The following is a video transcript.
Can you protect yourself in the mall parking lot? Well, a straightforward question deserves a straightforward answer. Yes, you absolutely can protect yourself in the mall parking lot. Not only yourself, however; you can protect any other person to the same extent that he or she could protect himself or herself. Now, in Georgia, the law justifies your use of the threats of force, force, and even deadly force so long as there are sufficient circumstances that will allow you to do so.
Let’s talk about the threats of force and force first. The law justifies your use of the threats of force and force if you have a reasonable belief it is necessary to protect yourself or any other person from an unlawful force. So, if you perceive that you must act by threatening force or using force to protect yourself or any other person from unlawful force or an unwanted touching, the law justifies your action.
Not only that, you can use force which includes deadly force (force intended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm) if you feel you must act to prevent death or great bodily injury or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony. So, if you have a reasonable belief that death or great bodily injury will result if you fail to act, the law justifies your use of deadly force.
Not only that, if you perceive that you must act in order to prevent a forcible felony (some felony that has an element of personal force in it such as armed robbery, murder, rape, and aggravated assault) the law in Georgia justifies your actions. So yes, you can protect yourself in the mall parking lot, but not only yourself, you can protect any other person as well.
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