Florida: ‘Stand Your Ground’ Protections Apply to Police Officers Too

The Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that police officers in the state can claim “Stand Your Ground” protections following the use of lethal force in self-defense.

A “Stand Your Ground” law eliminates any requirement for the victim of a life-threatening attack to attempt retreat before using lethal force to save their own life.

As concealed carry swept across the U.S. on a state-to-state basis in the late 20th century many states still required that the victim of a crime demonstrate he made every effort to escape the situation before shooting the attacker. In the early 21st century “Stand Your Ground” laws began sweeping the nation, eliminating the burden of trying to flee to while being beaten, held up at gun point, or otherwise being attacked.

Florida was predominant in birth of “Stand Your Ground” laws and is now the spotlight as regards “Stand Your Ground” protections for police as well.

The New York Times quoted a Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward activist Tiffany Burk criticizing the protections for police, saying, “Police officers already have full immunity to kill us at will. This is an extra bonus on top of that. It really is a slap in the face — a blatant one at that.”

However, Reason observes that Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law was tweaked by legislators in 2017, when said legislators sought to put the onus on the state in a shooting where a victim claimed self-defense. Reason noted that police were not explicitly exempted from the enhanced protections, saying, “In 2017 Florida legislators changed the rules for self-defense hearings, requiring prosecutors to prove ‘by clear and convincing evidence’ that the defendant’s use of force was unlawful. There is no statutory basis for letting everyone but police officers take advantage of that option.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.