Legal Authority and Jurisdiction Flashcards

When a security officer is authorized to use deadly force, that authority is MOST commonly restricted to situations involving:

Answer: Imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others

Deadly force is legally justified only when there is an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person.

A security officer who continues to hold a suspect after a police officer has ordered them released could be liable for:

Answer: Obstruction of justice and false imprisonment

Continuing to detain someone after law enforcement orders release constitutes false imprisonment and may also obstruct justice.

Which legal concept holds that a person who voluntarily enters a dangerous situation assumes the risks associated with that situation?

Answer: Assumption of risk

Assumption of risk is a defense that bars or reduces a plaintiff's recovery if they voluntarily exposed themselves to a known danger.

A security officer who witnesses a coworker committing a crime during their shift has a professional obligation to:

Answer: Report it to law enforcement and their supervisor

Security officers have a professional and potentially legal duty to report criminal activity to law enforcement and their supervisory chain, including misconduct by colleagues.

Which of the following BEST describes 'probable cause' in the context of a security officer making a detention?

Answer: Reasonable grounds based on specific facts to believe a crime has occurred

Probable cause requires articulable facts and circumstances that would lead a reasonable person to believe that a crime has been committed.

Under the concept of 'scope of employment,' a security company may be held liable for an officer's misconduct if the misconduct occurred:

Answer: While performing authorized duties at the assigned post

Employers are vicariously liable for employee misconduct that occurs while the employee is performing authorized work duties within the scope of their employment.

A security officer who is licensed in one state and temporarily assists with security at an event in another state without obtaining that state's license is:

Answer: Potentially violating that state's security licensing statute

Working as a security officer in a state without the required license violates that state's licensing laws, regardless of licensure in another state.