Advice for if you ever have to shoot someone in self defense

Over the years, I have taken several firearm training classes from various individuals who were pretty bad arse (some of whom trained SWAT and other special ops LEOs). Here are some tidbits of advice that I received from them that I thought might be helpful if you ever find yourself in that situation:

1. After the shooting and assuming that all threats are neutralized, if it is safe to do so, remove the magazine from the weapon, clear the chamber and set the weapon down. You don't want to have the weapon in your hand when the police roll up, because they won't know if you are a threat and they might end up drawing on you otherwise.

2. Show emotional distress that you had to shoot the guy. Pretend that you just had to put Ol' Yeller down if you have to. Go say the simple statement "I didn't want to have to shoot him but he left me no choice" over and over. A cop testifying that you showed remorse over the shooting goes a long way in court.

3. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING ELSE without a lawyer present. Cop starts questioning you, say you aren't comfortable saying any more without a lawyer present. Cop unions advise their cop members to do this because at the scene, with the adrenaline still pumping, you might remember the facts differently than you would have you have had a chance to review the situation with your lawyer and had a chance to calm down.

4. If you can, before shooting the guy, scream as loud as you can "Get away from me!!! Stay away or I will shoot!!! That's not your purse!!!" Witnesses may not be able to recall accurately who did what, but them testifying that they heard you shout this goes a long way towards a successful self-defense defense. (This is the same reason why cops always shout "Stop resisting!!!" when they are gang-beating a suspect).

5. You can't talk your way out of the ride downtown. You are going to be arrested, even if you were 100% right. Talking at the scene is only going to hurt your case.