[Deadly force] may not be used . . .unless the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. . .The intrusiveness of a seizure by means of deadly force is unmatched. The suspects fundamental interest in his own life need not be elaborated upon. The use of deadly force also frustrates the interest of the individual, and of society, in judicial determination of guilt and punishment. . . . The use of deadly force to prevent the escape of all felony suspects, whatever the circumstances, is constitutionally unreasonable. It is not better that all felony suspects die than that they escape. Where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer and no threat to others, the harm resulting from failing to apprehend him does not justify the use of deadly force to do so. . . A police officer may not seize an unarmed, non-dangerous suspect by shooting him dead. Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 3, 9-11 (1985).
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 00:05:12 +0000