The response is now in to the very interesting question posed by U.S. District Court Judge Jed Rakoff (previously discussed here) when deciding whether to free Marc Dreier on bail: “Are these armed guards authorized to shoot him” if he tries to flee?

Counsels’ answer: Don’t Shoot!!

The New York Law Journal reports that in papers submitted to the court on Tuesday, both the prosecutors and Dreier’s counsel agreed that it would not be appropriate for armed guards to shoot Dreier if he attempted to flee:

[Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan] Streeter, said he was concerned about whether private guards would have the authority to detain Dreier if he tried to escape.

“There is a difference between being in an apartment in Manhattan and the [Metropolitan Correction Center],” Streeter said, raising the question of whether private guards could use deadly force.

In papers submitted to Rakoff Tuesday, Streeter concluded that under state law, “absent an imminent threat of deadly force by the defendant, private security guards would have no authority to use firearms or other deadly force against the defendant, either to prevent flight or otherwise.”

Dreier’s attorney Gerald Shargel, in his own submission to the court, reportedly backed away from an earlier suggestion the guards would be armed, stating that Dreier, “has no history of violence,” “is not a physically large or imposing individual,” and would be guarded by “physically fit” (but unarmed) retired law enforcement agents stationed in front of his apartment’s single exit.

Read the NY Law journal article