North Dakota Code 12.1-05-02 – Execution of public duty
1. Conduct engaged in by a public servant in the course of the person‘s official duties is justified when it is required or authorized by law.
Terms Used In North Dakota Code 12.1-05-02
- action: means a bodily movement, whether voluntary or involuntary. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Actor: includes , where relevant, a person guilty of an omission. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Explosive: means gunpowders, powders used for blasting, all forms of high explosives, blasting materials, fuses (other than electric circuit breakers), detonators and other detonating agents, smokeless powders, and any chemical compounds, mechanical mixture, or other ingredients in such proportions, quantities, or packing that ignition by fire, by friction, by concussion, by percussion, or by detonation of the compound, or material, or any part thereof may cause an explosion. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Force: means physical action. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
- Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
- Offense: means conduct for which a term of imprisonment or a fine is authorized by statute after conviction. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- person: includes , where relevant, a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, unincorporated association, or other legal entity. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- Public servant: as used in this title and in any statute outside this title which defines an offense means any officer or employee of government, including law enforcement officers, whether elected or appointed, and any person participating in the performance of a governmental function. See North Dakota Code 12.1-01-04
- United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
2. A person who has been directed by a public servant to assist that public servant is justified in using force to carry out the public servant’s direction, unless the action directed by the public servant is plainly unlawful.
3. A person is justified in using force upon another to effect that person’s arrest or prevent that person’s escape when a public servant authorized to make the arrest or prevent the escape is not available if the other person has committed, in the presence of the actor, any crime which the actor is justified in using force to prevent, or if the other person has committed a felony involving force or violence.
4. Conduct engaged in by an individual at the direction of a public servant, known by that individual to be a law enforcement officer, to assist in the investigation of a criminal offense is justified unless the individual knows or has a firm belief, unaccompanied by substantial doubt, that the conduct is not within the law enforcement officer’s official duties or authority. For purposes of this subsection, conduct “not within the law enforcement officer’s official duties or authority” is conduct in which the law enforcement officer alone could not lawfully engage in that officer’s official capacity. When practicable, permission must be obtained from a parent or guardian of a minor who is under the age of eighteen years and is neither married nor in the military service of the United States before the minor may engage in conduct, other than the providing of information, to assist in a criminal investigation under the direct supervision of a public servant.
5. A member of the armed forces is justified in using deadly force when it reasonably appears to be necessary to prevent the loss, theft, destruction, sabotage, or unauthorized control of a nuclear weapon, critical nuclear component, or nuclear explosive device.