PA Crimes Code (Use of Force)
THE CRIMES CODE OF PA TITLE 18
CHAPTER 5. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF JUSTIFICATION
§ 505. Use of force in self-protection.
§ 506. Use of force for the protection of other persons.
§ 507. Use of force for the protection of property.
§ 508. Use of force in law enforcement.
§ 509. Use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others.
§ 505. Use of force in self-protection.
(a) Use of force justifiable for protection of the person.--The use of force upon or toward another person is justifiable when the
actor believes that such force is immediately necessary for the purpose of protecting himself against the use of unlawful force by
such other person on the present occasion.
(b) Limitations on justifying necessity for use of force.--
1.The use of force is not justifiable under this section:
i.to resist an arrest which the actor knows is being made by a peace officer, although the arrest is unlawful; or
ii.to resist force used by the occupier or possessor of property or by another person on his behalf, where the actor
knows that the person using the force is doing so under a claim of right to protect the property, except that this
limitation shall not apply if:
(A) the actor is a public officer acting in the performance of his duties or a person lawfully assisting
him therein or a person making or assisting in a lawful arrest;
(B) the actor has been unlawfully dispossessed of the property and is making a reentry or recaption
justified by section 507 of this title (relating to use of force for the protection of property); or
(C) the actor believes that such force is necessary to protect himself against death or serious bodily
injury.
2.The use of deadly force is not justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that such force is necessary to
protect himself against death, serious bodily injury, kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or threat; nor is
it justifiable if:
i.the actor, with the intent of causing death or serious bodily injury, provoked the use of force against himself in the
same encounter; or
ii.the actor knows that he can avoid the necessity of using such force with complete safety by retreating or by
surrendering possession of a thing to a person asserting a claim of right thereto or by complying with a demand
that he abstain from any action which he has no duty to take, except that:
(A) the actor is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling or place of work, unless he was the initial
aggressor or is assailed in his place of work by another person whose place of work the actor
knows it to be; and
(B) a public officer justified in using force in the performance of his duties or a person justified in
using force in his assistance or a person justified in using force in making an arrest or preventing an
escape is not obliged to desist from efforts to perform such duty, effect such arrest or prevent such
escape because of resistance or threatened resistance by or on behalf of the person against whom
such action is directed.
3.Except as required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, a person employing protective force may estimate the
necessity thereof under the circumstances as he believes them to be when the force is used, without retreating,
surrendering possession, doing any other act which he has no legal duty to do or abstaining from any lawful action.
(c) Use of confinement as protective force.--The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of confinement as
protective force only if the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as he knows that he safely
can, unless the person confined has been arrested on a charge of crime.
§ 506. Use of force for the protection of other persons.
(a) General rule.--The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable to protect a third person when:
1.the actor would be justified under section 505 of this title (relating to use of force in self-protection) in using such force to
protect himself against the injury he believes to be threatened to the person whom he seeks to protect;
2.under the circumstances as the actor believes them to be, the person whom he seeks to protect would be justified in
using such protective force; and
3.the actor believes that his intervention is necessary for the protection of such other person.
(b) Exceptions.--Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section:
1.When the actor would be obliged under section 505 of this title to retreat, to surrender the possession of a thing or to
comply with a demand before using force in self-protection, he is not obliged to do so before using force for the
protection of another person, unless he knows that he can thereby secure the complete safety of such other person.
2.When the person whom the actor seeks to protect would be obliged under section 505 of this title to retreat, to
surrender the possession of a thing or to comply with a demand if he knew that he could obtain complete safety by so
doing, the actor is obliged to try to cause him to do so before using force in his protection if the actor knows that he can
obtain complete safety in that way.
3.Neither the actor nor the person whom he seeks to protect is obliged to retreat when in the dwelling or place of work of
the other to any greater extent than in his own.
§ 507. Use of force for the protection of property.
(a) Use of force justifiable for protection of property.--The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable
when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary:
1.to prevent or terminate an unlawful entry or other trespass upon land or a trespass against or the unlawful carrying away
of tangible movable property, if such land or movable property is, or is believed by the actor to be, in his possession or
in the possession of another person for whose protection he acts; or
2.to effect an entry or reentry upon land or to retake tangible movable property, if:
i.the actor believes that he or the person by whose authority he acts or a person from whom he or such other
person derives title was unlawfully dispossessed of such land or movable property and is entitled to possession;
and
ii.(A) the force is used immediately or on fresh pursuit after such dispossession; or
(B) the actor believes that the person against whom he uses force has no claim of right to the
possession of the property and, in the case of land, the circumstances, as the actor believes them to
be, are of such urgency that it would be an exceptional hardship to postpone the entry or reentry
until a court order is obtained.
(b) Meaning of possession.--For the purpose of subsection (a) of this section:
1.A person who has parted with the custody of property to another who refuses to restore it to him is no longer in
possession, unless the property is movable and was and still is located on land in his possession.
2.A person who has been dispossessed of land does not regain possession thereof merely by setting foot thereon.
3.A person who has a license to use or occupy real property is deemed to be in possession thereof except against the
licensor acting under claim of right.
(c) Limitations on justifiable use of force.--
1.The use of force is justifiable under this section only if the actor first requests the person against whom such force is used
to desist from his interference with the property, unless the actor believes that:
i.such request would be useless;
ii.it would be dangerous to himself or another person to make the request; or
iii.substantial harm will be done to the physical condition of the property which is sought to be protected before the
request can effectively be made.
2.The use of force to prevent or terminate a trespass is not justifiable under this section if the actor knows that the
exclusion of the trespasser will expose him to substantial danger of serious bodily injury.
3.The use of force to prevent an entry or reentry upon land or the recaption of movable property is not justifiable under
this section, although the actor believes that such reentry or caption is unlawful, if:
i.the reentry or recaption is made by or on behalf of a person who was actually dispossessed of the property; and
ii.it is otherwise justifiable under subsection (a)(2).
4.
i.The use of deadly force is justifiable under this section if:
(A) there has been an entry into the actor's dwelling;
(B) the actor neither believes nor has reason to believe that the entry is lawful; and
(C) the actor neither believes nor has reason to believe that force less than deadly force would be
adequate to terminate the entry.
ii.If the conditions of justification provided in subparagraph (i) have not been met, the use of deadly force is not
justifiable under this section unless the actor believes that:
(A) the person against whom the force is used is attempting to dispossess him of his dwelling
otherwise than under a claim of right to its possession; or
(B) such force is necessary to prevent the commission of a felony in dwelling.
(d) Use of confinement as protective force.--The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of confinement as
protective force only if the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as he knows that he can
do so with safety to the property, unless the person confined has been arrested on a charge of crime.
(e) Use of device to protect property.--The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of a device for the purpose
of protecting property only if:
1.the device is not designed to cause or known to create a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury;
2.the use of the particular device to protect the property from entry or trespass is reasonable under the circumstances, as
the actor believes them to be; and
3.the device is one customarily used for such a purpose or reasonable care is taken to make known to probable intruders
the fact that it is used.
(f) Use of force to pass wrongful obstructor.--The use of force to pass a person whom the actor believes to be intentionally or
knowingly and unjustifiably obstructing the actor from going to a place to which he may lawfully go is justifiable, if:
1.the actor believes that the person against whom he uses force has no claim of right to obstruct the actor;
2.the actor is not being obstructed from entry or movement on land which he knows to be in the possession or custody of
the person obstructing him, or in the possession or custody of another person by whose authority the obstructor acts,
unless the circumstances, as the actor believes them to be, are of such urgency that it would not be reasonable to
postpone the entry or movement on such land until a court order is obtained; and
3.the force used is not greater than it would be justifiable if the person obstructing the actor were using force against him to
prevent his passage.
§ 508. Use of force in law enforcement.
(a) Peace officer's use of force in making arrest.--
1.A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts
to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force
which he believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he believes to be necessary to defend
himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justified in using deadly force only when he
believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other person, or when he
believes both that:
i.such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
ii.the person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony or is attempting to escape and possesses a
deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict serious bodily injury unless
arrested without delay.
2.A peace officer making an arrest pursuant to an invalid warrant is justified in the use of any force which he would be
justified in using if the warrant were valid, unless he knows that the warrant is invalid.
(b) Private person's use of force in making arrest.--
1.A private person who makes, or assists another private person in making a lawful arrest is justified in the use of any force
which he would be justified in using if he were summoned or directed by a peace officer to make such arrest, except that
he is justified in the use of deadly force only when he believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or serious
bodily injury to himself or another.
2.A private person who is summoned or directed by a peace officer to assist in making an arrest which is unlawful, is
justified in the use of any force which he would be justified in using if the arrest were lawful, unless he knows that the
arrest is unlawful.
3.A private person who assists another private person in effecting an unlawful arrest, or who, not being summoned, assists
a peace officer in effecting an unlawful arrest, is justified in using any force which he would be justified in using if the
arrest were lawful, if:
i.he believes the arrest is lawful; and
ii.the arrest would be lawful if the facts were as he believes them to be.
(c) Use of force to prevent escape.--
1.A peace officer or other person who has an arrested person in his custody is justified in the use of such force to prevent
the escape of the arrested person from custody as he would be justified in using if he were arresting such person.
2.A guard or other peace officer is justified in the use of force, including deadly force, which he believes to be necessary to
prevent the escape from a correctional institution of a person whom the officer believes to be lawfully detained in such
institution under sentence for an offense or awaiting trial or commitment for an offense.
(d) Use of force to prevent suicide or the commission of crime.--
1.The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is
immediately necessary to prevent such other person from committing suicide, inflicting serious bodily injury upon himself,
committing or consummating the commission of a crime involving or threatening bodily injury, damage to or loss of
property or a breach of the peace, except that:
i.Any limitations imposed by the other provisions of this chapter on the justifiable use of force in self-protection, for
the protection of others, the protection of property, the effectuation of an arrest or the prevention of an escape
from custody shall apply notwithstanding the criminality of the conduct against which such force is used.
ii.The use of deadly force is not in any event justifiable under this subsection unless:
(A) the actor believes that there is a substantial risk that the person whom he seeks to prevent from
committing a crime will cause death or serious bodily injury to another unless the commission or the
consummation of the crime is prevented and that the use of such force presents no substantial risk of
injury to innocent persons; or
(B) the actor believes that the use of such force is necessary to suppress a riot or mutiny after the
rioters or mutineers have been ordered to disperse and warned, in any particular manner that the law
may require, that such force will be used if they do not obey.
2.The justification afforded by this subsection extends to the use of confinement as preventive force only if the actor takes
all reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as he knows that he safely can, unless the person confined
has been arrested on a charge of crime.
§ 509. Use of force by persons with special responsibility for care, discipline or safety of others.
The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable if:
1.The actor is the parent or guardian or other person similarly responsible for the general care and supervision of a minor
or a person acting at the request of such parent, guardian or other responsible person and:
i.the force is used for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the welfare of the minor, including the preventing or
punishment of his misconduct; and
ii.the force used is not designed to cause or known to create a substantial risk of causing death, serious bodily
injury, disfigurement, extreme pain or mental distress or gross degradation.
2.The actor is a teacher or person otherwise entrusted with the care or supervision for a special purpose of a minor and:
i.the actor believes that the force used is necessary to further such special purpose, including the maintenance of
reasonable discipline in a school, class or other group, and that the use of such force is consistent with the welfare
of the minor; and
ii.the degree of force, if it had been used by the parent or guardian of the minor, would not be unjustifiable under
paragraph (1)(ii).
3.The actor is the guardian or other person similarly responsible for the general care and supervision of an incapacitated,
mentally ill or mentally retarded person; and:
i.the force is used for the purpose of safeguarding or promoting the welfare of the incapacitated, mentally ill or
mentally retarded person, including the prevention of his misconduct, and there is no reasonable alternative to the
use of such force; and
ii.the force used is not designed to cause or known to create a substantial risk of causing death, bodily injury,
disfigurement, unnecessary pain, mental distress, or humiliation.
4.The actor is a doctor or other therapist or a person assisting him at his direction; and:
i.the force is used for the purpose of administering a recognized form of treatment not prohibited by law of this
Commonwealth which the actor believes to be adapted to promoting the physical or mental health of the patient;
and
ii.the treatment is administered with the consent of the patient, or, if the patient is a minor or an incapacitated person
with the consent of his parent or guardian or other person legally competent to consent in his behalf, or the
treatment is administered in an emergency when the actor believes that no one competent to consent can be
consulted and that a reasonable person, wishing to safeguard the welfare of the patient, would consent.
5.The actor is a warden or other authorized official of a correctional institution; and:
i.he believes that the force used is necessary for the purpose of enforcing the lawful rules or procedures of the
institution, unless his belief in the lawfulness of the rule or procedure sought to be enforced is erroneous and his
error is due to ignorance or mistake as to the provisions of this title, any other provision of the criminal law or the
law governing the administration of the institution;
ii.the nature or degree of force used is not forbidden by law; and
iii.if deadly force is used, its use is otherwise justifiable under this chapter.
6.The actor is a person responsible for the safety of a vessel or an aircraft or a person acting at his direction; and:
i.he believes that the force used is necessary to prevent interference with the operation of the vessel or aircraft or
obstruction of the execution of a lawful order, unless his belief in the lawfulness of the order is erroneous and his
error is due to ignorance or mistake as to the law defining his authority; and
ii.if deadly force is used, its use is otherwise justifiable under this chapter.
7.The actor is a person who is authorized or required by law to maintain order or decorum in a vehicle, train or other
carrier or in a place where others are assembled; and:
i.he believes that the force used is necessary for such purpose; and
ii.the force used is not designed to cause death, or known to create a substantial risk of causing death, bodily injury,
or extreme mental distress.
