IF shooting a fleeing felon is legal in NYS, one would hope that anyone who decides to shoot their weapon at that person had better know that the person fleeing IS INDEED a "fleeing felon". In the case of Ramos and Compean, they did not know who that person was who was fleeing. "Shoot first, ask questions later" isn't an acceptable strategy.
The applicable statute, Penal Law § 35.30(4)(b), reads as follows:
A private person acting on his own account may use physical force, other than deadly physical force, upon another person when and to the extent that he reasonably believes such to be necessary to effect an arrest or to prevent the escape from custody of a person whom he reasonably believes to have committed an offense and who in fact has committed such offense; and he may use deadly physical force for such purpose when he reasonably believes such to be necessary to:
* * * * * * (b) Effect the arrest of a person who has committed murder, manslaughter in the first degree, robbery, forcible rape or forcible sodomy and who is in immediate flight therefrom.