How About They RE-Pass the Law

Here's a bright idea - maybe someone in Springfield (probably a Republican) can introduce a Bill to re-legislate the Use of Force law since no one in the media, the churches, the gangs and the City Council seem to understand it. Here's a refresher - we'll underline the interesting parts:

• (720 ILCS 5/7-5)(from Ch. 38, par. 7-5)
  
  Peace officer's use of force in making arrest.
  
  (a) A peace officer, or any person whom he has summoned or directed to assist him, need not retreat or desist from efforts to make a lawful arrest because of resistance or threatened resistance to the arrest. He is justified in the use of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to effect the arrest and of any force which he reasonably believes to be necessary to defend himself or another from bodily harm while making the arrest. However, he is justified in using force likely to cause death or great bodily harm only when he reasonably believes that such force is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or such other person, or when he reasonably believes both that:
  
  (1) Such force is necessary to prevent the arrest from being defeated by resistance or escape; and
  
  (2) The person to be arrested has committed or attempted a forcible felony which involves the infliction or threatened infliction of great bodily harm or is attempting to escape by use of a deadly weapon, or otherwise indicates that he will endanger human life or inflict great bodily harm unless arrested without delay.
  
  (b) A peace officer making an arrest pursuant to an invalid warrant is justified in the use of any force which he would be justified in using if the warrant were valid, unless he knows that the warrant is invalid.
  
  (Source: P.A. 84-1426.)

The police are under no obligation to retreat in the face of resistance. In fact, the words "any force...necessary" appear prominently in the law for a reason. And not to put to fine a point on it, two sections later, the legislature saw fit to put on paper exactly what the obligation of the public is:

• (720 ILCS 5/7-7)(from Ch. 38, par. 7-7)
  
  Sec. 7-7. Private person's use of force in resisting arrest. A person is not authorized to use force to resist an arrest which he knows is being made either by a peace officer or by a private person summoned and directed by a peace officer to make the arrest, even if he believes that the arrest is unlawful and the arrest in fact is unlawful.
  
  (Source: P.A. 86-1475.)

 We're pretty sure every single state legislature across the nation has a similar section. It doesn't matter what you think, it doesn't matter what you know, you may not lawfully resist arrest. The Civil Courts exist to redress these wrongs and affix blame, not the loudest voice on scene.

Maybe the FOP should be pushing this.