Police Officers

Details of Police Work
State laws prescribe many details regarding what police officers can and cannot do. For example, highway patrol officers may stop vehicles for driver’s license checks, but city police officers must have reasonable suspician to believe an offense has been committed before they can stop a vehicle to check a license. T.C.A. § 40-7-103. Before using deadly force, a police officer, where feasible, must give notice of his identity as a police officer and give a warning that deadly force may be used. T.C.A. § 40-7-108. T.C.A. § 40-17-123 establishes detailed procedures police officers must use to subpoena documents and electronically stored data in gathering evidence in a criminal prosecution.