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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the use of deadly force to make an arrest. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 9.51(c) and (d), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(c) A peace officer is justified in using deadly force |
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against another when and to the degree the peace officer reasonably |
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believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to make an |
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arrest, or to prevent escape after arrest, if: |
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(1) the use of force would have been justified under |
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Subsection (a); |
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(2) the person to be arrested or attempting to escape |
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after arrest possesses a deadly weapon; and |
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(3) [: |
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[(1)] the peace officer [actor] reasonably believes: |
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(A) the conduct for which arrest is authorized |
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included the use or attempted use of deadly force; or |
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(B) [(2) the actor reasonably believes] there is |
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a substantial risk that the person to be arrested or attempting to |
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escape after arrest will cause death or serious bodily injury to the |
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actor or another if the arrest or apprehension is delayed. |
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(d) A person who is not [other than] a peace officer but is |
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acting in a peace officer's presence and at the officer's [his] |
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direction is justified in using deadly force against another when |
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and to the degree the person reasonably believes the deadly force is |
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immediately necessary to make a lawful arrest, or to prevent escape |
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after a lawful arrest, if: |
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(1) the use of force would have been justified under |
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Subsection (b); |
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(2) the person to be arrested or attempting to escape |
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after arrest possesses a deadly weapon; and |
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(3) [: |
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[(1)] the actor reasonably believes: |
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(A) the felony or offense against the public |
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peace for which arrest is authorized included the use or attempted |
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use of deadly force; or |
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(B) [(2) the actor reasonably believes] there |
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is a substantial risk that the person to be arrested or attempting |
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to escape after arrest will cause death or serious bodily injury to |
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another if the arrest or apprehension is delayed. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. |
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An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, |
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and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For |
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purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the |
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effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred |
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before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |