re: #345 Dark_Falcon

Yes, its squishy, but its what has to be used. Let me take an example from my own Cook County, IL, a case that saw a man in his own home shoot (but not kill) another man who had broken in. The would-be burglar had used a lock picking tool that looked somewhat like a pistol, but was not dangerous, and when he was shot he had the tool in his hand. Even though the tool was not a weapon, the resident was not charged because he reasonably believed it was likely a weapon. “Reasonable Belief” can be problematic, but it is also needful.

Then the question becomes how squishy Reasonable Belief gets to be. I keep finding cases where that standard is basically non-existent.

Joe Horn was under no threat to start, chose to enter a house and shoot two men.
Ex-deputy Hernandez pulled his gun during a heated verbal exchange, as did Jarkas. The description of the Monahan case doesn’t really give enough detail to get a sense of it.