When Police Use Force
Utah Code 76-2-404 — deadly force only against a threat of death or serious bodily injury
When a person being arrested flees or forcibly resists after being told of the arrest, the officer may use reasonable force to make it. Deadly force may be used only as the deadly force section allows.
Who handles this in Utah: legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the Utah directory.
- An officer may use deadly force to make an arrest or stop an escape only when it is reasonably believed necessary to keep the arrest from being defeated, and there is probable cause that the suspect committed a felony involving death or serious bodily injury, or threatened it, or poses that threat to others if not caught.
- An officer may also use it when reasonably believing it necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury to the officer or someone other than the suspect.
- If feasible, a verbal warning should be given before deadly force is used.
The state's own sections are not the only measure of police force. Under the Fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court of the United States has held that force used in an arrest, a stop or any other seizure is judged by objective reasonableness, from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene rather than with hindsight, and that deadly force may not be used to stop a fleeing suspect unless the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others. Those holdings are a floor: a state's own constitution and statutes can give more protection than they do, never less.
Sources for this section (4)
- Utah Code 77-7-7 — Use of force in making an arrest by a law enforcement officer
- Utah Code 76-2-404 — Law enforcement officer use of deadly force
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) — Force during a seizure is judged by objective reasonableness from the officer's perspective at the time
- Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) — Deadly force against a fleeing suspect is unreasonable absent probable cause of a significant threat of death or serious injury
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Utah attorney.