Home and property defense in Mass

Ben Cartwright SASS

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With all that is going on this month I decided to look up threads on this topic, the one I found is 11 years old. My feeling is that if someone comes onto your property and starts spray painting it and destroying it, vandalizing your car breaking windows of your home while you are inside, you have to stay inside (or leave the area) unless they actually break in and then ONLY if you are in imminent danger of death or grave physical harm are you allowed to take action and even then you will risk being arrested while the incident is combed through second by second. (assume this applies even if they set fire to your house - you are probably required to let them do it)
No way you could "brandish" especially outside. If you fire a shot into the ceiling inside your house I would assume that could get you racked up as well but not sure.

I know when I was a Special Police Officer for Westwood in the late 70's/early 80's we used to say "you have seconds to think, the lawyers have years to think"
 
During these times, I couldn't care less about castle doctrines and duty-to-retreat. If I were the McCloskeys, I would've unloaded on those rioters. Send the right message.
 
Good luck getting this clear in MA. There are lots of reasons I left, this is just one of them.
My approach was damage and threats to "things" and you can't do anything about it. So if someone is outside smashing you car with a bat, call the popo and hope they get there. Now if that person knocks on your door, still nothing you can do without getting jammed up. If they break in AND come at you with that bat, you may want to defend yourself, but expect a lengthy legal process.

So much simpler in NH. I'm allowed to bear arms to protect my property..... I would not suggest you take a bat to my car.

BTW I've got to add this to my sig "you have seconds to think, the lawyers have years to think"
 
Pepper spray lawn sprinkler system. Gasoline would be way to dangerous, especially with shrub mister heads! Septage injector?

PEPE THE GUARD SKUNK
istock_80257601_medium.jpg


A radiator manufacturer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, found an effective deterrent for anyone considering a break-in at their warehouse: Pepe, a guard skunk who was allowed to roam the building at night. Manager Tim Kelley told the Associated Press in 1983 that the mere sight of Pepe was enough to dissuade anyone from coming in
 
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With all that is going on this month I decided to look up threads on this topic, the one I found is 11 years old. My feeling is that if someone comes onto your property and starts spray painting it and destroying it, vandalizing your car breaking windows of your home while you are inside, you have to stay inside (or leave the area) unless they actually break in and then ONLY if you are in imminent danger of death or grave physical harm are you allowed to take action and even then you will risk being arrested while the incident is combed through second by second. (assume this applies even if they set fire to your house - you are probably required to let them do it)
No way you could "brandish" especially outside. If you fire a shot into the ceiling inside your house I would assume that could get you racked up as well but not sure.

I know when I was a Special Police Officer for Westwood in the late 70's/early 80's we used to say "you have seconds to think, the lawyers have years to think"
Careful, this is a hot topic right now and if u say the wrong thing the NES balls having mob will come after u😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
 
Good luck getting this clear in MA. There are lots of reasons I left, this is just one of them.
My approach was damage and threats to "things" and you can't do anything about it. So if someone is outside smashing you car with a bat, call the popo and hope they get there. Now if that person knocks on your door, still nothing you can do without getting jammed up. If they break in AND come at you with that bat, you may want to defend yourself, but expect a lengthy legal process.

Yup.

I'm probably not shooting a guy unless he's about to shoot me or mine. Anything else is just too risky if you've got something to lose, and I do; I have no interest in going to jail, and I've got insurance for my stuff.
 
I think in Mass the laws governing self and/or property defense are as follows:
You shall promptly bury your head in the ground and raise your posterior in the air.
 
Yup.

I'm probably not shooting a guy unless he's about to shoot me or mine. Anything else is just too risky if you've got something to lose, and I do; I have no interest in going to jail, and I've got insurance for my stuff.
This.

Castle doctrine or not......someone in my driveway spray painting my car.....I will call the popo.....and have my fire arm at the ready inside my house. I have insurance. If someone escallates to breaking down my door that's a threat to my life and I'm going to defend it. Just my opinion....others may vary. I'm personally not going to kill some dumbass for vandalism....not because I'm afraid of the legal ramifications......it's because I personally don't believe deadly force is ok to defend a paint job......or Auto Glass......or dented fenders.
 
I had a rotation with the NH chief medical examiner's office. Five weeks of cutting up dead people. Field agents around the state would respond to every death in NH, any time of day, and immediately run it by one of the two MEs to ask whether they wanted investigation by autopsy. We saw all kinds of sad, bizarre, and a couple funny causes of death. Most weren't too decomposed because they had been refrigerated within a few hours of dying. The most memorable case had been discovered around a week later. I expected the bloated and green appearance with decomposition liquid oozing out of the thin skin once you "burst the bubble," so to speak. But the smell was the single most shocking and unforgettable brand of horror I've ever experienced. Had to leave the room a few times to avoid vomiting due to the literal overwhelming stench of death. The ME told me, "Don't you dare get in your car after this. Toss those scrubs and take a long shower before going home or you'll smell it in your car for weeks." I did so but still felt it was burned into my nose for the next day.

Turns out the two agents primarily responsible for that smell are putrescine and cadaverine. And you can buy concentrated bottles of them from Sigma-Aldrich. This week I started wondering what water balloons of diluted putrescine/cadaverine would do to a rioting crowd. Launch them from a distance, ballistic arch over concealment. It would take five seconds tops after impact before vomiting overcame the crowd, and none of them could get away from their own soaked stench. Their vehicles, their homes, their families would experience it for days and never forget.

So I might try that if someone's screwing with my car. UV light would break down any bit splashing on the car's surface after a few days.
 
I had a rotation with the NH chief medical examiner's office. Five weeks of cutting up dead people. Field agents around the state would respond to every death in NH, any time of day, and immediately run it by one of the two MEs to ask whether they wanted investigation by autopsy. We saw all kinds of sad, bizarre, and a couple funny causes of death. Most weren't too decomposed because they had been refrigerated within a few hours of dying. The most memorable case had been discovered around a week later. I expected the bloated and green appearance with decomposition liquid oozing out of the thin skin once you "burst the bubble," so to speak. But the smell was the single most shocking and unforgettable brand of horror I've ever experienced. Had to leave the room a few times to avoid vomiting due to the literal overwhelming stench of death. The ME told me, "Don't you dare get in your car after this. Toss those scrubs and take a long shower before going home or you'll smell it in your car for weeks." I did so but still felt it was burned into my nose for the next day.

Turns out the two agents primarily responsible for that smell are putrescine and cadaverine. And you can buy concentrated bottles of them from Sigma-Aldrich. This week I started wondering what water balloons of diluted putrescine/cadaverine would do to a rioting crowd. Launch them from a distance, ballistic arch over concealment. It would take five seconds tops after impact before vomiting overcame the crowd, and none of them could get away from their own soaked stench. Their vehicles, their homes, their families would experience it for days and never forget.

So I might try that if someone's screwing with my car. UV light would break down any bit splashing on the car's surface after a few days.


Had a similar job in the Navy as a US Navy Photographer, we had to take pictures of any autopsy espeically gunshots and airplane crashes. My first one was after a 2 seater T-28 was flown straight into the ground. I remember the first guy they had to take his legs out of his chest so I could photograph the heart (the examiner was a bug about chopped up heart pictures) the other guy had no legs and was laying on his stomach. when they turned him over he had no face and his teeth and one of the instrument panel markers were in the back of his head. I remember the overwhelming smell was what I would say was iron. Can still remember how the muscles pulled back as they cut his chest open to get at the heart for some pics.
Went back to the lab to process the film, asap, and as I was finishing it was about 2 am and no one else in the building suddenly there was a loud noise like a growling bear. I was sure the guy with no legs was coming down the hall after me... I left the water running the lights on and almost ran across the parking lot to the E-Club (still open) and had a drink...

Oh and it amazing what crabs can do to a body when it has been in the water for a while....
 
Shoot.
Shovel.
Shut up.
As elegant as that sounds, issue with that plan is
1) you're urban enough for someone to have walked to your property, so likely witnesses, or
2) you're rural enough that there's also a vehicle to dispose of, and
3) either way a missing person's report could lead to a subpoena to the cellular company revealing its last ping at your address, then
4) very direct questions from investigators

Not that I've thought much about these things.
 
I had a rotation with the NH chief medical examiner's office. Five weeks of cutting up dead people. Field agents around the state would respond to every death in NH, any time of day, and immediately run it by one of the two MEs to ask whether they wanted investigation by autopsy. We saw all kinds of sad, bizarre, and a couple funny causes of death. Most weren't too decomposed because they had been refrigerated within a few hours of dying. The most memorable case had been discovered around a week later. I expected the bloated and green appearance with decomposition liquid oozing out of the thin skin once you "burst the bubble," so to speak. But the smell was the single most shocking and unforgettable brand of horror I've ever experienced. Had to leave the room a few times to avoid vomiting due to the literal overwhelming stench of death. The ME told me, "Don't you dare get in your car after this. Toss those scrubs and take a long shower before going home or you'll smell it in your car for weeks." I did so but still felt it was burned into my nose for the next day.

Turns out the two agents primarily responsible for that smell are putrescine and cadaverine. And you can buy concentrated bottles of them from Sigma-Aldrich. This week I started wondering what water balloons of diluted putrescine/cadaverine would do to a rioting crowd. Launch them from a distance, ballistic arch over concealment. It would take five seconds tops after impact before vomiting overcame the crowd, and none of them could get away from their own soaked stench. Their vehicles, their homes, their families would experience it for days and never forget.

So I might try that if someone's screwing with my car. UV light would break down any bit splashing on the car's surface after a few days.
I can't even imagine how bad that would smell. I thought a bowel puncture during autopsy was noxious......
 
Ok, now you are driving through the center of your suburban town, say Newton (although why would I go to the liberal woke $hithole) and suddenly traffic is stopped to a peaceful lovefest by Antifa and BLM. and they lovingly break the windows of you car on the drivers side... Being on coumadin a blood thinner after a stroke I would be in fear of my life because if they hit me with the hammer or even a fist I could easily bleed to death, both externally and internally.
I would assume in Mass you just have to take it and shut up...
 
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I think in Mass the laws governing self and/or property defense are as follows:
You shall promptly bury your head in the ground and raise your posterior in the air.

You forgot about the MA statute that requires you to provide assistance in looting your home, providing looters a warm meal and then allowing them to book transport home on your Uber account. Other services will be provided by the state, you will be invoiced separately.
 
Ok, now you are driving through the center of your suburban town, say Newton (although why would I go to the liberal woke $hithole) and suddenly traffic is stopped to a peaceful lovefest by Antifa and BLM. and they lovingly break the windows of you car on the drivers side... Being on coumadin a blood thinner after a stroke I would be in fear of my life because if they hit me with the hammer or even a fist I could easily bleed to death, both externally and internally.
I would assume in Mass you just have to take it and shut up...
MGL C. 278 S. 8A only gives you an "affirmative defense" (that your attorney has to convince the judge/jury not to convict) INSIDE your home . . . nowhere else and there is no other law to protect someone protecting themselves/family from attack anywhere else.
 
MGL C. 278 S. 8A only gives you an "affirmative defense" (that your attorney has to convince the judge/jury not to convict) INSIDE your home . . . nowhere else and there is no other law to protect someone protecting themselves/family from attack anywhere else.

That doesn't surprise me about Mass. I am surprised we are able to take guns to the range [rofl]
 
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