Free Republic

When can an officer shoot? While there is no national statute outlining police use of deadly force, there are national standards, established by a pair of 1980s US supreme court decisions. David Klinger, an associate professor in the department of criminology and criminal justice at the University of Missouri–St Louis and a former officer with the Los Angeles police department, said there are two permissible circumstances in which an officer can use lethal force. Constitutionally, a police officer can shoot a suspect who is threatening the life of the officer, a fellow officer or a member of the public, said...

Attacker who beheaded British Policeman This incident in Missouri shows the use of discretion by  Missouri County Prosecutor Matt Howard.     In this case, the homeowner, Mark Routh, discovered a man, Hanna, attempting to break into his home.  The homeowner armed himself with a shotgun and approached the intruder.  A struggle ensued, during which Hanna stabbed Routh in the upper leg.  As reported in connectmidmissouri.com: After a struggle, Hanna began to move away with his back turned and was shot by Routh at a distance of 66 feet, near the outer effective limit for a 12-gauge. The shot peppered Hanna in...

The 17-year-old teen shot in the head by a Seattle police officer last night as he ran away from police had been armed only with a gun-shaped commercial paint sprayer nozzle when he robbed a customer at an automated teller machine in Wallingford. Police leaders this morning said the 31-year-old SWAT officer who pulled the trigger justifiably believed the teen was an armed and dangerous felon who had committed an increasingly violent series of nearly a dozen ATM robberies. "You've got a situation of escalating, serious, violent confrontations with citizens, and he is caught in the act, fleeing and getting...