Use of ForceQuestion 82 of 200
A guard's 'fear' alone — without articulable facts indicating an imminent threat — is:
a.Always sufficient to justify any force used
b.Sufficient if the fear is sincere
c.Insufficient to justify force; California law (and Graham v. Connor) requires an objectively reasonable belief based on the totality of circumstances, not subjective fear alone
d.Sufficient if the guard had a bad day at work
Explanation
The reasonableness standard is objective. A jury (or judge) asks what a reasonable person/officer in the guard's position would have perceived — sincere subjective fear is insufficient if articulable facts do not support imminent threat. This protects citizens from force premised on bias, anxiety, or unrelated stressors. Options (a), (b), (d) treat subjective fear as dispositive, which California law (and federal §1983 jurisprudence) rejects. Documenting articulable observations is essential when force is used.
Law Reference: Cal. Penal Code §835a; objective reasonablenessPractice all 200 questions free — no signup required.
Related questions on this topic
- 'Imminent' threat under §835a(c)(1) means:
- California self-defense law (PC §692-§694; CALCRIM 505) requires force be:
- Time, distance, and cover are critical de-escalation tools because they:
- When a force incident results in injury, the most legally protective documentation practice is to:
- After using force resulting in any apparent injury, the guard's medical-care duty is to:
- After deploying OC pepper spray on a subject, the guard should generally:
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