Union Leader article on lethal force, quotes Dean

At a community meeting in Bedford Thursday, a resident asked the police chief under what circumstances a resident could use lethal force against a burglar.

"Say you're asleep, you hear a noise, glass breaks, you hear somebody in there, you know they don't belong," said the resident, who didn't provide his name. "Are you expected to ascertain whether they're armed if you have the ability to take them out legally?"

Joking that he's not a lawyer but has been accused of being one, Chief John Bryfonski sidestepped the question, saying it's inappropriate for him to provide a legal opinion.

"The RSA is there," Bryfonski said. "I think that folks should read it. Understand it. If they don't fully understand the aspects of the use of force or deadly physical force by a civilian . . . then you should seek your own legal guidance."

The meeting was called a week and a half after an assault at an upscale Bedford home. Dr. Eduardo Quesada and his wife, Sonia, were both hurt in the attack, which occurred after they entered their home. Quesada, an anesthesiologist at Elliot Hospital in Manchester, was in critical condition and remains hospitalized. His wife was released last week.

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Concord attorney Penny Dean, an advocate of gun rights, said she cautions people that the problem isn't the law, it's police and prosecutors interpreting the law.

"When you get arrested, you get to raise it as a shield at trial. But the Legislature intended this for you to not be arrested in the first place," she said. "I tell people that, yes, you can defend yourself in this state. But you'd better be ready to defend yourself in court, too."

Dean said the interpretation of the use of deadly force by prosecutors is often inconsistent and often sides with criminals rather than with people defending themselves. She said police, prosecutors and judges seem to want people, in the throes of a panicked situation, to make rational, calm decisions while being attacked.

"If you see someone with a knife in your house, they want you to reasonably determine if he's going to kill you or just cut you," she said. "Do you want to sit there and debate it with (the attacker)?"

The problem, she said, is that the presence of an arrest is a stain on a person's reputation, even if they are acquitted.

"There's a financial cost and a social cost," she said. "Think about it. Would you like to not be charged? Or are you fine with saying, 'Oh, I can just raise this at trial?'"

She said she has defended "innocent" people who are asked by police why they were in a certain place or acted the way did, rather than focusing on the person who broke into the house to begin with. She likened today's use of home defense laws to how rape victims decades ago "were asked why they were walking in a certain area or dressed a certain way. They're blaming the victim instead of blaming the criminal who attacked the victim."

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