Shooting at a fleeing suspect is only within the rights of an officer if the suspect poses a significant risk, according to a 1985 Supreme Court ruling. In the case of Tennessee vs. Garner, the court found “such [deadly] force may not be used unless necessary to prevent the escape and 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.” If it is found that Brown was fleeing the officer when he was shot, law enforcement would have to prove that he posed that threat in order to justify shooting him. Tony Rothert, legal director for Missouri’s ACLU chapter, said that in the case of an unarmed suspect, demonstrating that would be hard to do.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:55:19 +0000
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