Two separate bills that attempt to define the term ‘physical force’ as it pertains to law enforcement have both made it past a critical deadline.
HB 2037 passed out of the House Public Safety committee and now heads to the House floor for a vote. As amended, the bill authorizes
a law enforcement officer to use physical force:
- To the extent necessary to protect against a criminal offense when there is probable cause that a person is committing or is about to commit an offense;
- To prevent a person from fleeing or stop a person who is actively fleeing a lawful temporary investigative detention, provided that the person has been given notice that he or she is being detained and is not free to leave.
HB 2037 also defines physical force as: “any act reasonably likely to cause physical pain or injury or any other act exerted upon a person’s body to compel, control, constrain, or restrain the person’s movement.”
Additionally, the amendment clarifies that physical force does not include pat-downs, incidental touching, verbal commands, or compliant handcuffing where there is no physical pain or injury.
SB 5919, which originally addressed police pursuits was amended to authorize a law enforcement officer to use physical force to effect
an investigative detention with less than probable cause if the law enforcement officer has reasonable and articulable facts that point towards criminal activity, including when, under the totality of the circumstances, the situation escalates so
that there are now facts sufficient to effectuate an arrest, whether or not an arrest is carried out.
The definition of physical force in SB 5919 mirrors the definition in HB 2037, except that the word “reasonably” is not included in the Senate version.
Both bills are in their respective Rules committees awaiting a floor vote.