preferring to have a hostage negotiator "bore them to death" over the phone so that the suspect comes out voluntarily and peacefully.)
Jet lag is a right bitch. Probably even more so when you're teleporting instantly from one side of the world to another instead of having to actually physically move from one place to another...
