Which case addressed the fleeing felon rule and use of deadly force?

• A. Berkemer v. McCarty
• B. Graham v. Connor
• C. Tennessee v. Garner
• D. New York v. Quarles

Answer: (C)

The main concept here is when deadly force may be used to stop a fleeing suspect and how the old fleeing felon rule was limited by the Fourth Amendment. Tennessee v. Garner holds that deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect is unconstitutional if the suspect is unarmed or does not pose a significant threat; deadly force is only justified if the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious bodily harm to the officer or others. This ruling replaces the automatic allowance of deadly force against fleeing felons with a threat-based, proportional standard. The other cases involve different issues: Berkemer v. McCarty deals with whether statements during a traffic stop require Miranda rights; Graham v. Connor sets the objective reasonableness standard for evaluating police use of force during seizures; New York v. Quarles creates a public safety exception to Miranda. So the case that directly addressed the fleeing felon rule and deadly force is Tennessee v. Garner.