Question

Mack is in a bad mood. He has a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Chief's Special in his pocket. Reserve Police Officer Martin stops him and conducts a field interrogation, but Mack draws, points the .38 caliber handgun at the officer, and threatens to shoot him. The officer's partner sneaks up behind Mack and disarms him. The .38 caliber handgun turns out to be unloaded. Mack is guilty of what?

a) Attempted murder
b) Assault with a deadly weapon
c) Brandishing a weapon
d) Aggravated assault

Answer 1

Mack could be charged with brandishing a weapon or aggravated assault for threatening an officer with what appeared to be a deadly weapon, even though the handgun was unloaded.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the scenario provided where Mack draws an unloaded .38 caliber handgun on an officer and threatens to shoot, Mack could be guilty of a number of charges. However, based on the information that the handgun was not loaded, this could potentially rule out attempted murder as there was presumably no actual ability to complete the act.

Assault with a deadly weapon usually requires that the weapon is capable of producing significant bodily harm, which in this case, it was not, since it was unloaded. However, courts have found that if the victim perceives the weapon as loaded and capable of causing harm, it could still qualify.

Mack's actions could most straightforwardly fit the charge of aggravated assault, as he used what appeared to be a dangerous weapon to threaten the officer. Alternatively, the act of drawing and pointing the gun can constitute brandishing a weapon, depending on the jurisdiction's statutes regarding the unlawful display of firearms.