Indiana Self-Defense Cases

If you used force to protect yourself or someone else, you may be facing questions from the police, an investigation, or criminal charges, even though you believe you did nothing wrong. What you do in the first hours and days can affect what happens next.

As a prosecutor, I reviewed self-defense claims and made charging decisions in those cases. That experience helps me evaluate the evidence and understand the issues that may affect a charging decision. I use it to prepare and present a defense based on the facts and the law.

What does Indiana law say about self-defense?

Indiana law allows reasonable force to protect yourself or another person against an imminent unlawful threat. Deadly force has additional requirements. Separate rules apply to defending a home, the area closely around it, an occupied vehicle, other property, and encounters with police officers and other public servants.

A few ideas run through most self-defense cases:

• Your belief about the danger. Your actual belief about the danger matters, and ordinarily that belief must also be reasonable under the circumstances. A reasonable mistake about the danger can still support self-defense. In a narrow category of cases, Indiana law also protects defensive force that the evidence shows really was necessary and proportionate, even if the person's belief at the time was not reasonable. This does not excuse retaliation or an unreasonable mistake about a threat.
• An imminent threat. The threat must be happening now or about to happen, not a past wrong or a possible future one.
• Proportionate force. The force used must be proportionate to the danger. Using more force than necessary, or continuing to use force after the danger has passed, can defeat self-defense.
• How the confrontation started. Courts also consider whether you were somewhere you had a right to be, and whether you provoked, instigated or willingly participated in the violence. Starting a fight or voluntarily joining one can prevent a self-defense claim, subject to the withdrawal rule described below.

Do I have to retreat before defending myself?

When you reasonably believe deadly force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to yourself or another person, or to prevent a forcible felony, Indiana law permits that force and imposes no duty to retreat. This is often called a "stand your ground" law. The law's other restrictions still apply.

There is also no duty to retreat when you reasonably believe force is necessary to prevent or stop an unlawful entry into, or attack on, your home, its curtilage or an occupied vehicle.

Having no legal duty to retreat does not mean confrontation is the safest choice.

When can I use deadly force?

Deadly force means force that creates a substantial risk of serious bodily injury. It may be justified when you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent:

• serious bodily injury to yourself or another person, meaning injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or causes serious permanent disfigurement, unconsciousness, extreme pain, permanent or prolonged loss or impairment of the function of a body part or organ, or loss of a fetus; or
• the commission of a forcible felony, meaning a felony that involves the use or threat of force against a person, or in which there is imminent danger of bodily injury to a person.

Can I defend my home, car or property?

Special rules apply to your dwelling, its curtilage and an occupied motor vehicle. A dwelling can include a temporary or movable place where you live or are lodging. Curtilage means the area closely associated with the home, not necessarily all the land you own. The law may permit reasonable force, including deadly force, when you reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent or stop an unlawful entry into, or attack on, these places. This is not permission to shoot someone just because they are on your property.

Protecting other property, such as an unoccupied car or items outside the specially protected places, generally permits only reasonable force that is not deadly. You may use that force to immediately prevent or stop a trespass on, or criminal interference with, property lawfully in your possession, in your immediate family's possession, or that you have authority to protect. Deadly force requires a separate justification: preventing serious bodily injury or a forcible felony.

Can I defend someone else?

Yes. The same rules apply when you use force to protect another person, such as a family member, a friend or a stranger, from what you reasonably believe is the imminent use of unlawful force.

When is self-defense not available?

Indiana law says force is not justified when a person:

• is committing a crime, or escaping after committing one, that has an immediate causal connection to the confrontation. Committing an unrelated crime at the time does not automatically eliminate self-defense; whether the connection exists depends on the facts;
• provokes someone into acting unlawfully, intending to cause that person bodily injury; or
• entered into a fight willingly, or started it. A person in that position can regain the right to self-defense only by withdrawing, clearly communicating the intent to withdraw, and the other person nevertheless continuing or threatening to continue unlawful action.

Who has to prove self-defense?

When self-defense is raised and supported by evidence, the State must disprove at least one required part of the defense beyond a reasonable doubt. You do not bear the burden of proving self-defense. The supporting evidence does not have to come from your own testimony.

Self-defense cases are usually decided by the facts: what each person did, what witnesses saw, what any video shows, and the injuries.

Does self-defense mean I cannot be arrested or charged?

No. Claiming self-defense does not automatically prevent an investigation, an arrest or a criminal charge. Indiana's self-defense law does not set up a separate pretrial hearing to decide immunity from criminal charges. If a case goes to trial, self-defense can bar a conviction. The statute's "no legal jeopardy" language also protects defensive force that the evidence shows was actually necessary and proportionate against an imminent threat.

Indiana law also provides civil immunity for justified force against claims by the person whose conduct justified that force, and bars certain related claims brought by or for someone who was committing or attempting a forcible felony or causing or attempting unlawful serious bodily injury.

Can I use force against a police officer?

Indiana has special, restrictive rules for force against police officers and other public servants. Reasonable force may be justified only in specified situations involving unlawful force, an unlawful entry or attack, or unlawful interference with property. It is not justified if you reasonably believe the officer is acting lawfully or lawfully carrying out official duties, and other restrictions also apply.

Deadly force against someone you know, or reasonably should know, is a public servant requires both a reasonable belief that the person is acting unlawfully or is not carrying out official duties, and that the force is reasonably necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to you or another person.

For your safety, avoid physical confrontation with police. If you believe an officer acted unlawfully, talk with a lawyer about challenging it afterward.

Does carrying a handgun without a permit affect self-defense?

Since July 1, 2022, a person 18 or older who is not prohibited by state or federal law from possessing or carrying a handgun generally does not need an Indiana license to carry one in Indiana. This does not remove restrictions on where a handgun may be carried, and it does not change the requirements for lawful self-defense.

If you are prohibited from having a firearm, using one in self-defense raises additional issues. A valid self-defense claim does not automatically excuse a separate unlawful possession or carrying charge. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to anyone else about it.

What should I do after defending myself?

• Get to safety and call 911. Give truthful information about the emergency, your location, any injuries and any immediate danger.
• Keep it short with police. You can be respectful, identify yourself and point out any immediate danger, and still decline to give a detailed statement until you have talked with a lawyer.
• Do not guess. If you do not know or remember something, say so.
• Get medical care and document injuries. Photographs taken soon after the incident can be important evidence.
• Preserve evidence. Keep existing messages, voicemails and recordings. Note nearby cameras, such as doorbell, business and dash cameras; many systems record over themselves within days. Do not delete anything, ask anyone to change their account of what happened, or coordinate stories.
• Avoid discussing it publicly. Stay off social media about the incident, and discuss the facts privately with your lawyer.
• Call a lawyer promptly, even if you have not been arrested or charged.

Can a lawyer help before I am charged?

Yes. Before charges are filed, a lawyer may be able to:

• find and preserve video, 911 recordings and other evidence before it is lost;
• identify and interview witnesses;
• document injuries and the scene;
• advise you about communications with investigators, and communicate on your behalf when appropriate; and
• when it helps you, present information to the prosecutor before a charging decision is made. The charging decision remains with the prosecutor.

Sometimes the right choice is to say nothing at all. That is a decision we make together, based on the evidence.

How I defend self-defense cases

• Act early to secure video, 911 calls, phone records and physical evidence.
• Reconstruct the timeline and the scene, including lighting, distances and sight lines.
• Investigate relevant prior threats, violence and reputation, and determine what evidence the court may allow. Threats or violence you knew about before the incident may help explain your fear.
• Review every statement, report and body camera recording.
• Evaluate whether self-defense is supported by the evidence, and present that defense when appropriate, from the investigation through trial.

Every case depends on its own facts. This page is general information, not legal advice, and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.