Retired captain to invoke ‘stand your ground’ after shooting

Author: The Associated Press
Published: Updated:

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The lawyer of a retired police captain accused of shooting and killing a man says he will use Florida’s “stand your ground” self-defense law to have charges dismissed.

The Tampa Bay Times reports the decision to pursue the strategy had been anticipated. Seventy-three-year-old Curtis Reeves was arrested in 2014 on a murder charge in connection with the shooting and death of a man at a movie theater.

The man, who was 43-year-old Chad Oulson, was shot in the chest and died. Reeves’ lawyer, Richard Escobar, says video from the theater will prove Oulson attacked Reeves first and that Reeves acted in self-defense.

If a judge determines the incident meets the “stand your ground” criteria, Reeves will be immune from criminal prosecution and civil action.

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