In which situation is a peace officer permitted to use reasonable force?

The correct answer pertains to the situation where there is reasonable cause that a person has committed a public offense. In law enforcement, the use of reasonable force is typically justified when an officer has a lawful basis for acting, such as witnessing a crime or having credible evidence that an offense has occurred. This is grounded in the principle that enforcing the law requires a legal foundation; without reasonable cause, an officer would not typically have the authority to intervene, which includes the use of force.

In contrast, the other scenarios lack the requisite legal justification. For example, believing someone is trespassing without further evidence or authorization does not meet the threshold for using force. Feeling personally threatened is also not a sufficient legal basis for using force; it must be the situation at hand that justifies it, rather than personal feelings. Lastly, noncompliance with verbal commands alone does not warrant the use of force, as officers are trained to assess compliance and use appropriate de-escalation techniques before resorting to any physical measures.