Adopted at the 120th Annual Conference

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

October 23, 2013

Opposition of Legislation Explicitly Allowing Force against Law Enforcement Officers under Expansions to the Castle Doctrine or Self-Defense Laws

Submitted by Firearms Committee

FIR.t0030.2013

WHEREAS, the right of self-defense and the right to defend one's home against invasion are well established in Common Law; and

WHEREAS, many states have a law that is called the Castle Doctrine which allows a person to defend his or her home with physical force if necessary, and there is no duty to retreat from the home even if one can do so in complete safety; and

WHEREAS, most states specifically exclude law enforcement officers and justified law enforcement actions from the application of any Castle Doctrine or self-defense laws; and

WHEREAS, expansions to the Castle Doctrine has the potential to negatively affect public health and the community's sense of safety by undermining prosecutorial and law enforcement efforts to keep communities safe as a result of expanding the realm in which violent acts can be committed with the justification of self-defense or defense of property; and

WHEREAS, laws granting citizens the use of force against law enforcement officers may cause mistaken justification and seriously jeopardize the safety of citizens who uses force or deadly force against law enforcement and of officers in the line of duty; and

WHEREAS, law enforcement officers place their safety on the line every day, our government and laws need to reflect our communities' support for the dangerous situations they routinely encounter and the important decisions that they make for the welfare of our neighborhoods; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police, duly assembled at its 120^th Annual Conference in 2013, opposes any expansions to the Castle Doctrine or self-defense laws that explicitly allow force against law enforcement officers.