On October 3, 1974, a possible burglary in progress was reported to the Memphis Police Department. Officers Elton Hymon and Leslie Wright responded to the burglary call at 10:45 p.m. that night. Upon their arrival to the scene, the neighbor that had called in the possible burglary pointed the Officers in the direction of the house. As officers Hymon and Wright surveyed the scene, Wright called in to dispatch to say that officers had arrived to answer the burglary in progress call and Hymon walked to the back of the house. As Hymon rounded the house he heard what sounded like a door slamming and then what appeared to be a person running through the backyard. It was during this encounter between Hymon and the suspected burglar came into contact.…show more content… The Court of Appeals held that whenever an officer stops a person from walking away, that person has then become seized. Under the Fourth Amendment, the seizure of an individual must meet the reasonableness requirement and the use of deadly force is subject to be conducted reasonably. Furthermore, an officer cannot always result in deadly force when attempting to apprehend a suspect (Justification Defenses, 2010). Additionally, the Court did not believe that the use of deadly force was productive in accomplishing the goals of protecting society, the individual or effective law enforcement. In fact, the use of deadly force according to the Court was a self-defeating way to apprehend a nonviolent suspect (Justification Defenses,…show more content… However, the Court reversed and found that the use of deadly force was not justified in Garner’s case and the case was to be remanded for further criminal proceedings. Due to the fact that Hymon, believed that Garner was unarmed and posed no threat to himself or anyone else, there was no justification for the use of deadly force against the nonviolent 15 fifteen-year-old Garner. It is held that the Court of Appeals prohibits a police officer from using deadly force as a last resort in stopping a fleeing suspect who refuses to halt from fleeing the scene (Justification Defenses, 2010, 153). The Tennessee statute as concluded by the majority was found to be unconstitutional as it allowed for the use of deadly force on a suspect that is obviously not armed or otherwise dangerous (Justification Defenses, 2010,
