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Cal. Penal Code § 196 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
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Homicide is justifiable when committed by peace officers and those acting by their command in their aid and assistance, under either of the following circumstances:

(a)In obedience to any judgment of a competent court.

(b)When the homicide results from a peace officer’s use of force that is in compliance with Section 835a.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 21 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1966–2026 · leading case: Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985).
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Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985). · cites it 2× “§ 41-510 (1977); Cal. Penal Code Ann. § 196 (West 1970); Conn.”
Teresa Sheehan v. City & Cnty. of San Francis, 743 F.3d 1211 (9th Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “6; Cal. Penal Code §§ 196 , 836.5, 835a, 847(b).”
Peterson v. City of Long Beach, 594 P.2d 477 (Cal. 1979). · cites it 4× “, Pen. Code, § 196 [justifiable homicide by police officers]; Murphy v.”
Gilmore v. Superior Court, 91 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 3810 (Cal. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 2× “) The trial court entered judgment for the defendants on the ground that the officer’s use of deadly force was justifiable under the provision applicable to homicides committed by police officers, Penal Code section 196, the analogue of Penal Code section 197 applicable to…”
Tiffany Tabares v. City of Huntington Beach, 988 F.3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2021). “7 Defendants argue for the first time on appeal that “[t]here can be no civil liability under California law as the result of a justifiable homicide” under Cal. Penal Code § 196 (2019). See Martinez v.”
Foster v. City of Presno, 392 F. Supp. 2d 1140 (E.D. Cal. 2005). · cites it 2× “” Cal. Pen. Code § 196 . “There can be no civil liability under California law as the result of a justifiable homicide.”
Martinez v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 96 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 5221 (Cal. Ct. App. 1996). “7 Under Penal Code section 196, a police officer who kills someone has committed a justifiable homicide if the homicide was “necessarily committed in overcoming actual resistance to the execution of some legal process, or in the discharge of any other legal duty” or when…”
Robert Dean Mattis, M.D. v. Richard R. Schnarr & Robert Marek v. John C. Danforth, Attorney Gen., State of Missouri, Intervenor-Appellee, 547 F.2d 1007 (8th Cir. 1976). “Pamphlet 1976); Cal.Penal Code § 196 (West 1970); Colo.Rev.”
Long Beach Police Officers Ass'n v. City of Long Beach, 61 Cal. App. 3d 364 (Cal. Ct. App. 1976). “) 6 Penal Code section 196, subdivision 3, provides: “Homicide is justifiable when committed by public officers and those acting by their command in their aid and assistance, either— “3.”
Chien Van Bui v. City of San Francisco, 61 F. Supp. 3d 877 (N.D. Cal. 2014). “Second, Defendants argue that they are protected under California Penal Code § 196. “Under Penal Code section 196, a police officer who kills someone has committed a justifiable homicide if the homicide was necessarily committed in overcoming actual resistance to the execution…”
Mattis v. Schnarr, 404 F. Supp. 643 (E.D. Mo. 1975). “§ 41-2238 (1964) California: Cal.Penal Code §§ 196, 197 (West 1969) Colorado: Colo.”
People v. Hughes, 240 Cal. App. 2d 615 (Cal. Ct. App. 1966). “1), and the use of lethal force for the prevention of a crime, or to effect an arrest, is also limited to cases of felonies and is not permissible in eases of misdemeanors (Pen. Code, § 196, subd. 3; Pen. Code, § 197, subd.”
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