ipl-logo

Why Is Tennessee V. Garner Important

541 Words3 Pages

Tennessee v. Garner Assignment Tennessee v. Garner is a case where police used deadly force. This is a great case to examine when deadly force should or should not be used. The Fourth Amendments states, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. This right should not be violated. “Seizure under the fourth amendment would only be reasonable if the suspect posed a threat to safety of police officers or the community at large” Tennessee v. Garner (1985.) In the case of Tennessee v. Garner, there were only two involved, Officer Elton Hymon and Mr. Edward Garner. On the October 3, 1974 Officer Hymon and Wright were sent by dispatch to answer a prowler inside the house call. While Officer …show more content…

Officer Hymon used deadly force to stop Mr. Garner. In Tennessee, Office Hymon was “acting under the authority of a Tennessee

statue and pursuant to Police Department policy. This policy states, if after notice of the intention to arrest the defendant, he either flee or forcibly resist, the officer may use all the necessary means to effect the arrest" JUSTIA US Supreme Court Tennessee v. Garner 471 U.S. 1 (1985). Mr. Garner’s father thought the use of deadly force was wrong. However “the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed with regard to Hymon, finding that he had acted in good faith reliance on the Tennessee statute, and was therefore within the scope of his qualified immunity.” (JUSTIA US Supreme Court) In conclusion of the case a 6-3 decision, it was ruled that “The Tennessee statute was unconstitutional as far as it allowed deadly force to prevent the escape of an unarmed fleeing felon.” Tennessee v. Garner (1985.) Tennessee’s original law for the use of deadly force was unconstitutional. After the verdict was read on this case this law changed, there was more of a restriction on law enforcement using deadly force. NCRJS

Show More
Related

  • Essay On The Rodney King Riots

    1353 Words  | 6 Pages

    The four officers were brought to court and tried on charges of assault. During the trial, an officer argued that Rodney King resisted arrest, and that they believed King was under the influence of Phencyclidine (PCP) which caused him to be very aggressive and violent toward the officers. When the police thought King was reaching for a weapon near his waistband, they thought the use of force would be “necessary”. The officers did not handcuff King until he lied still.

    Read More

  • 3d Tamer Case Brief

    209 Words  | 1 Pages

    608 F. 3D 614 (9th Cir. No. 08-55662, files 6/18/10, withdrawn and amended, 11/30/10) in a 42 U.S.C section 1983 action based on defendants-officer 's use of a taser on plaintiff at a traffic stop, denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity is affirmed where, viewing the circumstances in the light most favorable to plaintiff, defendant 's use of the taser was unconstitutionally excessive force and a violation of plaintiff 's clearly established rights.  Police must have reasonable grounds to use a taser.  Officer Brian McPherson used excessive force when on July 24, 2005, he deployed his X26 taser in dart mode to apprehend Carl Bryan for a seatbelt infraction, where Bryan was obviously and noticeably unarmed (he was wearing

    Read More

  • Bolcer V. Judicial Case Study

    902 Words  | 4 Pages

    " The death was definite as a homicide which was cause for a federal investigation.7 Chokeholds were banned in the New York Police Department in 1993. The N.Y.P.D Patrol Guide procedure 203-11 states that members of the New York City Police Department will not use chokeholds. A chokehold shall include,

    Read More

  • Tennessee Vs Garner Case Study

    260 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the case of Tennessee vs Garner 471 US 1 1985 Edward Garner a 15 year old young man broke into a house, he was found hiding outside in the backyard by responding Officer Elton Hymen. Gardner made a fatal decision to flee even after being ordered by the police to stop, Garner tried to climb a six foot fence at that point officer Hymen shot and killed Garner. In this case the U.S. Supreme Court declared the “Fleeing Felon Doctrine” unconstitutional in that it violated the Fourth Amendment in that it was an unreasonable seizure. In Justice White delivery of the Courts opinion they “conclude that such force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant

    Read More

  • Eric Garner Against Policy Chokehold

    563 Words  | 3 Pages

    Argumentative Essay-Rough Draft On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was put into an against policy chokehold by Daniel Pantaleo of the NYPD. An hour later, he died from his injuries. On December 3, a grand jury decided not to indict Daniel Pantaleo. Regardless of there being video proof, the grand jury decided that there was not enough evidence to indict him.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The 1989 Case Of Dethorne Graham

    781 Words  | 4 Pages

    Garner. In this 1985 case, the court held that the use of excessive force during an arrest is unlawful unless the Fourth Amendment's reasonable person standard can be used to infer that there is “probable cause to believe the subject poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others' ' (Tennessee v. Gitter). This holding is incredibly crucial to the case of Dethorne Graham considering he was unarmed. The events leading up to Graham’s arrest are unclear however they present as the following. Graham was said to be resisting arrest, to which the officers responded by slamming Graham's head into his friend's car, from which he sustained head and shoulder industries—which is a clear show of excessive force.

    Read More

  • Was Jordan Castro Innocent Until Proven Guilty

    816 Words  | 4 Pages

    The City of Houston has experienced an outbreak of such police-involved shootings of unarmed individuals, particularly African-Americans. This happens so often that they are defacto City policy. Nonetheless, the City of Houston has not done anything to address the uncontrollable shooting of unarmed individuals by its officers. And, like Officer Castro, the City has not been held accountable for its actions or inactions dealing with the shooting of unarmed individuals, like Baker, by its officers, like Castro. This action, brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, which states that, “Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.

    Read More

  • Roy King Riots Case Study

    649 Words  | 3 Pages

    The chief was particularly disturbed by the fact that a police sergeant was at the scene and stood by doing nothing to stop the assault on Roy King. The law at the time allowed for the use of force on suspects who refused to comply with orders to surrender after a crime. The principle of use of reasonable force to restrain a suspect established in Graham v Connor (1989) provided viable legal defense for the use of such force after a car chase and an attempt by the suspect to flee on foot even after surrendering to the police. The Mayor of California at the time also expressed the same sentiments expressing anger over the excessive use of force against the suspect as a violation of his Fourth Amendment

    Read More

  • Tennessee V. Garner: Case Study

    148 Words  | 1 Pages

    The police actions were unjustifiable and unwarranted in this situation. In the court care of Tennessee v. Garner, the Supreme Court ruled that, “deadly force may not be used unless there is a reasonable cause to believe there is a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others exists” (Hendrix, 2013, page 194). The use of physical force should not be used in the manner of vindictiveness, retaliation, or punishment purposes. This display of action is unprofessional and is against the code of conduct. The suspect’s actions of getting out of her vehicle warranted the use of force, because she approached the officer in a threating manner.

    Read More

  • Eric Garner Case

    635 Words  | 3 Pages

    (Garner had been arrest 30 times in his life for crimes ranging from grand larceny to simple possession of marijuana.) While Garner is yelling at police and waving his arms around threateningly, Officer Pantaleo came up behind Garner and tried to place handcuffs on him, Garner then swatted his hands away, after which Pantaleo placed him in a chokehold, and taking him to the ground. After Garner was taken to the ground three other officers jumped on top of him in order to subdue him. About an hour later at the hospital Eric Garner was declared dead” (Shapiro).

    Read More

  • Police Brutality In Wolf V. Colorado

    663 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most recent controversial topics sweeping the nation is on the topic of police brutality. Victims of police abuse tend to state that their rights had been violated. As a result, usually if there had been a violation of an individual’s rights, then the evidence seized by the police against that person becomes admissible. However, the idea of punishment for police officers who violate the rights of the people was never implemented into the Constitution. This concept was created by the Supreme Court through many cases.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Stop Question And Frisk

    587 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stop question and frisk is defined as the practice "in which police officer who is suspicious of an individual detains the person and runs his hands lightly over the suspect 's outer garments to determinate if the person is carrying a concealed weapon" (Free Dictionary). Police officers are only allowed to search for weapons while patting down the individual, if the officer does not feel any weapon, the search has to stop and the police are not allowed to search into the individual 's pocket. Stop question and frisk is based on the court ruling of Terry v. Ohio, in this case the supreme court held that when a police officer stops a suspects and frisk him without probable cause the fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures is not violated, if the police officer has reasonable suspicious that the person he stop has done, is doing or is about to commit a crime

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay Over Deadly Force

    1683 Words  | 7 Pages

    For decades now, the controversy over deadly force has continued to show up in the news when police officers have acted in a manner that some citizens find just while others deem completely unfair. Many lawsuits stemming from shootings and crimes have found their way to local courts or the Supreme Court to deal with this issue. A portion of the U.S. population finds deadly force unnecessary when non-lethal weapons such as pepper spray or batons just as easily subdue the criminal. In addition, these citizens argue that officers might be liable for cases filed against them if they use excess force on people that seem suspicious but have not actually committed a crime. On the other hand, the opposing argument in favor of deadly force states that

    Read More

  • Police Officer Persuasive Essay

    1349 Words  | 6 Pages

    State laws that authorize police use of force, which are backed up by Supreme Court precedent, give police significant latitude in using deadly force. In the 1989 case Graham v. Connor, the Supreme Court ruled that officers may use force to effect a lawful arrest or if they reasonably believe that the person represents a serious physical threat to the officer or others. This means that police may use force over any resistance to arrest and that if the resistance escalates, officers may escalate their force. The court also said that the number of circumstances must be judged with an understanding of the split-second nature of police

    Read More

  • Oscar Grant Was Shot Essay

    892 Words  | 4 Pages

    On January 1st 2009 Officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed an innocent man. Oscar Grant was just getting off of the train from a previous New Year's party with a group of his friends. While on the train, one rider had reported that a fight broke out onboard. When Grant and his friends made it to the station, they were taken custody. That is when Officer Mehserle intentionally shot and killed Oscar Grant.

    Read More

More about Why Is Tennessee V. Garner Important

Open Document