Use of force in defense of persons
563.031. 1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, use physical force upon
another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to
defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use
or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person, unless:
(1) The actor was the initial aggressor; except that in such case his or her use of force is
nevertheless justifiable provided:
(a) He or she has withdrawn from the encounter and effectively communicated such withdrawal
to such other person but the latter persists in continuing the incident by the use or threatened use
of unlawful force; or
(b) He or she is a law enforcement officer and as such is an aggressor pursuant to section
563.046; or
(c) The aggressor is justified under some other provision of this chapter or other provision of
law;
(2) Under the circumstances as the actor reasonably believes them to be, the person whom he or
she seeks to protect would not be justified in using such protective force;
(3) The actor was attempting to commit, committing, or escaping after the commission of a
forcible felony.
2. A person may not use deadly force upon another person under the circumstances specified in
subsection 1 of this section unless:
(1) He or she reasonably believes that such deadly force is necessary to protect himself, or herself
or her unborn child, or another against death, serious physical injury, or any forcible felony;
(2) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering,
or attempts to unlawfully enter a dwelling, residence, or vehicle lawfully occupied by such
person; or
(3) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering,
or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual claiming
a justification of using protective force under this section.
3. A person does not have a duty to retreat from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the
person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining. A person does not have a duty to
retreat from private property that is owned or leased by such individual.
4. The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of physical restraint as protective
force provided that the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the restraint as soon as it
is reasonable to do so.
5. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of justification under this section. If
a defendant asserts that his or her use of force is described under subdivision (2) of subsection 2
of this section, the burden shall then be on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant did not reasonably believe that the use of such force was necessary to defend against
what he or she reasonably believed was the use or imminent use of unlawful force.
Use of physical force in defense of property
563.041. 1. A person may, subject to the limitations of subsection 2, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent that he or she reasonably believes it necessary to prevent what he or she reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted commission by such person of stealing, property damage or tampering in any degree.
2. A person may use deadly force under circumstances described in subsection 1 only when such use of deadly force is authorized under other sections of this chapter.
3. The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of physical restraint as protective force provided that the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the restraint as soon as it is reasonable to do so.
4. The defendant shall have the burden of injecting the issue of justification under this section.
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