{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-503.055","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 503.055","heading":"Use of defensive force regarding dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle --","body":"Exceptions.\n(1) A person is presumed to have held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or\ngreat bodily harm to himself or herself or another when using defensive force that is\nintended or likely to cause death or great bodily harm to another if:\n(a) The person against whom the defensive force was used was in the process of\nunlawfully and forcibly entering or had unlawfully and forcibly entered a\ndwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle, or if that person had removed or was\nattempting to remove another against that person's will from the dwelling,\nresidence, or occupied vehicle; and\n(b) The person who uses defensive force knew or had reason to believe that an\nunlawful and forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act was occurring or had\noccurred.\n(2) The presumption set forth in subsection (1) of this section does not apply if:\n(a) The person against whom the defensive force is used has the right to be in or\nis a lawful re sident of the dwelling, residence, or vehicle, such as an owner,\nlessee, or titleholder, and there is not an injunction for protection from\ndomestic violence or a written pretrial supervision order of no contact against\nthat person;\n(b) The person sought t o be removed is a child or grandchild, or is otherwise in\nthe lawful custody or under the lawful guardianship of the person against\nwhom the defensive force is used;\n(c) The person who uses defensive force is engaged in an unlawful activity or is\nusing the  dwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle to further an unlawful\nactivity; or\n(d) The person against whom the defensive force is used is a peace officer, as\ndefined in KRS 446.010, who enters or attempts to enter a dwelling,\nresidence, or vehicle in the pe rformance of his or her official duties, and the\nofficer identified himself or herself in accordance with any applicable law or\nthe person using force knew or reasonably should have known that the person\nentering or attempting to enter was a peace officer.\n(3) A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any\nother place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right\nto stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or\nshe reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm\nto himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a felony involving\nthe use of force.\n(4) A person who unlawfully and by force enters or attempts to en ter a person's\ndwelling, residence, or occupied vehicle is presumed to be doing so with the intent\nto commit an unlawful act involving force or violence.","path":["KRS Chapter 503"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19670","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:00Z","sha256":"2b0f4241f724fa3bbd3c56b41f1906acf6835588ffaeefa2a0a3702e192acb58","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-503.050","next":"us-ky/krs-503.060"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}