“[Conservative radio talk show host Michael] Savage had just finished dining at Servino Ristorante on Main Street in Tiburon when a man, whom he did not know, approached him in the parking lot around 8 p.m. Tuesday,” sfgate.com reports.
The man, believed to be about 50 years old and over 6 feet tall, began yelling at Savage, calling him “weenie” and “Weiner,” an apparent reference to Savage’s legal last name, Weiner, [Savage’s lawyer Daniel] Horowitz said . . .
Savage, holding onto his toy poodle, Teddy, and a to-go bag, told the man to “get lost,” Horowitz said.
The man then pushed Savage to the ground, and when a bystander tried to intervene, the man punched him in the face, Horowitz said.
And then [via mercurynews.com]:
Both men involved in the fight claimed the other started it, according to an incident log. Spokeswoman Laurie Nilsen said the two men placed each other under citizen’s arrest and were released at the scene. A follow-up police report will be sent to the District Attorney’s Office for review to see if any charges will be filed.
As you’d expect, Savage used the incident to savage his political opponents. “It is clearly open season on prominent Trump supporters,” he declared to breitbart.com.
Yes, well, for our purposes the question here is whether or not Mr. Savage would have been well advised to defend himself by force of arms.
As Tiburon is adjacent to San Francisco, we know one thing for certain: if Mr. Savage had brandished a firearm, the SFPD would not have looked upon his armed self-defense favorably. If he’d shot the guy . . .
That’s assuming that Mr. Savage doesn’t live in The City By The Bay. ‘Cause if he does, there’s no way on God’s foggy earth the talkshow host would have been “granted” a government permission slip to carry a firearm.
Anyway, the same old rule applies: you can use deadly force when faced with an imminent, credible threat of death or grievous bodily harm.
As the perp punched a passerby, it seems pretty likely the bad guy qualified for at least a display of deadly force.
That Mr. Savage is 75 years old and stands 5’6″ tall would have been factors, as police, prosecutors, a judge and/or a jury must consider the totality of circumstances.
Should it have been a defensive gun use? Not to steal a catchphrase (much), but we report you decide.