Walk It Through: The Takedown
Force a reasonable person would believe necessary, deadly force only in listed cases, and resisting by going limp.
Officers move to arrest a man on a warrant outside a store.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One arrest outside a store. Whether any particular force was justified, and what claim may follow, are questions for a court and case law, and are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- FleeingA driver wilfully fleeing or trying to elude a pursuing official law enforcement vehicle that is appropriately marked, or unmarked where the driver knew it was law enforcement. A class 5 felony.
- Misdemeanor classHow Arizona grades misdemeanors: class 1 carries up to six months and $2,500, class 2 up to four months and $750, class 3 up to 30 days and $500.
- Passive resistanceA nonviolent physical act or failure to act intended to impede, hinder or delay an arrest. Resisting arrest by passive resistance is a class 1 misdemeanor.
- Deadly force in an arrestForce a peace officer may use only when the officer reasonably believes it necessary in the cases the section lists, such as defending against the use or imminent use of deadly physical force.