N.Y. PEN Law § 35.20 — New York Code / Act PEN / Part 1 / Title C / Article 35 / Section 35.20
Justification; use of physical force in defense of premises and in defense of a person in the course of burglary
Status: in_force

§ 35.20 Justification; use of physical force in defense of premises and\n          in defense of a person in the course of burglary.\n  1. Any person may use physical force upon another person when he or\nshe reasonably believes such to be necessary to prevent or terminate\nwhat he or she reasonably believes to be the commission or attempted\ncommission by such other person of a crime involving damage to premises.\nSuch person may use any degree of physical force, other than deadly\nphysical force, which he or she reasonably believes to be necessary for\nsuch purpose, and may use deadly physical force if he or she reasonably\nbelieves such to be necessary to prevent or terminate the commission or\nattempted commission of arson.\n  2. A person in possession or control of any premises, or a person\nlicensed or privileged to be thereon or therein, may use physical force\nupon another person when he or she reasonably believes such to be\nnecessary to prevent or terminate what he or she reasonably believes to\nbe the commission or attempted commission by such other person of a\ncriminal trespass upon such premises. Such person may use any degree of\nphysical force, other than deadly physical force, which he or she\nreasonably believes to be necessary for such purpose, and may use deadly\nphysical force in order to prevent or terminate the commission or\nattempted commission of arson, as prescribed in subdivision one, or in\nthe course of a burglary or attempted burglary, as prescribed in\nsubdivision three.\n  3. A person in possession or control of, or licensed or privileged to\nbe in, a dwelling or an occupied building, who reasonably believes that\nanother person is committing or attempting to commit a burglary of such\ndwelling or building, may use deadly physical force upon such other\nperson when he or she reasonably believes such to be necessary to\nprevent or terminate the commission or attempted commission of such\nburglary.\n  4. As used in this section, the following terms have the following\nmeanings:\n  (a) The terms "premises," "building" and "dwelling" have the meanings\nprescribed in section 140.00;\n  (b) Persons "licensed or privileged" to be in buildings or upon other\npremises include, but are not limited to:\n  (i) police officers or peace officers acting in the performance of\ntheir duties; and\n  (ii) security personnel or employees of nuclear powered electric\ngenerating facilities located within the state who are employed as part\nof any security plan approved by the federal operating license agencies\nacting in the performance of their duties at such generating facilities.\nFor purposes of this subparagraph, the term "nuclear powered electric\ngenerating facility" shall mean a facility that generates electricity\nusing nuclear power for sale, directly or indirectly, to the public,\nincluding the land upon which the facility is located and the safety and\nsecurity zones as defined under federal regulations.\n