One

night

in

October,

a

fifteen-year-old,

unarmed

boy

broke

a

window

and

entered

an

unoccupied

residence

in

suburban

Memphis

to

steal

money

and

property.

Two

police

officers,

Eddie

Munee

and

Steve

N.

Tiler,

were

called

to

the

scene

by

a

neighbor.

The

officers

intercepted

the

youth

as

he

ran

from

the

back

of

the

house

to

a

six

foot

cyclone

fence

in

the

back

yard.

After

shining

a

flashlight

on

the

boy

as

he

crouched

by

the

fence,

Officer

Munee

identified

himself

as

a

policeman

and

yelled

"Halt."

He

could

see

that

the

fleeing

felon

was

a

youth

and

was

apparently

unarmed.

As

the

boy

jumped

to

get

over

the

fence,

the

officer

fired

at

the

upper

part

of

the

body,

as

he

was

trained

to

do

by

his

superiors

at

the

Anytown

Police

Department.

Officer

Munee

shot

because

he

believed

the

boy

would

elude

capture

in

the

dark

once

he

was

over

the

fence.

The

15

year

old

died

of

the

gunshot

wound.

On

his

person

was

ten

dollars'

worth

of

money

and

some

jewelry

he

had

taken

from

the

house.

Officer

Munee

had

been

taught

that

it

was

proper

under

state

law

to

kill

a

fleeing

felon

rather

than

run

the

risk

of

allowing

him

to

escape.

A

state

statute

provided

that

"[i]f,

after

notice

of

the

intention

to

arrest

the

defendant,

he

either

flee

or

forcibly

resist,

the

officer

may

use

all

the

necessary

means

to

effect

the

arrest."

State

Code

Ann.

40-7-108.

The

Police

Department's

policy

on

use

of

deadly

force

was

slightly

more

restrictive

than

the

statute,

but

still

allowed

the

use

of

deadly

force

in

cases

of

burglary.

The

Police

Department's

policy

was

promulgated

by

the

Department's

Director,

with

the

consultation

and

approval

of

the

Mayor.

The

boy's

father

comes

to

you

want

wants

to

sue.

What

do

you

tell

him?

1. What,

if

any

other

information

do

you

need?

2. What

theories

of

liability

to

you

use

and

why?

You

must

list

two

or

more.

3. What

are

the

possible

defenses

the

defendant

police

department

may

have?