Appropriate Use of Force
Reasonable-force standards for private security under California law, including the §835a peace-officer framework as reference, de-escalation duties, deadly vs. non-deadly force, and the SB 230 (2020) clarifications carried into the 2026 BSIS curriculum.
The reasonable-force standard — Graham v. Connor in plain English
The U.S. Supreme Court case Graham v. Connor (1989) 490 U.S. 386 set the rule that courts use to judge force: was it objectively reasonable under the totality of the circumstances facing the officer at that moment? You do not get to use hindsight. You do not get to substitute what a calm person, sipping coffee at a desk, would do hours later. The question is what a reasonable person, in your shoes, with the same information, would have done. Graham listed three factors that matter most: the severity of the offense, whether the subject poses an immediate threat to anyone's safety, and whether the subject is actively resisting or trying to flee. Graham was decided about peace officers under the Fourth Amendment, but the 'objectively reasonable' framework is also the standard juries apply when they judge a private security guard's force in a civil battery case. If you used more force than a reasonable guard would have used to handle that situation, you are exposed — criminally under PC §242 (battery) and civilly for damages. Force is a tool, not a punishment. The moment the threat ends, the force stops.
PC §835a context and the duty to de-escalate
Penal Code §835a, as rewritten by AB 392 (2019), governs peace officer use of force. It says officers should use de-escalation, warning, and other alternatives where feasible, and that deadly force is justified only when necessary in defense of human life. AB 392 raised the bar from 'reasonable' to 'necessary' for deadly force by police. SB 230 (2019) then required every law-enforcement agency to publish a written use-of-force policy and train on it. Strictly speaking, §835a is a peace-officer statute and does not directly bind private security guards. But it sets the tone for what California considers acceptable, and BSIS-approved curricula incorporate its de-escalation principles. Practically, your employer's policies, your civil liability exposure, and your customer's contract requirements will all push you toward the same place: try to talk first, give clear commands, create distance, get help. If you go straight to hands without trying anything else, plaintiff's lawyers will use that against you. The Graham 'reasonableness' floor still controls your civil exposure, but de-escalation is now the ceiling everyone expects you to operate under.
The force continuum — from presence to deadly force
Think of force as a ladder you climb only as high as the situation forces you to climb. Step one is officer presence: showing up in uniform sometimes ends a problem. Step two is verbal commands — clear, calm, repeated if needed. Step three is soft empty-hand control: guiding, escorting, restraining wrists. Step four is hard empty-hand control: strikes used to stop an attack. Step five is intermediate weapons: OC pepper spray, baton — used to stop assaultive behavior when lower options have failed. Step six is deadly force: force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury, justified only by an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to you or someone else. Deadly force is governed by the federal standards in Tennessee v. Garner (1985) 471 U.S. 1 (cannot shoot a fleeing felon who poses no danger) and by California's strict imminence requirement. The continuum is not a ritual — you do not have to climb every rung — but you must be able to articulate why the level you used was necessary at that moment. If the subject went still, you stop. If they ran away with no weapon, you do not shoot.
Equipment and permits — firearm, baton, OC spray
Carrying a weapon in California security work is not a right that comes with the Guard Card. Each weapon has its own license, its own training, and its own course of instruction. To carry an exposed firearm on duty you need a BSIS Firearms Permit under BPC §7583.12, which requires a 14-hour BSIS firearms course and qualification at least every 6 months on the range while the permit is active. To carry a baton you need a BSIS Baton Permit under BPC §7585.10, earned through an 8-hour BSIS-approved baton course. To carry OC pepper spray on duty you must complete an OC training course; the carry of pepper spray by civilians is governed by PC §22810 and is much more permissive, but on-duty carry by a guard is treated as a job tool requiring training. None of these permits transfer between employers automatically — they attach to you, but your right to use them on the job depends on your assignment, your employer's written policy, and your post orders. Working armed without the permit, or with a lapsed permit, is a crime under BPC §7583.36 and §7587 — and it kills your civil-suit defense instantly.
Restraint, chokeholds, and positional asphyxia
Once you have someone on the ground, the danger is not over — it can be just beginning. Positional asphyxia happens when a restrained person, especially someone on their stomach with weight on their back, cannot expand their chest to breathe. It kills people every year, often without anyone realizing the person is dying until it is too late. The rule is: as soon as the subject is under control, get them off their stomach, into a recovery position on their side, or sit them up. Watch their breathing and their level of consciousness. If they say they cannot breathe, take it seriously and adjust. Chokeholds and carotid restraints carry their own history. AB 1196 (2020) added PC §7286.5, banning law enforcement use of the carotid restraint and any chokehold that obstructs blood flow. It is a peace-officer statute, but California courts and juries now treat any neck restraint by a private guard as presumptively excessive force — do not use them. Hayes v. County of San Diego (2013) 57 Cal.4th 622 reminds us that California negligence law looks at the whole sequence, including pre-force tactical decisions, so even how you approached the encounter is in play. The bottom line: control without crushing, monitor while you wait for help, and never sit on someone's chest or back longer than absolutely necessary.
Last updated: May 2026