[Peace-discuss] Police policy on lethal force

[Stuart Levy]

On Wed, Oct 21, 2009 at 03:32:46PM -0500, John W. wrote:
> Beyond all this discussion of procedure, I would think that Champaign's new
> use of deadly force policy is flat-out illegal.  At least I've heard
> virtually all my life that a cop can't shoot a fleeing felon.  That's why,
> in all the crime movies and TV shows, the cop chases the fleeing felon on
> foot for blocks and blocks and over fences and rooftops and so on.  If it
> were legal, it'd be much easier to stop the fleeing felon by simply shooting
> him in the back.

The new use-of-force policy does mention, a para or two later,
that deadly force must not be used on a fleeing felon.
(Does the old policy explicitly mention fleeing felons this way?)
So if the "felon" isn't fleeing, but merely refusing to say uncle,
then it seems deadly force is permissible if the officer can say
they're trying to make an arrest.

The new policy mentions "ILEAP ADM.05.01" (and .02 and .03)
at its top, and a web search turned up this (is it current?):
   http://www.humanspan.com/uploads/archives/4341/ILEAPManual09.pdf
   IL Law Enforcement Accreditation Program Manual,
   First Edition 2009

On pp 42-43, ADM.05.01 governs use of force, including:

c. That officers may use deadly force only under a reasonable belief that the action is in defense 
of human life, or in defense of any person in imminent danger or facing a significant threat of 
serious physical injury;  

None of the points here say anything about permitting
use of force when "needed" to complete an arrest.