Tex. Penal Code § 9.54 · Subchapter E. LAW ENFORCEMENT
LIMITATION ON USE OF FORCE BY DRONE.
Text — Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
(a) In this section:
(1) "Autonomous drone" means a drone that operates autonomously through computer software or other programming.
(2) "Drone" and "law enforcement agency" have the meanings assigned by Article 2B.0253, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, the use of force, including deadly force, involving a drone is justified under this subchapter only if:
(1) at the time the use of force occurred, the actor was employed by a law enforcement agency;
(2) the use of force:
(A) would have been justified under another provision of this subchapter; and
(B) did not involve the use of deadly force by means of an autonomous drone; and
(3) before the use of force occurred, the law enforcement agency employing the actor adopted and submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement a policy on the agency's use of force by means of a drone, as required by Article 2B.0253, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the use of force conformed to the requirements of that policy.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1011 (H.B. 1758), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021.
Amended by:
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 2.155, eff. January 1, 2025.
Source of truth
- Edition
- Current through the 89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025
- Official file
- https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/PE/htm/PE.9.htm
- Text hash
- sha256 14f779882197bba7c24320b89dc07a5cd2e6a7fad0b11526a347b436d5617984
- Composed by
- compose_tx.py 2026-10-05: the Legislative Council's chapter files read in document order; verify_tx.py's independent reading (lxml DOM walk) agrees character for character
This section cites
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Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.