Senate Bill sb0350

    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 350

    By Senator Crist





    12-396-07

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the use of force; amending

  3         s. 776.051, F.S.; providing that, regardless of

  4         a later finding by the court, a person is not

  5         justified in obstructing with violence a law

  6         enforcement officer who is engaged in the

  7         lawful execution of a legal duty; providing

  8         that a person is not justified in using force

  9         if a law enforcement officer acts in good faith

10         and is known or appears to be a law enforcement

11         officer; providing an effective date.

12  

13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

14  

15         Section 1.  Section 776.051, Florida Statutes, is

16  amended to read:

17         776.051  Use of force in resisting or making an arrest

18  or the execution of a legal duty; prohibition.--

19         (1)  A person is not justified in the use of force to

20  resist an arrest by a law enforcement officer or to obstruct

21  with violence a lawful enforcement officer who is engaged in

22  the law execution of a legal duty, regardless of whether a

23  court later finds that the action of the law enforcement

24  officer was unlawful, if the law enforcement officer was

25  acting in good faith and he or she who is known, or reasonably

26  appears, to be a law enforcement officer.

27         (2)  A law enforcement officer, or any person whom the

28  officer has summoned or directed to assist him or her, is not

29  justified in the use of force if the arrest or execution of a

30  legal duty is unlawful and known by him or her to be unlawful.

31         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2007                                   SB 350
    12-396-07




 1            *****************************************

 2                          SENATE SUMMARY

 3    Provides that a person is not justified in obstructing
      with violence a law enforcement officer who is engaged in
 4    the lawful execution of a legal duty.

 5  

 6  

 7  

 8  

 9  

10  

11  

12  

13  

14  

15  

16  

17  

18  

19  

20  

21  

22  

23  

24  

25  

26  

27  

28  

29  

30  

31  

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.