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Volume No - 9 Issue No - 2
Police officers cannot rely on s. 25(1) to justify the use of force if they had no legal authority — either under legislation or at common law — for their actions . Because the respondents were not authorized at common law to arrest Mr. Fleming, no amount of force would have been justified for the purpose of accomplishing that task. They were not doing what they were “required or authorized to do” within the meaning of s. 25(1). As a result, no new trial is needed on the issue of excessive force. There is no basis for intervening in the trial judge’s conclusion that the respondents were liable for battery for their use of force in unlawfully arresting Mr. Fleming.