SF 4274

SF4274  REVISOR  VH  S4274-1  1st Engrossment
  SENATE
  STATE OF MINNESOTA
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION  S.F. No. 4274
  (SENATE AUTHORS: HOFFMAN, Howe and Nelson)
  DATE       D-PG  OFFICIAL STATUS
  03/09/2026      6572 Introduction and first reading
  Referred to Judiciary and Public Safety
  03/11/2026      6602 Author stricken Howe
  03/17/2026      6755 Author added Howe
  03/23/2026      6921 Withdrawn and re-referred to Transportation
  03/26/2026    7090a Comm report: Amended, No recommendation, re-referred to Judiciary and Public Safety
  04/07/2026      7918 Author added Nelson
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to public safety; modifying the fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle
1.3crime; authorizing certain actions by peace officers in police pursuits; addressing
1.4civil liability; amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, sections 609.066, subdivisions
1.51a, 2; 609.487, by adding subdivisions.
1.6    BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.7Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 609.066, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
1.8Subd. 1a. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares the following:
1.9(1) that the authority to use deadly force, conferred on peace officers by this section, is
1.10   a critical responsibility that shall be exercised judiciously and with respect for human rights
1.11   and dignity and for the sanctity of every human life. The legislature further finds and declares
1.12   that every person has a right to be free from excessive use of force by officers acting under
1.13   color of law;
1.14(2) as set forth below, it is the intent of the legislature that peace officers use deadly
1.15   force only when necessary in defense of human life or to prevent great bodily harm. In
1.16   determining whether deadly force is necessary, officers shall evaluate each situation in light
1.17   of the particular circumstances of each case;
1.18(3) that the decision by a peace officer to use deadly force shall be evaluated from the
1.19   perspective of a reasonable officer in the same situation, based on the totality of the
1.20   circumstances known to or perceived by the officer at the time, rather than with the benefit
1.21   of hindsight, and that the totality of the circumstances shall account for occasions when
1.22   officers may be forced to make quick judgments about using deadly force; and
Section 1.  1
 SF4274  REVISOR  VH  S4274-1  1st Engrossment
2.1      (4) that peace officers should exercise special care when interacting with individuals
2.2  with known physical, mental health, developmental, or intellectual disabilities as an
2.3  individual's disability may affect the individual's ability to understand or comply with
2.4  commands from peace officers.; and
2.5      (5) that fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle in violation of section 609.487 poses
2.6  an actual and imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the general public.
2.7      EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to crimes
2.8  committed on or after that date.
2.9    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 609.066, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
2.10     Subd. 2. Use of deadly force. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 609.06 or
2.11 609.065, the use of deadly force by a peace officer in the line of duty is justified only if an
2.12 objectively reasonable officer would believe, based on the totality of the circumstances
2.13 known to the officer at the time and without the benefit of hindsight, that such force is
2.14 necessary:
2.15     (1) to protect the peace officer or another from death or great bodily harm, provided that
2.16 the threat:
2.17     (i) can be articulated with specificity;
2.18     (ii) is reasonably likely to occur absent action by the law enforcement officer; and
2.19     (iii) must be addressed through the use of deadly force without unreasonable delay; or
2.20     (2) to effect the arrest or capture, or prevent the escape, of a person whom the peace
2.21 officer knows or has reasonable grounds to believe has committed or attempted to commit
2.22 a felony and the officer reasonably believes that the person will cause death or great bodily
2.23 harm to another person under the threat criteria in clause (1), items (i) to (iii), unless
2.24 immediately apprehended.
2.25     (b) A peace officer shall not use deadly force against a person based on the danger the
2.26 person poses to self if an objectively reasonable officer would believe, based on the totality
2.27 of the circumstances known to the officer at the time and without the benefit of hindsight,
2.28 that the person does not pose a threat of death or great bodily harm to the peace officer or
2.29 to another under the threat criteria in paragraph (a), clause (1), items (i) to (iii).
2.30     (c) A peace officer is authorized to perform an intervention technique during a motor
2.31 vehicle pursuit under section 609.487 that results in death or great bodily harm.
 Sec. 2.  2
 SF4274  REVISOR  VH  S4274-1  1st Engrossment
3.1      EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to crimes
3.2  committed on or after that date.
3.3    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 609.487, is amended by adding a subdivision to
3.4  read:
3.5      Subd. 7. Immunity. Neither a peace officer who engages in the pursuit of a person
3.6  fleeing in a motor vehicle under this section nor the officer's employer may be held criminally
3.7  or civilly liable for bodily injury to the person fleeing or a member of the general public or
3.8  for damage to any property.
3.9      EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to crimes
3.10 committed on or after that date.
3.11   Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 609.487, is amended by adding a subdivision to
3.12 read:
3.13     Subd. 8. Civil liability. (a) A person who violates this section is civilly liable for any
3.14 bodily injury to another or damage to property resulting from the pursuit when an intervention
3.15 technique is employed by law enforcement.
3.16     (b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to a person who violates this section in a motor vehicle
3.17 that has fewer than four wheels, unless:
3.18     (1) the intervention technique involves only a box in or moving roadblock intended by
3.19 law enforcement to gradually slow the vehicle to a stop;
3.20     (2) the person is actively fleeing a violent crime that resulted in death or great bodily
3.21 harm to another; or
3.22     (3) the use of deadly force is authorized in section 609.066.
3.23     EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective August 1, 2026, and applies to crimes
3.24 committed on or after that date.
 Sec. 4.  3