Oklahoma § 21-732

§ 21-732.

Justifiable homicide by officer.

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 21. Crimes and Punishments

A. A peace officer, correctional officer, or any person acting

by his command in his aid and assistance, is justified in using

deadly force when:

1. The officer is acting in obedience to and in accordance with

any judgment of a competent court in executing a penalty of death;

or

2. In effecting an arrest or preventing an escape from custody

following arrest and the officer reasonably believes both that:

a.

such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from

being defeated by resistance or escape, and

b.

there is probable cause to believe that the person to

be arrested has committed a crime involving the

infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily

harm, or the person to be arrested is attempting to

escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise

indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict

great bodily harm unless arrested without delay; or

3. The officer is in the performance of his legal duty or the

execution of legal process and reasonably believes the use of the

force is necessary to protect himself or others from the infliction

of serious bodily harm; or

4. The force is necessary to prevent an escape from a penal

institution or other place of confinement used primarily for the

custody of persons convicted of felonies or from custody while in

transit thereto or therefrom unless the officer has reason to know:

a.

the person escaping is not a person who has committed

a felony involving violence, and

b.

the person escaping is not likely to endanger human

life or to inflict serious bodily harm if not

apprehended.

B. An officer or other person acting by the officer’s command

in the officer’s aid and assistance whose use of deadly force is

found during any pretrial hearing or proceeding to be unjustified

pursuant to this section may appeal such ruling to the Court of

Criminal Appeals within ten (10) days of the ruling. Priority shall

be given to appeals made pursuant to this subsection and an order

staying proceedings shall be entered pending the outcome of the

appeal. If an appeal is not brought within ten (10) days of the

ruling, the officer waives the right to immediate appeal of the

ruling but does not waive any right to assert the claim at trial or

upon direct appeal.

R.L.1910, § 2333. Amended by Laws 1990, c. 179, § 1, emerg. eff.

May 3, 1990; Laws 2025, c. 163, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2025.