Maine § 17-A §107 Physical force in law enforcement

Maine Statutes

§ 17-A §107 — Physical force in law enforcement

Maine § 17-A §107

Title 17-AMAINE CRIMINAL CODE

Part 1GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Ch. 5DEFENSES AND AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES; JUSTIFICATION

This text of Maine § 17-A §107 (Physical force in law enforcement) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 17-A §107 (2026).

Text

1.A law enforcement officer is justified in using a reasonable degree of nondeadly force upon another person:

2.A law enforcement officer is justified in using deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes such force is necessary:

3.A private person who has been directed by a law enforcement officer to assist the officer in effecting an arrest or preventing an escape from custody is justified in using:

4.A private person acting on that private person's own is justified in using: 5. 5-A. 6.

7.Use of force that is not justifiable under this section in effecting an arrest does not render illegal an arrest that is otherwise legal and the use of such unjustifiable force does not render inadmissible anything seized incident to a legal arrest.

8.Nothing in this section constitutes

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1.
A law enforcement officer is justified in using a reasonable degree of nondeadly force upon another person:
2.
A law enforcement officer is justified in using deadly force only when the officer reasonably believes such force is necessary:
3.
A private person who has been directed by a law enforcement officer to assist the officer in effecting an arrest or preventing an escape from custody is justified in using:
4.
A private person acting on that private person's own is justified in using:
5.
5-A.
6.
7.
Use of force that is not justifiable under this section in effecting an arrest does not render illegal an arrest that is otherwise legal and the use of such unjustifiable force does not render inadmissible anything seized incident to a legal arrest.
8.
Nothing in this section constitutes justification for conduct by a law enforcement officer or a private person amounting to an offense against innocent persons whom the officer or private person is not seeking to arrest or retain in custody.

Legislative History

PL 1975, c. 499, §1 (NEW). PL 1975, c. 740, §§28-33 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 512, §23 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 18, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 1989, c. 502, §§C5,C6 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 215, §§2,3 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 143, §3 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 173, §23 (AMD). PL 2025, c. 429, §§3, 4 (AMD).