Tacoma, WA Woman's Shooting Of Motorist Ruled Self-Defense

A Tacoma, WA woman is breathing a little easier after the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office decided not to file charges against her for the shooting of a motorist following a fight between the two.

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It seems the woman, while riding a motorcycle, somehow angered 60-year-old Bruce Jones over how she was riding the bike. Then, things got ugly.

The incident took place Feb. 8 in Milton, and the woman, who had been on a motorcycle, said she acted in self-defense when she shot 60-year-old Bruce Jones to death.

The Prosecutor’s Office said that it could not prove that she didn’t act in self-defense because of the evidence in the case.

Witnesses said Jones became upset with how the woman was riding her motorcycle on I-5. He boxed her in, and she couldn’t drive away.

He got out of his vehicle and aggressively approached her on the shoulder of I-5, the Prosecutor’s Office says witnesses report.

The Prosecutor’s Office says Jones initiated the fight.

While it sounds like a heck of a brawl, it appears Jones threw the woman to the ground and started to get on top of her. That’s when she shot him in the chest.

I can’t say that I’m surprised by that. Not only would that be a terrifying predicament for any woman–after all, how many rapes are portrayed just like that?–but would be scary for anyone in general. That was the same position Trayvon Martin was in when he began pounding George Zimmerman’s head into the concrete sidewalk. It sounds like some definite risk to life.

What’s probably the scariest part of this was that it was basically road rage. A 60-year-old man got out of his car and tried to fight a woman. Now, I have no problem with the idea of responding to a violent woman with force if need be, but starting a fight with a woman over how she supposedly drove her motorcycle?

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Again, had she started the fight, it would have been one thing, but that’s not what prosecutors say happened.

What is wrong with this world? The fact that this woman had to defend herself in a situation like this makes me feel like the world really is going to hell in a handbasket.

At least for this woman, this aspect of the nightmare that began on that road is over. While she may well still have a lot of trauma to work through, at least she won’t be trying to work through it while also being prosecuted for protecting her own life. Instead, she’ll be free to make her way through life and get some sense of normality without worrying about lawyers, legal fees, and all of the other nightmares that can come about.

They say it’s better to be tried by 12 than carried by six, and I agree. It’s even better not to have either.

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