Which of the following outlines permissible uses of force?

• A. To punish a suspect
• B. To collect evidence
• C. Defense of self, defense of another, to effect an arrest
• D. To defend another

Answer: (C)

Permissible uses of force are those that are necessary and reasonable to prevent harm and to carry out lawful duties. The main idea is that force is allowed to defend yourself or others from imminent danger and to complete a lawful arrest, not to punish or merely gather evidence.

Self-defense lets you use reasonable, proportional force to prevent imminent injury to yourself. Defense of another applies the same standard to protect someone else who is in imminent danger. To effect an arrest means using force only as needed to overcome resistance and bring the suspect into custody, again within what is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances.

Punishing a suspect isn’t a lawful purpose for force during an encounter, and collecting evidence isn’t a justification for using force in the moment. Those actions belong to punishment through the legal system or later investigative processes, not to the officer’s use of force at the scene.

So the outlined permissible uses are defending oneself, defending another, and to effect an arrest.