Pennsylvania Code
Title 101 - GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Part I - LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE BUREAU
Subpart D - PENNSYLVANIA CONSOLIDATED STATUTES STYLE MANUAL
Chapter 27 - FORMS
Subchapter A - STRUCTURE AND STYLE
MISCELLANEOUS
Section 27.74 - Structure of section with minor subdivisions

Universal Citation: 101 PA Code ยง 27.74

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024

§ 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 necessary 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 (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.

(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.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Pennsylvania may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.