# should the cop really legally shot the fugitive? \[David Sweat\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-cop-really-legally-shot-the-fugitive-david-sweat/723780>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 29, 2015, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-cop-really-legally-shot-the-fugitive-david-sweat/723780 "2015-06-29T12:21:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
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**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\
**Post date:** [June 29, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-cop-really-legally-shot-the-fugitive-david-sweat/723780/11 "2015-06-29T15:32:24Z")

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Use of force rule are similar but not exactly the same from state to state. I don’t know the exact wording in NY (and more importantly, how they have been interpreted) but here is what the NJ Attorney General’s guidelines are on the subject:

> [@](#):
>
> A law enforcement officer may use deadly force to prevent the  
> escape of a fleeing suspect
> 
> a. whom the officer has probable cause to believe has  
> committed an offense in which the suspect caused or  
> attempted to cause death or serious bodily harm; and
> 
> b. who will pose an imminent danger of death or serious bodily  
> harm should the escape succeed; and
> 
> c. when the use of deadly force presents no substantial risk of  
> injury to innocent persons.

A desperate convicted murderer would fall within the rules. An escaped burglar would not.

That is speaking in general terms. I don’t know exactly how it went down in this case.

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