Tennessee Code Annotated

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-620 (2026)

Use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer

✓ current as of May 2026

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(a) A law enforcement officer, after giving notice of the officer's identity as such, may use or threaten to use force that is reasonably necessary to accomplish the arrest of an individual suspected of a criminal act who resists or flees from the arrest.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), the officer may use deadly force to effect an arrest only if all other reasonable means of apprehension have been exhausted or are unavailable, and where feasible, the officer has given notice of the officer's identity as such and given a warning that deadly force may be used unless resistance or flight ceases, and:
- (1) The officer has probable cause to believe the individual to be arrested has committed a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or grave sexual abuse; or
- (2) The officer has probable cause to believe that the individual to be arrested poses a threat of serious bodily injury or grave sexual abuse, either to the officer or to others unless immediately apprehended.

Amended by 2021 Tenn. Acts, ch. 83, s 8, eff. 4/7/2021.

Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 1990, ch. 1030, § 9.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1997–2025 · leading case: Thompson v. Williamson Cnty., Tenn., 965 F. Supp. 1026 (M.D. Tenn. 1997).

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Thompson v. Williamson Cnty., Tenn., 965 F. Supp. 1026 (M.D. Tenn. 1997). · cites it 6× “Defendants’ reliance upon Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-11-620 (Use of Deadly Force) is misplaced.”

Sulfridge v. Huff, 509 F. Supp. 2d 709 (E.D. Tenn. 2007). · cites it 2× “§ 39-11-620 (1991), the State has placed certain restrictions/limitations on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers: (a) A law enforcement officer, after giving notice of his identity as such, may use or threaten to use force as is reasonably necessary to accomplish…”

King v. Shoate (W.D. Tenn. 2023). · cites it 5× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-620 . Tennessee law requires that private rights of action be expressly provided for in the relevant statute.”

State of Tennessee v. Derrick Dewayne Lyons (Tenn. Crim. App. 2015). · cites it 5× “T.C.A. § 39-11-620 (2014). The Defendant argued that the instruction was warranted because of the “circumstances of the allegations,” any inference that could be drawn from Officer Bauer’s inconsistent statements, and to show Officer Bauer’s state of mind.”

Hayes v. White (E.D. Tenn. 2025). · cites it 2× “§ 39-11-620(a); see also Brown v. Christian Bros.”

Sherrill Johnson, Individually & as next friend & mother of Victoria Johnson, a minor v. Metro. Gov't of Nashville & Davidson Cnty. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-620 . V. In considering whether a police officer is negligent in the discharge of a firearm during a legitimate confrontation with an armed person, the Court must consider several factors that may alter application of the normal definition of negligence.”

— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-11-620(a) — 1 case

Hayes v. White (E.D. Tenn. 2025). “§ 39-11-620(a); see also Brown v. Christian Bros.”

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