Memo to folks who bellyache about "Big Brother" and being constantly surveilled:
I like my privacy, but I like my liberty more (and I'd bet that Gregary Teer agrees with me wholeheartedly).
In this case, at Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs, Nebraska, 16 y/o Gregary Teer was being bullied by 17 y/o Dakota Escritt, a classmate, who had repeatedly pushed Teer in the school hallways after the boys had reportedly exchanged words on social media the night before. Each time he was pushed Teer walked away from Escritt until he finally had enough and shoved the aggressor back. While both boys raised their fists, Teer hit first and Escritt fell to the ground, smacking his head on the tile floor. Escritt was taken unconscious to a hospital, where he died three days later, and an autopsy showed that his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head (from his fall).
"But for" the existence of video footage of the entire incident, in this case 16 y/o Gregary Teer would be fighting for his life... in a courtroom... trying to convince a jury that his "victim's" death was not only accidental, but that is not legally attributable to him as he was lawfully justified in his use of force and only acted in self-defense.
Nebraska, like Florida, permits the use of force in self-defense (including deadly force where necessary and appropriate). You must be in both subjective and objectively reasonable fear of imminent harm, and you must use only that degree of force which is reasonable under the circumstances (again, up to deadly force depending upon the facts). BUT... often times there is no proof of what occurred independent of the word of the parties (or, in the case of a death, the word of the aggressor), and that can, and often does, put the accused in potential pickle.
Always remember that acting in self-defense is a potential world apart from proving that you did so. In this case Gregary Teer was both incredibly lucky and unlucky: He has to live with the unforeseeable consequence of his knock-out blow, but at least he gets to do so as a free man.
For more than 23 years Michael A. Haber, P.A. has been providing creative, effective and zealous advocacy and counsel in cases ranging from DUI to drug trafficking and from misdemeanors to first degree murder.
At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"!
Michael A. Haber, Esq. is prepared to speak with you about your case!
1-888-SHARK-8-1, 305-381-8686, 305-798-2220, **ARRESTED, **305DUI, **MIAMIDUI, **MIAMILAW or **HABERLAW.
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