POST POST - Peace Officer Standards and Training Firearms and Use of Force 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under Tennessee v. Garner, when may an officer use deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect?
- Any time the suspect flees on foot
- Only when the suspect is visibly armed
- When the officer has probable cause the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious injury to others (Correct answer)
- When the suspect ignores three or more verbal commands
Correct answer: When the officer has probable cause the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious injury to others
Tennessee v. Garner limits deadly force against fleeing suspects to situations where there is probable cause the suspect poses a serious threat to the officer or the public.
Question 2: What is the primary purpose of the POST use-of-force continuum?
- To mandate a specific response for every threat type
- To provide a framework for escalating and de-escalating force appropriately (Correct answer)
- To eliminate officer discretion in dangerous situations
- To replace individual departmental policies
Correct answer: To provide a framework for escalating and de-escalating force appropriately
The use-of-force continuum provides officers a decision-making framework for selecting the appropriate level of force based on the threat level.
Question 3: An officer's decision to use force must be judged against what standard?
- What the individual officer personally feared in the moment
- What a reasonable officer with similar training would do in the same circumstances (Correct answer)
- What a supervisor would have approved after the fact
- What department policy explicitly lists for that exact scenario
Correct answer: What a reasonable officer with similar training would do in the same circumstances
Force decisions are evaluated against what a reasonable officer with similar training would have done given the same facts and circumstances.
Question 4: Which of the following is classified as a less-lethal weapon?
- Service pistol loaded with hollow-point rounds
- Rifle with a 30-round magazine
- OC (pepper) spray (Correct answer)
- 12-gauge shotgun slug
Correct answer: OC (pepper) spray
OC spray is a less-lethal weapon designed to temporarily incapacitate a subject without the intent to cause death.
Question 5: After any use of force, POST guidelines require officers to do which of the following?
- Leave the scene to avoid confrontation
- File a use-of-force report and ensure medical attention is provided if needed (Correct answer)
- Consult legal counsel before making any statements
- Wait for a supervisor before documenting anything
Correct answer: File a use-of-force report and ensure medical attention is provided if needed
Officers are required to document the use of force and ensure that any injured parties receive prompt medical attention.
Question 6: In POST training, 'de-escalation' refers to which concept?
- Using force quickly to end a confrontation before it worsens
- Tactics that reduce the need to use force by calming a situation through communication (Correct answer)
- Retreating from all confrontations to avoid liability
- Waiting for backup before taking any action
Correct answer: Tactics that reduce the need to use force by calming a situation through communication
De-escalation involves using communication and tactical positioning to reduce the intensity of a situation and minimize the need for force.
POST POST - Peace Officer Standards and Training Firearms and Use of Force 2
Under Tennessee v.
Garner, when may an officer use deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect?