"[1] It was found that the use of deadly force to prevent escape is an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, in the absence of probable cause that the fleeing suspect posed a physical danger.

"[3] At about 10:45 p.m. on October 3, 1974,[4] Memphis police officers Leslie Wright and Elton Hymon were dispatched to answer a burglary call.

Hymon acted according to a Tennessee state statute and official Memphis Police Department policy authorizing deadly force against a fleeing suspect.

The Court of Appeals held that the killing of a fleeing suspect is a "seizure" for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment, and is therefore constitutional only when it is reasonable.

The Court then found that based on the facts in this case, the Tennessee statute failed to properly limit the use of deadly force by reference to the seriousness of the felony.

White further noted that many jurisdictions had already done away with it, and that current research has shown that the use of deadly force contributes little to the deterrence of crime or the protection of the public.

In her dissent, Justice O'Connor highlighted the fact that police officers must often make swift, spur-of-the-moment decisions while on patrol, and argued that the robbery, and assault that happen in the home are related to the already serious crime of burglary.

As the Graham court made clear, this deferential standard prevents most second-guessing of an officer's judgment about use of force.

This reduction was more significant in states which declared their laws regarding police use of deadly force to be unconstitutional after the Garner decision.