When Force Is Used
C.R.S. 18-1-707 — nonviolent means first, deadly force only within narrow limits, and a duty to intervene
Colorado peace officers apply nonviolent means, when possible, before resorting to physical force, and may use physical force only if nonviolent means would be ineffective in making an arrest, preventing an escape, or preventing an imminent threat of injury to the officer or another person.
Who handles this in Colorado: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Colorado directory.
- Deadly physical force may not be used to apprehend a person suspected of only a minor or nonviolent offense.
- Only a degree of force consistent with the minimization of injury to others is used.
- Assistance and medical aid are rendered to anyone injured or affected as soon as practicable.
Deadly physical force to make an arrest is justified only when all other means of apprehension are unreasonable and the arrest is for a felony involving the use or threatened use of deadly force, the suspect poses an immediate threat of death or serious bodily injury, and the force creates no substantial risk of injury to others. Before using it, an officer identifies themselves and gives a clear verbal warning, unless doing so would put officers or others at risk.
Other officers have to step in, and report it. An on duty peace officer intervenes to prevent or stop another officer from using force beyond what the section permits. An officer who witnesses excessive force reports it in writing to a supervisor within ten days, and failing to report it is a class 2 misdemeanor.
The state's own sections are not the only measure of police force. Under the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States has held that force used in an arrest, a stop or any other seizure is judged by objective reasonableness, from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene rather than with hindsight, and that deadly force may not be used to stop a fleeing suspect unless the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (4)
- C.R.S. 18-1-707 — Use of force by peace officers - definitions
- C.R.S. 18-8-802 — Duty to report use of force by peace officers or law enforcement animals - duty to intervene
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) — Force during a seizure is judged by objective reasonableness from the officer's perspective at the time
- Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) — Deadly force against a fleeing suspect is unreasonable absent probable cause of a significant threat of death or serious injury
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Colorado attorney.