this , Underwood was immediately taken to the hospital for emergency surgery .
On these facts , the court concluded that the use of deadly force was unreasonable under the Tennessee v . Garner analysis , which asks whether an officer ( 1 ) “ has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm , either to the officer or to others ” or “ that he has committed a crime involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious physical harm ;” ( 2 ) reasonably believes that the use of deadly force was necessary to prevent escape ; and ( 3 ) has given some warning about the possible use of deadly force , if feasible . 471 U . S . 1 , 11-12 ( 1985 ). As to the first Garner factor , the court noted that Underwood did not drive in a threatening way as he inched up the street so slowly that it appeared to the officers that he would stop . The court ’ s conclusion that Underwood did not pose a serious threat of harm to the officers was also supported by the fact that Partridge was not trapped in the path of the Maxima ; he stepped into its path . As to the second Garner factor , the court concluded that because Underwood was moving at a very slow rate of speed , “ he was not fleeing an arrest but merely disregarding the Officers ’ orders to stop .” And as to the third Garner factor , the court opined that the officers could have warned of their intent to use deadly force because the Maxima was eight feet from Officer Partridge and moving slowly .
Although the court determined that the officers ’ use of force was excessive , the court granted them qualified immunity because the officers ’ conduct was not forbidden by clearly established law and their force was not “ obviously excessive .” The court plainly intended to create clearly established law by this opinion . And so , going forward , an officer will not receive qualified immunity for using deadly force under the circumstances presented in Underwood .
Tillis v . Brown – Deadly Force Upheld Five days after the court ruled in Underwood , a split panel ruled in favor of an officer in Tillis . That case involved a 17-year-old , Christian Redwine , who stole a Pontiac late one night from his grandmother ’ s boyfriend , Fred Levins . Accompanied by his cousin and friend , Redwine drove the Pontiac around town looking for his girlfriend .
After Levins woke up at about 1:00 a . m . and realized that his Pontiac was missing , he called 911 and reported the theft . About an hour later , an unmarked police vehicle spotted the Pontiac and began following it . As soon as the police vehicle turned on its blue lights , the Pontiac sped off . Other police vehicles joined the chase and pursued the Pontiac at high speeds , with Redwine driving recklessly to evade the officers .
As the chase continued , Officer Allan Brown took over as the lead police vehicle . He observed the Pontiac traveling at speeds up to 107 miles per hour , veering between lanes , and running at least one red light . Finally , the Pontiac crashed into bushes on the side of the road . By that time , the chase had lasted 13 minutes and 40 seconds and had covered 14.6 miles . Officer Brown parked his vehicle behind and to the right of the Pontiac , at an angle to the right rear bumper , and stepped out to make an arrest . Brown was positioned in the “ V ” between his vehicle and its open driver ’ s door .
Seconds later , the Pontiac ’ s reverse lights suddenly turned on . Redwine drove the car straight back toward Officer Brown , who began shooting at the Pontiac with his service pistol . The Pontiac came within a few feet of Officer Brown as it passed him , and Brown continued firing . After he fired a total of 11 shots , the Pontiac rolled across the road and came to a stop . Its engine continued to run and its headlights remained on as Officer Brown faced it . Blinded by the glare of the headlights , Brown could not tell whether Redwine was disabled or preparing to shift forward and run over him . Officer Brown changed magazines and fired another 10 shots at the front
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