I have heard a rumor. It’s something I feel, as an instructor, should certainly be addressed. It has been said that there are some instructors out there, some of them running Iowa Permit to Carry classes, giving some very bad advise in their lessons for CCW. First, let me say as instructors you are responsible for the information and advise you give your students. Teach your students to act responsibly and with knowledge and with experience (if possible) so they themselves do not become the individual sitting in a prison cell for what should have been a justifiable act of self defense or defense of others. The “Use of Deadly Force” is not something to enter lightly. Self defense is not black and white. It is full of gray and judgement calls.

The word is there are instructors out there are advising there students, “You shoot to kill your attacker. Your intent should be to kill your attacker.” If you are a student and your instructor is giving this advise, please be advised this instructor is giving bad information. The instructor who is putting out this type of information to students is WRONG for doing so and is acting irresponsibly. It has been long understood by Law Enforcement and Self-Defense Instructors across the country that, “We DO NOT shoot to kill our attacker and that is NOT our intent in a self-defense situation. Our intent is to use only enough force to stop the threat.” Deadly Force should only be used if there is no other effective option to handle the situation and if loss of life or serious injury will be the result of not acting with deadly force. If you enter a situation with this “Shoot to Kill” mentality in mind you will find yourself in a bad place, PRISON. Nothing against the lawyers out there but, a good prosecutor will draw that out of you and bring your intent to kill forward and result in a prison term or possibly a life sentence. If you should have to fire a defensive firearm in defense during a “Deadly Threat Incident” your point of aim should be “high center chest” in the attempt to “stop the threat”. Firing only enough rounds to get your attacker to stop. This may be one round fired or it may require you empty your gun and reload before the threat has ended. Shot placement of high center chest is the most reliable place in the body to bring on “incapacitation of the threat” and stopping the threat. Incapacitation is brought on by blood loss and lack of oxygen bringing on unconsciousness in the attacker. Shot placement in the ocular cavity will bring on immediate incapacitation of the attacker. Yes, there is a high likely hood that this will cause the death of the attacker but this death is NOT our intent.

Once the attacker has stopped being a threat your “Use of Force’ should have come to an end. Continuing to engage the attacker after he/she has stopped being a threat will make you the aggressor and remove the justifiable use of “deadly force” or the justifiable use of “reasonable force”.

In the State of Iowa as the law is written Iowa Code Section 704

704.2 Deadly Force

The Term “deadly force” means any of the following:

1. Force used for the purpose of causing serious injury.

2. Force which the actor knows or reasonably should know will create a strong probability that serious will result.

3.The discharge of a firearm, other than a firearm loaded with less lethal munitions and discharged by a peace officer, or corrections official in the line of duty, in the direction of some person with knowledge of the person’s presence there, even though no intent to inflict serious physical injury can be shown.

4. The discharge of a firearm, other than a firearm loaded with less lethal munitions and discharged by a peace officer, corrections officer, or corrections official in the line of duty, at a vehicle in which a person is known to be.

As defined in this section, “less lethal munitions” means projectiles which are designed to stun, temporarily incapacitate, or cause temporary discomfort to a person without penetrating the person’s body.

This is only a section of Iowa Code. Notice here; Nowhere does it say “deadly force” must cause death. Serious injury can be judged as “deadly force”. Also many states use similar wording in their laws.

I will leave you with a quote from Massad Ayoob, one of the worlds foremost expert in the “Use of Force”, “Deadly force is justified only when undertaken to prevent imminent and otherwise unavoidable danger of death or grave bodily harm to the innocent.”