Bill Text: VA SB1332 | 2021 | Regular Session | Prefiled
Bill Title: Law-enforcement officer; use of deadly force during an arrest or detention.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-20 - Passed by indefinitely in Judiciary (9-Y 6-N) [SB1332 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2021-SB1332-Prefiled.html
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §19.2-83.5, as it shall become effective, of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§19.2-83.5. (Effective March 1, 2021) Use of deadly force by a law-enforcement officer during an arrest or detention.
A. A law-enforcement officer shall not use deadly force
against a person unless:
1. The the law-enforcement officer
reasonably believes that deadly force is immediately necessary to protect the
law-enforcement officer or another person, other than the subject of the use of
deadly force, from the threat of serious bodily injury or death;
2. If feasible,
the law-enforcement officer has provided a warning to the subject of the deadly
force that he will use deadly force;
3. The law-enforcement
officer's actions are reasonable, given the totality of the circumstances; and
4. All other
options have been exhausted or do not reasonably lend themselves to the
circumstances.
B. In determining if a law-enforcement officer's use of deadly force is proper, the following factors shall be considered:
1. The reasonableness of the law-enforcement officer's belief and actions from the perspective of a reasonable law-enforcement officer on the scene at the time of the incident; and
2. The totality of the circumstances, including (i) the amount
of time available to the law-enforcement officer to make a decision; (ii)
whether the subject of the use of deadly force (a) possessed or appeared to
possess a deadly weapon and (b) refused to comply with the law-enforcement
officer's lawful order to surrender an object believed to be a deadly weapon
prior to the law-enforcement officer using deadly force; (iii) whether the
law-enforcement officer engaged in de-escalation measures prior to the use of
deadly force, including taking cover, waiting for backup, trying to calm the
subject prior to the use of force, or using non-deadly force prior to the use
of deadly force; (iv) whether any unreasonable or
unlawful conduct by the law-enforcement officer prior to
the use of deadly force intentionally increased the risk of a confrontation
resulting in deadly force being used; and
(v) the seriousness of the suspected crime;
(vi) whether the law-enforcement officer provided a warning to the subject of
the deadly force prior to using deadly force, if feasible; and (vii) whether
options other than deadly force were exhausted or did not reasonably lend
themselves to the circumstances.
