(1) The use of force upon or toward the person of another is justifiable when the actor believes that such force is immediately necessary to prevent the other person from committing suicide, inflicting serious bodily harm upon oneself, committing or consummating the commission of a crime involving or threatening bodily injury, damage to or loss of property, or breach of the peace, except that:

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Terms Used In Hawaii Revised Statutes 703-308

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
(a) Any limitations imposed by the other provisions of this chapter on the justifiable use of force in self-protection, for the protection of others, the protection of property, the effectuation of an arrest, or the prevention of an escape from custody shall apply notwithstanding the criminality of the conduct against which such force is used; and
(b) The use of deadly force is not in any event justifiable under this section unless:

(i) The actor believes that there is a substantial risk that the person whom the actor seeks to prevent from committing a crime will cause death or serious bodily injury to another unless the commission or the consummation of the crime is prevented and that the use of such force presents no substantial risk of injury to innocent persons; or
(ii) The actor believes that the use of such force is necessary to suppress a riot after the rioters have been ordered to disperse and warned, in any particular manner that the law may require, that deadly force will be used if they do not obey.
(2) The justification afforded by this section extends to the use of confinement as preventive force only if the actor takes all reasonable measures to terminate the confinement as soon as the actor knows that the actor safely can, unless the person confined has been arrested on a charge of crime.

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