Say Anything Blog

The secnario is, as far as these things go, a relatively simple one.

Two masked and armed robbers burst into a pharmacy. A pharmacist, Jerome Ersland,  chose not to be a passive victim of armed thugs, or allow others in the store to be victims. He draws and fires his own weapon, hitting one of the goblins in the head. The thug goes down. The second flees and is pursued by Ersland, who then returns to the pharmacy.

Righteous shooting? Absolutely. In many states, including Oklahoma, you no longer have the duty to retreat when confronted by violence and can defend yourself. It’s called the “stand your ground” law. It goes hand in hand with the “shoot the burglar” law that is becoming more and more common in more and more states. You don’t have to be a victim. You can defend youself right up to the use of deady force.

So….why is this guy charged with first degree murder if he just stood his ground in accordance to the law?

Because he didn’t just stand his ground.

After shooting the goblin and chasing the other waste of oxygen from the store he returned, changed guns, and shot the first guy five more times, allegedly while he lay there unconscious.

Did the robber get what he deserved? In my book, yeah. But - did Ersland overstep the bounds of self defense when he returned and shot the guy again?

Unfortunately, the answer to that is that he may very well have stepped across that line.

Ersland was probably deep in the “fight or flight” syndrome. When confronted with deadly danger the body reverts to one of our most primitive impulses. You either want to run, or you’ll fight, and the rules be damned. When that adrenaline starts to pump it is a feeling like no other, a wild electrical charge that surges through you, and it goes back to the beginning of time. It’s a survival mechanism, and it’s hard to be rational when it’s surging through your mind and body.

I know that first hand. Not only has it happened to me, it is one reason many police officers have their careers cut short. They overreact after a pursuit or an armed or even unarmed physical confrontation and either use their weapons when they shouldn’t have or get their hands on some joker who just led them on a high speed pursuit, endangering cirizens along the way and lets them have it. It’s very, very difficult, even for trained police officers to keep an even keel when you finally get your hands on someone who really really needs special attention.

Trust me on that one.

So….for an untrained individual, that fight or flight syndrome can be overwhelming. And I think it overwhelmed Mr. Ersland.

I hate to say it, but the District Attorney who charged Mr. Ersland uses sound reasoning. If he hadn’t returned and shot the thug again (five more times) and with a different gun, he wouldn’t have been charged at all. It required premeditation to get that other gun and finish what he started.

That being said however, I hope Ersland gets out of this with his life relatively intact. He didn’t go looking for trouble. It came and found him and he was more than it wanted. Too bad.

You can find a news video of the DA explaining why Ersland was charged here. He does a very good job explaining the whys and wherefores of the issue.

Best of luck to Mr. Ersland.