<p>Our study aimed to investigate the effects of personality characteristics, cognitive emotion regulation, and impulsivity on the use of legitimate violence by commissioned officers in the French National Gendarmerie. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire including a personality inventory (BFI), an impulsivity scale (UPPS), and an emotion regulation questionnaire (CERQ). To assess their behavioral intention to use legitimate violence, the participants watched a video of a domestic violence intervention and then completed a questionnaire on the use of coercion. The video (Appendix) was designed to show an escalation in a routine intervention to assess how viewers might react when confronted with such a situation. The procedures took place at the French National Gendarmerie Commissioned Officers’ Academy in two sessions held 1&#xa0;week apart between June and July 2022. The participants were 128 commissioned officers (<i>N</i> = 128), of whom 23.44% were women (<i>N</i> = 30) and 25% were former non-commissioned officers (<i>N</i> = 32). Lack of premeditation and perseverance (Impulsivity Scale) and a high score on the other-blame subscale (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Scale) were linked to increased use of restraint. The conscientiousness dimension of the Big Five Inventory appeared to be a protective factor, significantly reducing the use of intermediate force. These results shed light on the factors influencing the use of legitimate violence. Further research on real-life situations could be conducted to corroborate these initial findings and verify their operational materiality.</p>