Fleeing felon rule explained

In common law, the fleeing felon rule permits the use of force, including deadly force, against an individual who is suspected of a felony and is in clear flight.^[1]

U.S. law

Under U.S. law the fleeing felon rule was limited in 1985 to non-lethal force in most cases by Tennessee v. Garner, . The justices held that 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 bodily harm to the officer or others."^[2]

Fleeing felons may be followed into places not open to the public without a warrant if the officer is in "hot pursuit."^[3]

Case law

• Samuel Alito's memo written while working in the Solicitor General's office regarding Memphis Police v. Garner, which was the Sixth Circuit appellate case leading to Tennessee v. Garner.^[4] (May 18, 1984) (PDF)
• People v. Couch^[5] (1990) in the Michigan Supreme Court held that Tennessee v. Garner was

1. civil rather than criminal action;
2. did not affect Michigan's Fleeing Felon Rule; and
3. that a citizen may use deadly force when restraining a fleeing felon in a criminal matter.

• State v. Weddell,^[6] The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that a private citizen may not use deadly force under the common law fleeing felon rule.

See also

• Deadly force
• Felony murder
• Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution
• Proactive policing

References

1. News: Shot in the back: When can police fire on fleeing suspects? . Michael Tarm . June 28, 2018 . . June 15, 2020.
2. Robert C. Ankony, "Sociological and Criminological Theory: Brief of Theorists, Theories, and Terms," CFM Research, Jul. 2012, p.37.
3. Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden . 387 . L.Ed.2d . 294 . USSC . May 29, 1967 . http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/c/US/387/387.US.294.480.html .
4. Web site: Memo from Samuel Alito. 2009-05-19.
5. Web site: People v Couch. 2009-05-19 .
6. 118 . Nev. Adv. Op. No. . 23 . Supreme Court of the State of Nevada . April 10, 2002 . http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=nv&vol=118NevAdvOpNo23&invol=2 .