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CA10: Use of deadly force that does not stop or seize a person is not a Fourth Amendment issue

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers shot at a burglar who shot at them, hitting him, but he fled the scene. He was apprehended three days later. The use of deadly force against him was not a seizure since he was not seized. Brooks v. Gaenzle, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16488 (10th Cir. August 10, 2010): Following Hodari and Lewis, the Supreme Court again considered what constitutes a seizure by summarizing, “[a] person is seized by the police and thus entitled to challenge the government’s action under the Fourth Amendment when the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, terminates or restrains his freedom of movement, through means intentionally applied.” Brendlin v. California, 551 U.S. 249, 254, 127 S. Ct. 2400, 168 L. Ed. 2d 132 (2007) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted and emphasis added)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 15, 2010 (boomark / email).