Loach, this is the previous discussion comparing use of deadly force that I was thinking of, from three years ago in this thread: should the cop really legally shot the fugitive? [David Sweat]
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:
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; andb. 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.
Out of curiousity, I asked a friend of mine who is a Crown prosecutor if the Canadian use of force rules were similar. His off-the-cuff answer was that he didn’t think the use of deadly force in these circumstances would be justified, because the guy was fleeing from the cop, rather than posing a direct threat to him, and there was no evidence that he was armed. I think the fact that the shooting officer id’d him solely from the description would have also counted against the use of deadly force, because of the possibility of a mis-identification in such short circumstances.