One aspect of this came up in a training session I had today: If I understood my trainer correctly, when there is a disruptive person at church, they are not trespassing until they have been asked to leave and refused to do so. Also, in some churches, only the pastor has the authority to make that request, and some pastors really don't w…
One aspect of this came up in a training session I had today: If I understood my trainer correctly, when there is a disruptive person at church, they are not trespassing until they have been asked to leave and refused to do so. Also, in some churches, only the pastor has the authority to make that request, and some pastors really don't want to do so.
Today's trainer also had a different take on another scenario than a different trainer last month. In the scenario, a man is holding a gun to his own head while walking toward the building entrance, with his back to me. What I was told last month was that if the man kept walking toward the door despite instructions not to, once he got close enough to the door that there was no where else for him to go than inside, it would be proper to shoot him in the back. Today's trainer wasn't sure that would be legal, and instead suggested stopping him physically, but not by shooting him. From this case, I wonder if even touching the man would be allowable in some jurisdictions, even though in the scenario, if the man is not stopped, he immediately shoots others inside the building.
We really do need to iron out what a church security team can and can't do in such cases, or we won't have anyone willing to serve on the security team, and perhaps no one willing to even come to church.
One aspect of this came up in a training session I had today: If I understood my trainer correctly, when there is a disruptive person at church, they are not trespassing until they have been asked to leave and refused to do so. Also, in some churches, only the pastor has the authority to make that request, and some pastors really don't want to do so.
Today's trainer also had a different take on another scenario than a different trainer last month. In the scenario, a man is holding a gun to his own head while walking toward the building entrance, with his back to me. What I was told last month was that if the man kept walking toward the door despite instructions not to, once he got close enough to the door that there was no where else for him to go than inside, it would be proper to shoot him in the back. Today's trainer wasn't sure that would be legal, and instead suggested stopping him physically, but not by shooting him. From this case, I wonder if even touching the man would be allowable in some jurisdictions, even though in the scenario, if the man is not stopped, he immediately shoots others inside the building.
We really do need to iron out what a church security team can and can't do in such cases, or we won't have anyone willing to serve on the security team, and perhaps no one willing to even come to church.