4.23 LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
In general, police officers receive the rights, duties, and liabilities of civilian status.463
However, law enforcement agencies are in many respects similar to military forces. They are
authorized to use necessary force on behalf of the State, are generally distinguishable from
459 See International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries, Dec. 4, 1989,
Annex to U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 44/34, U.N. Doc. A/RES/44/34 (Dec. 4, 1989).
460 AP I art. 61 (“For the purposes of this Protocol: (a) ‘Civil defence’ means the performance of some or all of the
undermentioned humanitarian tasks intended to protect the civilian population against the dangers, and to help it to
recover from the immediate effects, of hostilities or disasters and also to provide the conditions necessary for its
survival. These tasks are: (i) Warning; (ii) Evacuation; (iii) Management of shelters; (iv) Management of blackout
measures; (v) Rescue; (vi) Medical services, including first aid, and religious assistance; (vii) Fire-fighting; …”).
461 Michael J. Matheson, Deputy Legal Adviser, Department of State, Remarks on the United States Position on the
Relation of Customary International Law to the 1977 Protocols Additional to the 1949 Geneva Conventions at the
Sixth Annual American Red Cross-Washington College of Law Conference on International Humanitarian Law
(Jan. 22, 1987), 2 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND POLICY 419, 427 (1987)
(“Turning now to the field of civil defense, we support the principle that civilian civil defense organizations and
their personnel be respected and protected as civilians and be permitted to perform their civil defense tasks except in
cases of imperative military necessity. We also support the principle that in occupied territories, civilians receive
from the appropriate authorities, as practicable, the facilities necessary for the performance of their tasks. These
principles reflect, in general terms, many of the detailed provisions in articles 62 and 63.”).
462 APPENDIX TO 1985 CJCSMEMO ON AP I 69-71 (“In general, the system of protection for civil defense established
by the Protocol is well-meaning, but creates a number of military operational problems. The main practical
problems arise from the ambiguity of the definition of civil defense activities in Article 61. … An attacking force
will often have difficulty deciding whether to respect the sign in a particular case. To lessen the risk of misuse of
this sign and avoid placing an unacceptable burden on proof of an attacking force, an understanding is proposed that
makes it clear that Articles 61-67 do not preclude an attack on an otherwise lawful military objective.”).
463 Refer to § 4.8 (Rights, Duties, and Liabilities of Civilians).
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private citizens, and are often organized like military forces. In cases where States choose to use
police officers as part of the armed forces, they receive the rights, duties, and liabilities of
combatant status.464
Police as Civilians. In general, members 4.23.1 of law enforcement agencies have
civilian status.465 Furthermore, routine domestic law enforcement is part of the general
protection of the civilian population and does not constitute “taking a direct part in hostilities”
that would deprive police officers of their protection from being made the object of attack.466

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