Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 644
Force. Power, violence, compulsion, or constraint exercised
upon or against a person or thing. Landry v. Daley, D.C.Ill.,
280 F.Supp. 938, 954. Power dynamically considered, that is, in
motion or in action; constraining power, compulsion; strength directed
to an end. Commonly the word occurs in such connections as to
show that unlawful or wrongful action is meant; e.g. forcible entry.
Power statically considered; that is at rest, or latent, but capable
of being called into activity upon occasion for its exercise.
Efficacy; legal validity. This is the meaning when we say that
a statute or a contract is "in force."
In old English law, a technical term applied to a species of accessary
before the fact.
See also Constructive force; Excessive force; Intervening force;
Reasonable force.
Deadly force. Force which the actor uses with the purpose
of causing or which he knows to create a substantial risk of causing
death or serious bodily harm. Purposely firing a firearm in the
direction of another person or at a vehicle in which another person
is believed to be constitutes deadly force. A threat to cause
death or serious bodily harm, by the production of a weapon or otherwise,
so long as the actor's purpose is limited to creating an apprehension
that he will use deadly force if necessary, does no constitute deadly
force. Model Penal Code, §3.11.
Unlawful force. Force, including confinement, which is
employed without the consent of the person against whom it is directed
and the employment which constitutes an offense or actionable tort or
would constitute such offense or tort except for a defense (such as
the absence of intent, negligence, or mental capacity; duress; youth;
or diplomatic status) not amounting to a privilege to use the force.
Assent constitutes consent, within the meaning of this Section, whether
or not it otherwise is legally effective, except assent to the infliction
of death or serious bodily harm. Model Penal Code, §3.11(1).
See also Battery.
[Black's Law Dictionary,
Sixth Edition, p. 644 ]