Claims that officers used excessive force in the course of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other seizure are analyzed under the ______ objective reasonableness standard.

• A. Fourth Amendment
• B. First Amendment
• C. Eighth Amendment
• D. Fourteenth Amendment

Answer: (A)

Excessive-force claims during an arrest or other seizure are evaluated under the Fourth Amendment using an objective reasonableness standard. The Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor held that the reasonableness of police force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, given the facts known at the time, and not with 20/20 hindsight. This means courts consider factors such as the seriousness of the crime, whether the suspect posed an immediate threat, and whether the person resisted or tried to flee. The test focuses on what a reasonable officer would have done in those circumstances, not on the detector’s hindsight or the suspect’s subjective intent afterward. The other amendments address different rights—First Amendment protects speech, Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment after conviction, and Fourteenth deals with due process in state actions—but the use-of-force during arrest framework is rooted in the Fourth Amendment’s reasonableness standard.