What was the strategy of agreeing to have the case heard by a judge instead of a jury trial? Usually, that happens when the facts are so clear as to be assured of an acquittal. They seemed clear, but the judge found him guilty on all counts.
A judge found Michael Strickland, 37, guilty Friday on ten counts of unlawful use of a firearm, 10 counts of menacing and the charge of disorderly conduct.
Strickland was arrested during a rally in downtown Portland on July 7, 2016.
He identified himself as a journalist filming the event for YouTube. He told FOX 12 that he was threatened and shoved by marchers who also used their flagstaffs as weapons against him, so he drew his gun.
No shots were fired.
“I feared for my life because I was outnumbered and they had weapons,” Strickland said in July 2016.
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7 comments:
Well If he does not appeal this case all the way to the supreme court he is going to jail for a long time for a well defined act of self defense. I think he shows much more restraint than I would have. the first one to swing a club at me would have been dropped like a hot bleeding rock. it is about time these protesters learned what a peaceful legal protest is and that any one is free to legally and peacefully protest their actions. the problem with these organized protests is they have professional agitators mixed in that will push to the limit. I was mixed up in a union strike. It was rumored that bus loads of tough guys were going to show up with clubs to block entry to the plant. I made it clear that if the tough guys showed up I just might have to shoot my way in, what do you know the buses never showed up. Just about every body knew I was not bluffing.
I feel for the poor bastard and think he got a raw deal. But considering how bad Portland is, Strickland made some key errors in such a dicey circumstance as that protest.
His first error was preparation. Clearly he anticipated danger yet still wanted to go. Fine, he's a big boy and I won't fault him for taking that risk. But he brought a selection of equipment that was poorly suited to his needs when he was actually faced with violence. A knife, a pistol and dozens of rounds of ammunition. That severely limited his use of force options when the time came.
Perhaps Strickland fatally underestimated the real chances of violence, and his preparation was more Walter Mitty than a hard-headed threat analysis.
Ideally he would have brought along a partner to back him up and to watch each others backs. Ideally he should have had some protective clothing (at the least head protection) to ward off some types of threats. Ideally he should have added pepper spray and a stun gun for reduced-lethality use-of-force options. Maybe even added an audible signal device for calling out SOS to the police? When facing off with Black Bloc commie street thugs you have to be careful.
What Strickland didn't need was dozens of rounds of ammunition. Did he expect a firefight?
And when he did have to face off a crowd, Strickland discovered the hard way the legal realities of pointing a gun at someone while there is no legal justification for also pulling the trigger. What a hard way to learn. But that crazy gun-pointing tactic seems to have inculcated nationwide, most of all from the police commonly using that tactic themselves which has led to several tragic instances of accidental and unwarranted deaths and injuries. Of course police can get away with such illegal tactics with minimal consequences.
At this point Strickland's best hope might be commutation or a pardon from Trump in 2024. Not much hope.
Sincerely,
from not so anonymous Brad, currently deep behind enemy lines in Commiefornia
Heck, a magazine in the gun and two spares of .45ACP in my XD-45 is over 3 dozen rounds. That's not a lot.
Defense fund per Project Veritas' James O'Keefe.
Nothing requires a back pack of supporting equipment to walk the streets. I took my dog for a walk to the park this morning. I put on my double shoulder holster rig. we have had a lot of rain lately and the temperatures are up. The rattle snakes are coming out this time of year. I always make good rattle snakes out of bad ones. My dog would probably go on the attach as soon as she see's one. it costs about 400 to 1000 dollars to treat a dog for snake bite. .22 hollow points are much cheaper and work well to prevent a snake bite. My shoulder holster rig has a pouch that holds three boxes of extra ammo. When I was a teenager friends of mine shot at a rattler that went under a large rock shaped like a chair. they had to jump up on the rock and killed almost 200 rattlers that came out from under that rock. carry the amount of ammo you may need. it is always better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. magazine limits are for the city if any where. major gangs rarely have less than 10 members. and they will not stop attacking you so you can change magazines. Gang members are not the mono a mono type if they were they would not be in the gangs. to qualify to be a gang member it seems you must first be a bully and a coward.
It does not have to be expecting a fire fight. when certain protestors throw rocks and bottle and bricks and carry clubs that is time to use deadly force. you do not have to let them harm you first. the fact that they are armed and aggressive is a reason for self defense. they had their weapons and they were the aggressor.
You may be surprised at the way the assault laws read. violating your personal space can be assault. getting in your face or taking a swing and missing. the last guy that hit me in the face twice spent six weeks in bed recovering. the guy before that tried to sucker punch me. I caught his swing by the wrist and broke his arm with my grip.
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