re: Who’s in the wrong? Police cruiser vs. ATV

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I have just one question that I ultimately wanted answered before the back and forth.

Where is the line **the law.. the legal standing** between using potential deadly force on a misdemeanor and no?

We can’t do it on simple DUI arrests without another injury. Even with kids present. Was the DUI a danger to pedestrians? Probably imminently?

We can’t on traffic violations.

Many people called Derek Chauvin justified. And I’m about to blow your mind here… I didn’t see imprisoning as necessary at all there with the circumstances at hand. But by people’s point here… he was a cop… he could do it. Well.. he’s in prison. The legal system went another way.

Someone just tell me the line and you have answered my question in this entire thread.

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First, generally stated: a person is justified in using or threatening to use deadly force if he or she reasonably believes that using or threatening to use such force is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another


Second, the police officer did not use deadly force. The police officer put his car between the ATV driver and the cyclists and pedestrians. The police officer formed a roadblock.



The ATV driver had sufficient distance to stop before hitting the police vehicle. The ATV driver should have been able to stop or avoid colliding with the police vehicle within that distance. Instead, the ATV driver does not appear to have reduced his speed significantly before running into the police vehicle. He hits the police vehicle at a dangerous speed.

If a driver decides to run a roadblock and hits the car forming the roadblock, that is not police use of deadly force. That's suicide.

Third, there's nothing to suggest that the police officer was trying to apprehend or arrest the ATV driver. He left space for the ATV driver to go around him. The police officer was merely trying to protect cyclists and pedestrians. Given the exigencies of the situation and the initial distance between the ATV driver and the police vehicle, the police officer made a reasonable decision to place his vehicle between the ATV driver and the cyclists and pedestrians.

Again, there was sufficient room for the ATV driver to stop before hitting the police vehicle. The police officer did NOT plow into the ATV driver.