The courts in Canada have struck another blow for the common man. Though this one came at the cost of a cop's life, the issue itself is one of great importance and sets a huge precedent. It's the first time in Canada anyone has ever used a self-defence plea and won after being charged with shooting and killing a cop. The bottom line being that the police (and therefore the state itself) can not do what ever they want.
The story in short: the police staged a raid on a suspected drug dealer's house in the early morning. The guy who owns the house wakes up thinking it's a home invasion. He opens his bedroom door and there's a man dressed in black, with no police markings on him, right in front of him. The home owner fires gun and hits the cop three times. The cops return fire, hitting the guy's wife and one of their own, along with a bunch of misses. The guy is arrested and charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, which carries an automatic 25-years with no parole sentence. He claimed self-defense in court. He won. The no-knock search warrant was also declared unconstitutional, a violation of Section 8 that protects us from unreasonable search and seizure.
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazett...9-16a962da4f05
Now, as much as I'm no great fan of the police, I do think that people shooting cops is a bad idea. However, if the police act like nuckleheads and are hurt or killed as a consequence of their knuckleheadedness, Joe Citizen should not be held liable for it. This time he wasn't. Don't know how the laws are where you are, but this is a huge deal here in Canadaland.
This is the third time in so many months that Canadian courts have passed intelligent precedent setting decisions. Must be the silly season for all this common sense to be breaking out.
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