Deadly Force: Absolute Last Resort, Imminent Danger, Fleeing Suspects, Moving Vehicles, Prohibited Uses

Deadly Force: The Absolute Last Resort

Under the 2022 NJ AG Use of Force Policy, deadly force is force reasonably likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. It is the most heavily restricted force option and is authorized only under the strictest conditions. The LEE tests deadly force in detail because the line between lawful and unlawful deadly force determines criminal liability, civil liability, and an officer's career.

The Imminent-Danger Standard

Deadly force is authorized only when the officer reasonably believes that the subject poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or to another person, and no reasonable alternative is available. Each word matters:

• Reasonably believes — the standard is objective reasonableness (Graham v. Connor), assessed from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, not with 20/20 hindsight. The officer's belief must be reasonable, not correct.
• Imminent — the threat must be immediate and unfolding, not merely possible, probable, or future. A subject who might become dangerous later does not satisfy imminent. A subject who is advancing with a weapon does.
• Death or serious bodily injury — the threatened harm must be at that level; bodily harm alone (without SBI) authorizes intermediate force, not deadly force.
• No reasonable alternative — deadly force is the last resort. If cover, distance, a CEW, or waiting for backup could neutralize the threat, deadly force is not justified.

Fleeing Suspects

The 2022 policy adopts the constitutional rule from Tennessee v. Garner (1985): an officer may not use deadly force solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon. Deadly force against a fleeing suspect is authorized only if the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses an imminent threat of death or SBI to the officer or others — for example, a fleeing armed suspect who is turning and firing, or a suspect reaching for a weapon while fleeing. Mere flight from a felony — even a serious felony — is never enough.

This is a high-yield LEE topic. The trap answer is that deadly force is authorized to stop a fleeing felon; the correct answer is that deadly force requires an imminent threat of death/SBI beyond the flight itself.

Deadly Force Must Stop When the Threat Ends

Once the imminent threat is neutralized — the subject is disarmed, incapacitated, surrenders, or the threat otherwise ends — deadly force must immediately cease. Continuing to use deadly force against a no-longer-threatening subject is excessive and can be criminal. This mirrors the ongoing-proportionality rule from the continuum.

Shooting At or From Moving Vehicles — The General Prohibition

The 2022 policy contains a strong general prohibition on discharging a firearm at or from a moving vehicle. This rule protects officers, occupants, and bystanders — bullets fired at vehicles can ricochet, miss, and strike innocents, and shooting from a moving vehicle is inherently inaccurate and dangerous.

The rare exception: An officer may discharge a firearm at a moving vehicle only when the officer reasonably believes that the suspect poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the officer or another person by means other than the vehicle itself. In other words, the suspect must be threatening death/SBI with a weapon or other means — the danger of being struck by the vehicle is, by itself, not enough to justify shooting at the vehicle.

Key sub-rules the LEE tests:

• An officer should move out of the path of an approaching vehicle rather than fire at it, when feasible.
• An officer should not reach into or hold onto a moving vehicle.
• Shooting at a vehicle to disable it (e.g., shooting out tires) is prohibited unless the imminent-death exception applies.
• Shooting from a moving vehicle is prohibited except in the same narrow imminent-death circumstance.

The LEE trap: a suspect drives toward an officer, and the question asks whether the officer may shoot. The answer is that the officer should move out of the path if feasible; shooting is authorized only if the suspect poses an imminent threat of death/SBI by means other than the vehicle. The vehicle-as-weapon danger alone does not satisfy the exception.

Other Prohibited Uses of Deadly Force

• Warning shots are prohibited. They are inherently dangerous (unpredictable bullet path) and do not neutralize a threat.
• Chokeholds and neck restraints are presumptively deadly force and are authorized only when deadly force is justified — i.e., imminent threat of death/SBI and no reasonable alternative. Routine neck restraints to control resistors are prohibited.
• Shooting to wound is not a recognized option; deadly force is deadly force regardless of target. Officers trained to shoot center mass do not 'shoot to wound.'
• Force after resistance ceases — any force, including deadly force, after the threat has ended is excessive.

Putting It Together: The Deadly-Force Decision Tree

1. Is there an imminent threat of death or SBI to the officer or another?
2. Is there a reasonable alternative (cover, distance, CEW, backup, tactical repositioning) that could neutralize the threat without deadly force?
3. If yes to (1) and no to (2), deadly force is authorized.
4. Does the threat involve a moving vehicle? If so, has the officer moved out of the path if feasible, and is the imminent-death threat from a means other than the vehicle?
5. Is the suspect fleeing? If so, is the imminent threat of death/SBI present beyond mere flight?
6. The instant the threat ends, deadly force must stop.