PRINTER'S NO. 3062
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2556
Session of
2022
INTRODUCED BY LEE, FRANKEL, KULIK, RABB, KINSEY AND KRAJEWSKI,
APRIL 27, 2022
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 27, 2022
AN ACT
Amending Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in general principles of
justification, further providing for use of force in law
enforcement.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Section 508(a) of Title 18 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
ยง 508. Use of force in law enforcement.
(a) Peace officer's use of force in making arrest.--
[(1)] A peace officer, or any person whom he has
summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or
desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of
resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is
justified in the use of [any] reasonable force which he
believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of [any]
reasonable force which he believes to be necessary to defend
himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest.
However, he is justified in using deadly force only when he
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
reasonably believes that such force is necessary to [prevent
death or serious bodily injury to himself or such other
person, or when he believes both that:
(i) such force is necessary to prevent the arrest
from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
(ii) the person to be arrested has committed or
attempted a forcible felony or is attempting to escape
and possesses a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates
that he will endanger human life or inflict serious
bodily injury unless arrested without delay.
(2) A peace officer making an arrest pursuant to an
invalid warrant is justified in the use of any force which he
would be justified in using if the warrant were valid, unless
he knows that the warrant is invalid.] protect himself or
another from imminent death, serious bodily injury,
kidnapping or sexual intercourse compelled by force or
threat.
* * *
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
20220HB2556PN3062 - 2 -
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19