Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy (TLETA) Week 3 Practice Test

Reasonableness is judged from an objective standpoint, thanks to Graham v. Connor. That decision establishes that Fourth Amendment evaluations of use-of-force claims, including when pursuing a suspect, are based on what a reasonable officer would do under the circumstances as they perceived them on the scene. It’s not about the officer’s subjective intentions or hindsight after the fact. When applying this to pursuits, the key is to weigh the actions taken against factors the officer would reasonably consider at the moment: the seriousness of the suspected crime, whether there is an immediate threat to the officer or others, and whether the suspect is actively resisting or attempting to flee. The force used must be reasonable and proportional to the threat or risk faced, given the information available at the time. The other cases listed do not establish this standard for evaluating pursuit-related use of force, so Graham v. Connor is the controlling authority for determining whether the force was reasonable.