Protecting Someone Else or Property
KRS 503.070 — force to protect a third person, and KRS 503.080 force to protect property
Physical force is justifiable when the person believes it necessary to protect a third person from unlawful force, and that third person would have been justified in using it. Deadly force is justifiable to protect a third person from imminent death, serious physical injury, kidnapping, forced sexual intercourse or another felony involving force, when the third person would actually have been justified.
- Physical force is justifiable when believed immediately necessary to prevent criminal trespass, robbery, burglary or another violent felony on property the person possesses or protects.
- It is also justifiable to prevent theft, criminal mischief, or taking of movable property in the person's possession.
- Deadly force in defense of property is limited to the narrow cases the section lists, such as someone trying to dispossess the person of their dwelling without a claim of right.
A person defending another has no duty to retreat from a place they have a right to be.
Sources for this section (2)
- KRS 503.070 — Protection of another
- KRS 503.080 — Protection of property
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Kentucky attorney.