Tennessee v. Garner
Citation
471 U.S. 1 (1985). Supreme Court of the United States.
Facts
Memphis police were called to a burglary at night. Officer Hymon saw a young man (Edward Garner, 15) fleeing across the backyard. Garner stopped at a fence. The officer, seeing he was unarmed and not a threat, nonetheless shot him in the back of the head to prevent his escape, as authorized by Tennessee’s fleeing felon statute permitting deadly force to prevent escape. Garner died.
Issue
Does the Fourth Amendment permit police to use deadly force to prevent the escape of a suspected felon who poses no immediate threat to officers or others?
Holding
The Court held that the use of deadly force to prevent escape of a fleeing, non-dangerous suspect is an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. An apprehension is a seizure; whether a seizure is reasonable requires balancing the governmental interest against the intrusion on individual rights.
Rule / Doctrine
Deadly force may only be used to prevent escape when the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. The fleeing felon rule that permits deadly force regardless of dangerousness is constitutionally invalid. Factors for determining reasonableness include the severity of the crime, whether the suspect is an immediate threat, and whether the suspect is actively resisting.
Significance
Garner constitutionalized limits on police use of deadly force, replacing the common law fleeing felon rule. It is the foundational Fourth Amendment case on excessive force, setting the stage for Graham v. Connor (1989), which established the objective reasonableness standard for all excessive force claims.