Which statement best defines deadly force?

• A. Force likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.
• B. Any force used against a person in self-defense.
• C. Non-lethal force used to subdue a suspect with minimum risk.
• D. Any force used during an arrest that results in pain.

Answer: (A)

Deadly force means force that creates a substantial risk of causing death or serious bodily injury. This definition matters because it sets the boundary between force that could kill or seriously harm someone and force that is simply controlling or restraining without such risk. The best statement captures that precise threshold: it describes force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.

Other descriptions are broader or refer to force without that lethal risk. Self-defense can involve non-lethal force, which is still allowed under certain conditions, but not all self-defense actions are deadly. Non-lethal force is specifically intended to subdue without creating a significant risk of death. And force used during an arrest that results in pain isn’t automatically deadly force, since many arrest techniques are meant to restrain and may be painful without causing death or serious injury.