When may an owner or occupant use force to remove trespassers?
In most instances, an owner or occupant of property should call police to remove a trespasser. Property owners and occupants should exercise great caution in the use of force to remove trespassers, and should keep in mind that in an emergency some of the rules of trespass may be suspended. A property owner may not remove someone who seeks shelter from a storm if the emergency exception discussed above applies. A property owner may, however, in some cases, remove a trespasser who does not have a right to be on the property. First, trespassers must be warned that they are unwelcome. A property owner may then use only reasonable force, and may not use force that would cause serious injury. Woodard v. Turnipseed, 784 So. 2d 239 (Miss. Ct. App. 2001).
