While state law allows citizens to protect their property and even make citizens’ arrests, law enforcement officials in the Golden Triangle said Thursday those rights have their limits.
Those limits include “appropriate and reasonable” use of force, the presence of an imminent threat of bodily harm and whether someone has the legal right to be where they are.
Officers with Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and Columbus Police Department responded early Tuesday morning to a call of a “burglary in progress” at Metro PCS on Alabama Street. When they arrived, the building’s owner, Adelnagi “John” Musa, was holding a man he believed to be stealing copper from his HVAC units at gunpoint. He unloaded the gun and put it back in his vehicle after officers showed up.
The unarmed man being detained claimed he was just passing through. CPD arrested Musa but not the supposed thief.
Musa’s arrest has brought public outrage, an outpouring of support via a GoFundMe for Musa that has raised more than $25,000 and questions about whether he even broke the law and what exactly citizens are allowed to do to protect their property.
Marc Amos, an assistant district attorney for the 16th Judicial Circuit — which includes Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties — would not comment to The Dispatch about Musa’s specific situation but spoke generally to those types of circumstances.
“You still get back to the general question: Was the use of force justified in any particular scenario?” Amos said. “You can only use appropriate force.”
Drawing a firearm is considered a use of lethal force, regardless of whether the gun is fired. Amos said citizens are held to the same standard as law enforcement officers, and they cannot draw a firearm on someone without a reasonable belief there is a threat of death or bodily harm.
But what is considered appropriate or reasonable? The answer to that question is complicated, Amos said.
“Essentially, it’s a broad instruction and fact-specific,” he said. “The way that the law is going to read in that scenario … (is) each set of facts is going to be judged on its own merits. With respect to the issue of reasonableness.”
In the Castle Doctrine, a person has the right to protect themselves inside or in the immediate premises of their home, business or vehicle, including using lethal force if there is a reasonable belief their life is in danger. The presumption of imminent danger applies when someone forcibly enters your home, vehicle or business, he said. However, the presumption does not apply in a public space — like a business during operating hours or the parking lot outside.
“There’s a difference between a parking lot and your house,” Amos said. “The Castle Doctrine is not about protecting your parking lot.”
In public spaces, an overt threat of bodily harm — such as a threat of a weapon against you — would need to be present, which would constitute self defense.
Even detaining someone you suspect of committing a crime without a deadly weapon can be considered excessive force, or worse, Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said, and could result in criminal charges.
“If you go out there and point your finger at him, (say) ‘don’t you move,’ and he decides to walk away, I don’t think you can detain him,” Hawkins said. “If you detain him, that could be a violation in itself. The charge would depend on how you did it. If you handcuffed him to a pole, that could be considered kidnapping or something.”
This becomes particularly complicated with the existence of citizens’ arrests. According to Amos, private citizens in Mississippi may arrest somebody without a warrant for a misdemeanor committed in their presence. However, there is still the question of force.
“That arrest must be made in accordance with the law, generally speaking,” Amos said. “If the person making the arrest uses force, and that use of force is unreasonable or excessive, that could render the arrest invalid.”
When a citizen’s life is not in imminent danger, Amos answered that calling the police is always an option and may even be the right one.
“Calling 911 when your life is not in danger is never the wrong approach,” Amos said. “I’m not suggesting that … the only thing people can do when their life is in danger is calling 911. But calling 911 when your life is not in danger and you’re witnessing a crime is always legal.”
Hawkins also discussed citizens’ rights to defend themselves in their own homes and to protect their property. But in the end, he agreed with Amos.
“I never advocate for taking matters into your own hands, handling things with street justice. I don’t think that works,” Hawkins said. “I think calling 911 is always the best course, if nothing else to cut down on liability.”
Despite the letter of the law, Hawkins said he does not agree with Musa’s arrest.
“Should he have been arrested? In my opinion, absolutely not,” he said. “He’s acting as a good citizen and trying to protect his property.”
Still, he disagreed with Musa’s use of a firearm.
“I don’t think he should have been arrested, but that’s my opinion,” Hawkins said. “I don’t think using a gun is the answer.”
CPD Chief Joseph Daughtry did not return calls to The Dispatch by press time.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
