Self-defense: law enforcement officers’ self-defense, its obstacles, general aspects, and its role as an instrument of social defense

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of legitimate self-defense in the context of public security; it also presents an overview of aspects of legitimate self-defense and its various characteristics, as well as a view of the use of legitimate self-defense as an instrument of social defense and an empirical analysis through research. This article sought to show, based on Article 25 of the Brazilian Penal Code (CP), which illustrates the understanding of legitimate self-defense and its requirements, such as the moderate use of necessary means to repel an unjust aggression, whether current or imminent, and whether against oneself or a third party. Legitimate self-defense is an exclusion of unlawfulness that is provided for in the list of exclusions of the Brazilian Penal Code according to its Article 23, item II, which excludes the crime when the agent commits the act in legitimate self-defense. We also address here the punishable excess. Article 25 of the Penal Code is explicit in stating that moderate use implies that the means have a certain limit to the action; exceeding this supposed limit could lead the victim to violate a basic requirement set forth in the text of the penal code, potentially even making the victim the aggressor. The limits of action of public security agents were also investigated, who are, however, subject to the limits of their actions in legitimate self-defense, which is only authorized to the extent necessary to repel the unjust aggression.