McCummings v. New York City Transit Authority

The central question in this case is whether an officer employed by defendant New York City Transit Authority used excessive force by shooting plaintiff McCummings in order to effect his apprehension while in immediate flight from the mugging of an elderly man. The leading case in this area is Tennessee v Garner (471 US 1), and while there is no substantive dispute as to its relevance, the scope of its application under the markedly different factual circumstances and statutory context of this case is sharply contested. Even the procedure by which a statutory provision is examined under the…