[QKShooter]

OK...as we all are aware - The world is a changing place.
Technology is totally amazing these days.
The Question: Now that TINY digitial voice recorders can fit right onto a keychain & store a full 40 minutes of voice recording...would we be wise to buy one - carry one - & "click it on" before any possible or likely confrontation?
I'm also sure that SOON there will be tiny recorders that will be able to store that much sound and video & can be clipped right to a shirt pocket.

I am just thinking about how much "in police cruiser" voice and video has helped good police officers later on in court.
That provides an ideal "visual & voice" verification of the actual events that unfolded.

In a civilian shooting...How will the investigating officers know that you yelled 4 times for the threat to STOP!!! advancing toward you? Especially if the shooting is in an isolated area and there are no witnesses.

How will they know in court that you tried to cross the street to get away from the encounter & tried to avoid the danger numerous times?
It would be NICE if the "Powers That Be" actually hear your voice saying: "I don't want any trouble - I just want to get out of here - Get away from my car!"...or whatever.
How will the judge know that the Bad Guy REALLY DID YELL..."I'm gonna "F"ing smash your face in with this tire iron!!!" & "I'm gonna KILL YOU!"
What are your thoughts on this?
Seems to me that it would help eliminate some impending trouble in a justified shooting scenario.
Example: Pre~Road Rage Situation...You are driving along & some crazy horn starts blasting at you...click on the recorder right then & tape whatever might happen next.
Even if worse comes to worse & you (God Forbid) end up being the victim then you could at least gasp..."I Love You Mom" :dead:
What Say You All?

 

[rstickle]

I think its an interesting concept worth looking into. I just haven't paid that much attention to recording technology.

 

[Bud White]

Its a Good ideal and also Bad .. someone will abuse it and then make most people lives hell just to be a genral pain in the ... I deal with enough Ahole customers i dont need them trying to set me up over something

 

[Tangle]

I think that's a great idea. I've thought about using a voice recorder for a few specific situations, but after reading your post AND if I can find one small enough, I may start carrying one of these things as faithfully as I carry my tact light and knife.

 

[AirForceShooter]

if you yelled stop 4 times you may be in very big trouble if you're in a "duty to retreat" state.

AFS

 

[Bumper]

I think you would have to be very careful using an audio/video recording device. It might help clear you, it might help hang you. You know it would wind up on TV, either on the news or on the "scariest videos" type of show. Your actions would be dissected by every self-proclaimed expert that viewed it. The gun grabbers would be saying that you didn't do this or you didn't do that. While I think it might be good in some situations, I think I would avoid it.

 

[Euclidean]

Tell one story.

I'm not saying I or anyone else would deliberately lie tio the authorities about a defensive situation. Let's make that clear. I honestly believe we'd all attempt to be truthful because it would be the smartest thing to do period.

But notice I said attempt to be truthful. Shooting someone is an event that affects your physiology and psychology. One thing you actually can learn from these books on the subject is that an average Joe like me who actually put an attacker down typically experiences a combination of adrenaline dump and mental shock that can plunge you into a mental state where you are numb to the emotional impact of what you just did. I also honestly believe that in such an extreme state you could forget a lot of things.

If they were to take your initial statement and compare it to this recording and find any contradiction at all, I don't think your typical DA is knowledgeable enough about the subject to realize that even a rational person who just survived a savage attack is not quite in their right mind. I think what would immediately happen is they would build a murder or manslaughter case against you based around any discrepancy they could find. Because based on anti self defense logic, if there is any discrepancy at all then you obviously planned the whole thing. :grumpy:

By doing this I think you're possibly removing your own 5th Amendment rights. Plus I carry enough junk around already. :tongue:

 

[RSSZ]

Prosecutor, "Mr. Smith,why did you have a voice recorder on and recording ? Did you know/anticipate that you were going to gun down someone today? ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. You get the picture. This is not for me. I will pass on the recording system. I will spend the time and money on training,gear,and technique.--------

 

[QKShooter]

Lots Of Folks Are Packing Them Around

They are new technology to me though. Like an MP3 player with lots of digital voice record time.
This one has 36 hours of voice recording. I noticed that many doctors are using them these days instead of taking notes.

 

[rstickle]

I think you would have to be very careful using an audio/video recording device. It might help clear you, it might help hang you.

Well if it doesn't look like it's going your way there is always the Rosemary Woods syndrome. erase the last 18 1/2 minutes. :biggrin:

 

[P95Carry]

Potentially useful but as as said - could just work against re legal things. I doubt somehow if faced with a stress situation anyways - I'd necessarily even think of or remember to turn it on!!!

Very handy for some things I can think of - but reservations overall.

 

[Scott]

Isn't there an issue with recording someone else in public without their knowledge. I suppose you could wear signs front and back notifying people that you are recording everything around you. However, legally I'm not sure how that would work when you approach someone. I would think it would be illegal and a bad idea for a lot of the reasons listed here.

Neat recorder though. As sometimers overtakes me I think I need one of those to help me remember where I left my keys that I lost 4 days ago.

-Scott-

 

[Bumper]

Prosecutor, "Mr. Smith,why did you have a voice recorder on and recording ? Did you know/anticipate that you were going to gun down someone today? ETC. ETC. ETC. ETC. You get the picture.

I agree. The sad thing is, that might be just about how it would go.

Isn't there an issue with recording someone else in public without their knowledge.

As long as you are a part of the conversation you are generally okay in this respect.

 

[Tom357]

Shhhh. MA will decide it needs to be added to every handgun sold in that state. The combined audio/video recorder would be like a "black box" for handguns. Turns on when you draw your weapon. Records everything that happens until reholstered.

 

[Tangle]

Of course it could be, Prosecutor: "Mr. Smith,why did you have a gun on you? Did you know/anticipate that you were going to gun down someone today?

I guess I don't understand how hearing a recording of a bad guy say, "I'm going to cut your ####s off" and you repeatedly yelling, "Stop, don't come any closer or I'll shoot" is going to make one appear guilty.

Now if I go "macho" and start yelling, "Oh yeah, just try it", I am probably going to be in some real trouble.

It seems kinda like saying don't call 911 after you shoot someone in self-defense because what you say will be recorded and will be used against you.

 

[havegunjoe]

I'd rather not be recorded, audio or video. Remember what your state of mind might be if attacked. You're never sure what might come out of your mouth and I'd rather there wasn't a recording to dispute my recollection of the events.

 

[Tangle]

I'd rather not be recorded, audio or video. Remember what your state of mind might be if attacked. You're never sure what might come out of your mouth and I'd rather there wasn't a recording to dispute my recollection of the events.

I'm a little surprised that so many think a recording would prove we were in the wrong instead of corroborating or confirming our innocence.

What if the recording refutes faulty statements by witnesses who recall the situation erronously because they too were shocked and confused? Or there are three BGs, you shoot one and the other two lie about how it happened?

 

[Tom357]

I'm a little surprised that so many think a recording would prove we were in the wrong instead of corroborating or confirming our innocence...

Perhaps it would be better to say that the recorded information could be used against us. It doesn't have to prove we were in the wrong to be used against us. We could be absolutely in the right, but have our words or actions turned against us, as some have suggested. I wouldn't want a recording that could be played back for the same reason I have the right to remain silent.

Yes, a recording could prove useful in some circumstances, but remember that a prosecutor's job is prosecution, not justice, not truth, not what is right. The job is to win, whether by plain fact, or by manipulating the jury and planting seeds of doubt about the defense - doesn't matter as long as the prosecution wins.

 

[ArmyCop]

Get it - if you get into a situation and use it you might should "forget" about having the recording till you check with your lawer first & see if he\she thinks it'll help or hurt you.

 

[KenpoTex]

I can envision many times that having a recording could be beneficial and help you to prove your case. However, I personally wouldn't want to take the chance of having my words twisted out of context. You also have to consider that the recording is not going to tell the whole story. There is going to be a lot that won't be captured on the tape. Like the body language and nonverbal cues of your attacker.

There may also be things that you reacted to but didn't you didn't say anything;for example, the guy suddenly starts to draw a weapon, and instead of talking, you're concentrating on popping him before he can get you. In this scenario, an audio recording might hear you saying something like "I don't want any trouble" and then because he went for a weapon and you beat him to the draw and shot him the next thing on the tape will be "BangBangBangBang..." At that point, it would still be your word alone that things went down like you say because the tape can't corroborate your story.

Consider another example where you did have a dialogue with the person but instead of "I don't want any trouble" you said "Back the F*** off motherF***er..." (and so on and so forth). Now you would not necessarily be wrong in this case. Like physical "communication," there is a progression in verbal communication. Many times, the bad guy won't respond to "nice," you have to address them in a manner that they understand. However, on tape, it may not sound like you were trying to de-escalate or to avoid using physical force, it sounds like you were contributing to the problem.

Like I said, I don't think a recorder is the best idea in this situation because they don't tell the whole story. Also, like others have said, if there is a discrepancy between the way you remember it, and what the tape says, you're creating more problems for yourself.

Just my $0.02 :smile:

Get it - if you get into a situation and use it you might should "forget" about having the recording till you check with your lawer first & see if he\she thinks it'll help or hurt you.

That works until the police decide to search/handcuff you until they sort things out and voila, they find it in your pocket and hit the "play" button. If they hear it before you and your lawyer, you might be in for some trouble.