                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

USE OF DEADLY FORCE BY A LAW-ENFORCEMENT OFFICER DURING AN ARREST OR DETENTION
(§ 19.2-83.5)

A. A law-enforcement officer shall not use deadly force against a person unless:

   1. 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&#8217;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&#8217;s use of deadly force is
proper, the following factors shall be considered:

   1. The reasonableness of the law-enforcement officer&#8217;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&#8217;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 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.

HISTORY: 2020, Sp. Sess. I, c. 37.