License to Kill
In the state where unarmed teenager Michael Brown was shot to death on the streets of Ferguson in August, Missouri allows officers to make judgment calls on whether to kill someone. Chapter 563 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, according to the Missouri General Assembly website, grants vast discretion to officers of the law to use deadly force “in effecting an arrest or in preventing an escape from custody” if the officer “reasonably believes” it is necessary. The officer also has to reasonably believe the suspect has committed or attempted to commit a felony or may otherwise endanger life or inflict serious physical injury unless arrested without delay.
