The goal is to explain the necessity of and alternatives to deadly force. The need to use deadly force will include laws that have been passed by the United States Supreme Court, training methods, and policies of federal, state, and local agencies. Alternatives to deadly force are the less lethal weapons that are used today by law enforcement, TASERS, pepper spray. , BB guns and batons. Should deadly force be used against violent suspects? Federal Law Under federal law, if a suspect poses a threat to a law enforcement officer or the public, the officer has permission to use deadly force. The Supreme Court states that two factors come into play in the use of deadly force: dangerousness and necessity (Hall, 2004). An example of dangerousness is a suspect threatening a police officer with a weapon. On the other hand, necessity is difficult to prove and there have been legal issues surrounding the need to use deadly force. to consider other options before choosing to use deadly force. The second legal issue is that the officer's actions made the use of deadly force necessary, meaning the officer would have to know what the suspect was going to do and prevent the suspect from using deadly force. The starting point for these legal questions is Graham v. Connor, a 1989 Supreme Court case. Standard of reasonableness. The Supreme Court established a standard in the Fourth Amendment called objective reasonableness. Objective reasonableness evaluates an officer's use of force when arresting or otherwise seizing a person. Since this case, the Supreme Court has ruled...... middle of paper ......s should also be aware of the legal issues that concern TASER.Fernandez, Elizabeth. (December 5, 2006). “Use of force/SFPD has a 'bbs gun' that officers can use to subdue suspects who may be suffering from mental illnesses.” Retrieved July 22, 2010. The beanbag gun is an effective and less lethal weapon used by law enforcement because it can be used at a greater distance when dealing with a violent suspect. Since September 2002, the beanbag gun has been used by San Francisco police 25 times to help subdue a suspect. According to Sgt. Rod Nakanishi, this looks intimidating, so people give up rather than get shot by a beanbag. In all 25 incidents, officers used the weapon to resolve deadly confrontations. The gun and ammo seem safer for both the officer and the suspect because people don't die unless the officer aims at the wrong spot..