Criminal Justice (Firearms)

Minnesota Senate File 1695 modifies Minnesota Statutes § 609.066, clarifying when police officers may use deadly force to protect a person from "apparent death." The bill requires that any threat justifying deadly force must be specifically articulated, reasonably likely to occur without officer intervention, and necessitate immediate deadly force without delay. It explicitly prohibits officers from using deadly force solely based on a person's self-harm risk unless the threat meets these three criteria. The law directly affects peace officers across Minnesota by setting clearer standards for deadly force use during encounters involving potential life-threatening situations.

This bill amends Minnesota Statutes section 609.06 to clarify that individuals legally allowed to use force for self-defense under specific circumstances (subdivision 1, clause 3) are not required to retreat before making a reasonable threat to use force. It directly affects Minnesotans who claim self-defense, removing the obligation to move away from a perceived threat before stating they will use force. The key provision explicitly states that the "duty to retreat" does not apply in these situations, even if retreat is possible. The change applies only to threats made before using force in legally recognized self-defense scenarios. The bill is effective upon final enactment.

SF 667 amends Minnesota Statutes section 624.712, subdivision 5, to expand the definition of "crime of violence" for firearms restrictions. It adds specific offenses like aggravated robbery (609.245), domestic assault (609.2242), criminal sexual conduct (609.342-345), and gang-related crimes (609.229) to the list of offenses triggering firearm prohibitions. This directly affects individuals convicted of these specific crimes, as it would now require them to surrender firearms under state law. The change clarifies which existing offenses qualify as "crimes of violence" when determining firearm restrictions under Minnesota law.