Initially the Sheriff ruled this a justified shooting based on Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law.
So the eventual shooter, Drejka, begins this confrontation when he approaches a woman who had parked in a handicap parking space. Seeing his girlfriend being aggressively confronted by Drejka, McGlockton comes out of the store and shoves Drejka to the ground.
After Drejka falls to the ground McGlockton doesn't pursue him.
Drejka pulls a concealed firearm and points it at McGlockton, who moves further away from Drejka, now more than 6ft from Drejka.
Drejka, still on the ground, fires a shot into McGlockton's chest. McGlockton dies from the injury.
The prosecutor has overridden the Sheriff and charged Drejka with Manslaughter.
I personally find this to be an interesting case, aided greatly by the fact that it is on video. I don't find it interesting because this is a tough call. In my opinion you can only use deadly force when you are in immediate danger of harm, and the purpose of shooting is to stop the threat.
In this case I believe Drejka felt "You shove me to the ground? I'll show you who you're messing with." He could have stopped the threat, which was well beyond arm's reach at that point, and not acting in a threatening manner, by pointing the gun at him and telling him to leave him alone. He made a decision to fire at the man not to protect his life, but to strike back after having been shoved. That's not what self defense is. That's not what stand your ground is. I find this case interesting because I hope it serves as an example for all the trigger happy concealed carry badasses (I mean, "good guys with a gun") so that they have a better understanding of what self defense is, and more importantly what it isn't.
So the eventual shooter, Drejka, begins this confrontation when he approaches a woman who had parked in a handicap parking space. Seeing his girlfriend being aggressively confronted by Drejka, McGlockton comes out of the store and shoves Drejka to the ground.
After Drejka falls to the ground McGlockton doesn't pursue him.
Drejka pulls a concealed firearm and points it at McGlockton, who moves further away from Drejka, now more than 6ft from Drejka.
Drejka, still on the ground, fires a shot into McGlockton's chest. McGlockton dies from the injury.
The prosecutor has overridden the Sheriff and charged Drejka with Manslaughter.
I personally find this to be an interesting case, aided greatly by the fact that it is on video. I don't find it interesting because this is a tough call. In my opinion you can only use deadly force when you are in immediate danger of harm, and the purpose of shooting is to stop the threat.
In this case I believe Drejka felt "You shove me to the ground? I'll show you who you're messing with." He could have stopped the threat, which was well beyond arm's reach at that point, and not acting in a threatening manner, by pointing the gun at him and telling him to leave him alone. He made a decision to fire at the man not to protect his life, but to strike back after having been shoved. That's not what self defense is. That's not what stand your ground is. I find this case interesting because I hope it serves as an example for all the trigger happy concealed carry badasses (I mean, "good guys with a gun") so that they have a better understanding of what self defense is, and more importantly what it isn't.
