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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Gov. Mitch Daniels signed Senate Enrolled Act 1 into law Tuesday evening. The legislation deals with the right of people to defend against unlawful entry and was created in response to the Indiana Supreme Court ruling in Barnes v. State.
“Contrary to some impressions, the bill strengthens the protection of Indiana law enforcement officers by narrowing the situations in which someone would be justified in using force against them,” he said.
In Barnes, a divided Supreme Court held that residents don’t have a common law right to resist police in any situation. A legislative study committee was formed to look into the law.
The new law puts into place a two-part test before a person can use deadly force against a police officer: it clarifies and restates the current requirement that a person reasonably believe the law enforcement officer is acting unlawfully and adds that the force must be reasonably necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the citizen.
“Moreover, unless a person is convinced an officer is acting unlawfully, he cannot use any force of any kind. In the real world, there will almost never be a situation in which these extremely narrow conditions are met,” Daniels said.
SEA 1 is the last bill the governor signed into law this session. A complete list of legislation is available on the governor’s website.
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