CALCRIM No. 2670

The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that

<insert name, excluding title> was lawfully performing (his/

her) duties as a peace officer. If the People have not met this burden, you

must find the defendant not guilty of <insert name[s] of all

offense[s] with lawful performance as an element>.

A peace officer is not lawfully performing his or her duties if he or she is

(unlawfully arresting or detaining someone/ [or] using unreasonable or

excessive force when making or attempting to make an otherwise lawful

arrest or detention).

<A. Unlawful Detention>

[A peace officer may legally detain someone if [the person consents to the

detention or if]:

1. Specific facts known or apparent to the officer lead him or her to

suspect that the person to be detained has been, is, or is about to

be involved in activity relating to crime;

AND

2. A reasonable officer who knew the same facts would have the

same suspicion.

Any other detention is unlawful.

In deciding whether the detention was lawful, consider evidence of the

officer’s training and experience and all the circumstances known by the

officer when he or she detained the person.]

<B. Unlawful Arrest>

[A peace officer may legally arrest someone [either] (on the basis of an

arrest warrant/ [or] if he or she has probable cause to make the arrest).

Any other arrest is unlawful.

Probable cause exists when the facts known to the arresting officer at the

time of the arrest would persuade someone of reasonable caution that

the person to be arrested has committed a crime.

In deciding whether the arrest was lawful, consider evidence of the

officer’s training and experience and all the circumstances known by the

officer when he or she arrested the person.]

<Arrest without warrant for most misdemeanors or infractions>

[In order for an officer to lawfully arrest someone without a warrant for

a misdemeanor or infraction, the officer must have probable cause to

believe that the person to be arrested committed a misdemeanor or

infraction in the officer’s presence.]

<Arrest without warrant for felony or misdemeanor not requiring commission

in offıcer’s presence; see Bench Notes>

[In order for an officer to lawfully arrest someone for (a/an) (felony/ [or]

<insert misdemeanor not requiring commission in offıcer’s

presence>) without a warrant, the officer must have probable cause to

believe the person to be arrested committed (a/an) (felony/ [or]

<insert misdemeanor not requiring commission in offıcer’s

presence>). However, it is not required that the offense be committed in

the officer’s presence.]

<insert crime that was basis for arrest> is (a/an) (felony/

misdemeanor/infraction).

<Entering home without warrant>

[In order for an officer to enter a home to arrest someone without a

warrant [and without consent]:

1. The officer must have probable cause to believe that the person to

be arrested committed a crime and is in the home;

AND

2. Exigent circumstances require the officer to enter the home

without a warrant.

The term exigent circumstances describes an emergency situation that

requires swift action to prevent (1) imminent danger to life or serious

damage to property, or (2) the imminent escape of a suspect or

destruction of evidence.]

[The officer must tell that person that the officer intends to arrest him or

her, why the arrest is being made, and the authority for the arrest. [The

officer does not have to tell the arrested person these things if the officer

has probable cause to believe that the person is committing or

attempting to commit a crime, is fleeing immediately after having

committed a crime, or has escaped from custody.] [The officer must also

tell the arrested person the offense for which he or she is being arrested

if he or she asks for that information.]]

<When giving either paragraph A on unlawful detention or paragraph B on

unlawful arrest, give the following paragraph also, if applicable>

[Photographing or recording a peace officer while the officer is in a

public place or while the person photographing or recording is in a place

where he or she has the right to be is not, by itself, a crime nor a basis

CALCRIM No. 2670 CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT

for (reasonable suspicion to detain/ [nor] probable cause to arrest).]

<C. Use of Force by a Peace Offıcer>

[Special rules control the use of force.]

[A peace officer may use reasonable non-deadly force to arrest or detain

someone, to prevent escape, to overcome resistance, or in self-defense.]

[A peace officer may use deadly force if (he/she):

1. Reasonably believed, based on the totality of the circumstances,

that the force was necessary to defend against an imminent threat

of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person;

OR

2. Reasonably believed, based on the totality of the circumstances,

that:

a. <insert name of fleeing felon> was fleeing;

b. The force was necessary to arrest or detain

<insert name of fleeing felon> for the crime of

<insert name of felony>;

c. The commission of the crime of <insert name of

felony>created a risk of or resulted in death or serious bodily

injury to another person;

AND

d. <insert name of fleeing felon> would cause death

or serious bodily injury to another person unless immediately

arrested or detained.]

[Deadly force means any use of force that creates a substantial risk of

causing death or serious bodily injury. Deadly force includes, but is not

limited to, the discharge of a firearm.]

[A serious bodily injury means a serious impairment of physical

condition. Such an injury may include[, but is not limited to]: (loss of

consciousness/ concussion/ bone fracture/ protracted loss or impairment

of function of any bodily member or organ/ a wound requiring extensive

suturing/ [and] serious disfigurement).]

[A threat of death or serious bodily injury is imminent when, based on

the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable officer in the same

situation would believe that a person has the present ability, opportunity,

and apparent intent to immediately cause death or serious bodily injury

to the peace officer or to another person. An imminent harm is not

merely a fear of future harm, no matter how great the fear and no

matter how great the likelihood of the harm, but is one that, from

CRIMES AGAINST GOVERNMENT CALCRIM No. 2670

appearances, must be instantly confronted and addressed.]

Totality of the circumstances means all facts known to the peace officer at

the time, including the conduct of the defendant and

<insert name of offıcer> leading up to the use of deadly force.

[A peace officer who makes or attempts to make an arrest need not

retreat or stop because the person being arrested is resisting or

threatening to resist. A peace officer does not lose (his/her) right to self -

defense by using objectively reasonable force to arrest or to prevent

escape or to overcome resistance.]

<D. Use of Force by a Person Being Arrested or Detained>

[If a person knows, or reasonably should know, that a peace officer is

arresting or detaining him or her, the person must not use force or any

weapon to resist an officer’s use of reasonable force. [However, you may

not find the defendant guilty of resisting arrest if the arrest was

unlawful, even if the defendant knew or reasonably should have known

that the officer was arresting him or her.]]

[If a peace officer uses unreasonable or excessive force while (arresting

or attempting to arrest/ [or] detaining or attempting to detain) a person,

that person may lawfully use reasonable force to defend himself or

herself.

A person being arrested or detained uses reasonable force when he or

she: (1) uses that degree of force that he or she actually believes is

reasonably necessary to protect himself or herself from the officer’s use

of unreasonable or excessive force; and (2) uses no more force than a

reasonable person in the same situation would believe is necessary for

his or her protection.]

New January 2006; Revised August 2016, March 2022, September 2022, October