It is no defense to a prosecution under § 22-11-4 that the law enforcement officer was attempting to make an arrest which in fact was unlawful, if the law enforcement officer was acting under color of authority and, in attempting to make the arrest, the law enforcement officer was not resorting to unreasonable or excessive force giving rise to the right of self-defense. A law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician acts under color of authority if, in the regular course of assigned duties, he or she is called upon to make, and does make, a judgment in good faith based upon surrounding facts and circumstances.
S.D. Codified Laws § 22-11-5
Unlawful arrest no defense if officer acting under color of authority with reasonable force--Color of authority for law enforcement officer, firefighter, or emergency medical technician
Applied in 3 court decisions — leading case Commonwealth v. Moreira (1983)
Most recently applied in Rowe v. Rowe (July 2025)
Source: SL 1976, ch 158, § 11-2; SL 2005, ch 120, § 195.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: South Dakota Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain South Dakota statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.