Liability & LegalQuestion 117 of 200

Penal Code §149 criminalizes assault by a public officer under color of authority, but the underlying excessive-force principle applies to any actor. For private security, excessive force during a citizen's arrest most directly creates which combination of exposure?

a.Criminal liability (battery PC §242, assault PC §240, possibly felony assault PC §245) plus civil liability (battery, false imprisonment, Bane Act, negligence)
b.Only a verbal warning from BSIS, since a use-of-force question is handled as a licensing matter rather than a legal one
c.Loss of the right to vote for the whole period during which any civil judgment entered against the guard for the incident remains unsatisfied on the record
d.Automatic immunity from both criminal and civil consequences if the guard apologises to the person at the scene and records that apology in the incident report before the shift ends

Explanation

PC §149 specifically targets peace-officer excessive force, but the underlying conduct — using more force than necessary — exposes any actor to criminal liability under PC §242 (battery), §240 (assault), or §245 (assault with a deadly weapon or by means likely to produce great bodily injury), and to civil liability for battery, false imprisonment, the Bane Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. The PPO also faces respondeat superior and negligent supervision exposure. BSIS may suspend or revoke the guard card (BPC §7583.22 and §7583.33). Verbal warnings (b), voting rights (c), and apology immunity (d) are incorrect.

Law Reference: Cal. Penal Code §149

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