Guides: Protest Rights in Texas: <i class="sll-fa-guide-nav fas fa-bullhorn" aria-hidden="true"></i> Interactions with Police (2024)

State law sets some parameters for when police officers may use force or deadly force. However, local police departments have a lot of leeway in setting their own policies on what types of actions are permitted and when those actions are permitted. Also, local governments can make laws that ban or curtail certain practices (such as choke holds or use of tear gas). School districts who employ school resource officers (SROs) and college campuses with their own police forces can also set their own policies. Be sure to check the laws and department policies in your area.

• Texas Penal Code, Chapter 9, Subchapter E

  This subchapter contains laws that set out when a police officer in Texas can use force or deadly force during an arrest, while preventing escape from a person in custody, and while maintaining security in a correction facility.

• Use of Force Project

  This website contains information on the use of force policies for the police departments of the 100 largest U.S. cities.

• Deadly Misunderstandings About Police Use of Deadly Force

  This article from Gerald S. Reamey, a Professor of Law at St. Mary’s University School of Law, provides an easy-to-understand analysis of common misconceptions about Texas's "police use of deadly force" statutes.

• Texas Cities Took Quick Actions After George Floyd's Death. Advocates Doubt They'll Have a Big Impact. (6/18/2020)

  This news article describes new laws put in place by several cities in Texas regarding police use of force following protests of police brutality.