Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site alice.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!alice!ark From: ark@alice.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics Subject: Re: Lethal force used by police Message-ID: <3128@alice.UUCP> Date: Sat, 1-Dec-84 11:34:40 EST Article-I.D.: alice.3128 Posted: Sat Dec 1 11:34:40 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 2-Dec-84 04:16:39 EST References: <378@whuxl.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill Lines: 22 Tim Sevener recounts a story of a policeman who shot and killed what he thought was a fleeing felon and turned out to be an unarmed 14-year-old boy. I seem to recall that this very issue is up before the US Supreme Court this session. At issue is the "fleeing felon" law in Tennesee, which says that police may use any means necessary to effect the arrest of a suspected felon, including shooting one who is running away. Lest you think these laws are universal: I believe that in New York City, a place where it is harder to be a cop than most of Tennesee, there are much stricter constraints on when police may use their weapons. This information is a number of years old, but I don't think things have changed much. The typical NY cop carries a revolver and a nightstick. The stick is the weapon of choice in almost all circumstances. The only time a NY cop may fire a gun at someone else is if that person has a deadly weapon and is about to use it. In other words, if a criminal has a gun, the cop can't shoot him unless the criminal first points his gun at the cop. Every time a NY cop fires a gun, the incident goes before a panel called the Firearms Discharge Review Board.