§ 39-11-620 — Use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer

(a) A law enforcement officer, after giving notice of the officer's identity as such, may use or threaten to use force that is reasonably necessary to accomplish the arrest of an individual suspected of a criminal act who resists or flees from the arrest. (b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the officer may use deadly force to effect an arrest only if all other reasonable means of apprehension have been exhausted or are unavailable, and where feasible, the officer has given notice of the officer's identity as such and given a warning that deadly force may be used unless resistance or flight ceases, and: (1) The officer has probable cause to believe the individual to be arrested has committed a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or grave sexual abuse; or (2) The officer has probable cause to believe that the individual to be arrested poses a threat of serious bodily injury or grave sexual abuse, either to the officer or to others unless immediately apprehended.

Legislative History

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 83, s 8, eff. 4/7/2021. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1990, ch. 1030, § 9.