Which case established the rule that deadly force may not be used against a fleeing suspect unless there is probable cause of imminent threat?

Which case established the rule that deadly force may not be used against a fleeing suspect unless there is probable cause of imminent threat?

• A. Graham v. Connor
• B. Estelle v. Gamble
• C. Tennessee v. Garner
• D. Turner v. Safley

Answer: (C)

The main concept is that deadly force cannot be used to stop a fleeing suspect unless the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others. This protective standard comes from Tennessee v. Garner, which held that shooting a fleeing suspect who poses no threat is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The rule emphasizes that the danger the suspect presents must be real and imminent, not merely that the person is trying to escape. The decision ties into the broader reasonableness framework from Graham v. Connor, which requires evaluating use of force based on what a reasonable officer would consider necessary under the circumstances. The other cases touch on different legal issues—prisoner rights and treatment in Estelle v. Gamble, and prison regulation and inmate rights in Turner v. Safley—so they don’t establish the rule about fleeing suspects and deadly force. That makes Tennessee v. Garner the correct reference for this principle.

The main concept is that deadly force cannot be used to stop a fleeing suspect unless the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others. This protective standard comes from Tennessee v. Garner, which held that shooting a fleeing suspect who poses no threat is unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. The rule emphasizes that the danger the suspect presents must be real and imminent, not merely that the person is trying to escape. The decision ties into the broader reasonableness framework from Graham v. Connor, which requires evaluating use of force based on what a reasonable officer would consider necessary under the circumstances. The other cases touch on different legal issues—prisoner rights and treatment in Estelle v. Gamble, and prison regulation and inmate rights in Turner v. Safley—so they don’t establish the rule about fleeing suspects and deadly force. That makes Tennessee v. Garner the correct reference for this principle.