Any citizen can legally shoot to kill a fleeing violent felon in California. You must KNOW the felony crime was committed, not just suspect it committed. The police can shoot a fleeing felon if he has reason to believe a felony was commited, even if it was not. That is the biggest difference in the law. Notice that is only felony crimes. No shooting drunks, people in a fist fight, , or people stealing small amounts of property, or without violence involved.
Why you would want to use deadly force as a citizen when the suspect is running from you is beyond me. Unless that crook was trying to murder or seriously injure me, or a family member , I would let the police find him later.Carrying a gun for self defense should be just that, once the threat passes, the gun is not a option for use anymore. Leave it to the LEO's for working the justice system and capture.
The law is all spelled out in the penal code under arrest and justifiable homicide. I will get and post the sections if anyone is interested. Pulling and firing a gun at someone is going to bring a chance of negative very long, difficult and expensive consequences, so be prepared if you want to play cops and robbers in the real world.
+1
here is the code
CPC
834. An arrest is taking a person into custody, in a case and in
the manner authorized by law. An arrest may be made by a peace
officer or by a private person.
835. An arrest is made by an actual restraint of the person, or by
submission to the custody of an officer. The person arrested may be
subjected to such restraint as is reasonable for his arrest and
detention.
837. A private person may arrest another:
1. For a public offense committed or attempted in his presence.
2. When the person arrested has committed a felony, although not
in his presence.
3. When a felony has been in fact committed, and he has reasonable
cause for believing the person arrested to have committed it.
839. Any person making an arrest may orally summon as many persons
as he deems necessary to aid him therein.
841. The person making the arrest must inform the person to be
arrested of the intention to arrest him, of the cause of the arrest,
and the authority to make it, except when the person making the
arrest has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested
is actually engaged in the commission of or an attempt to commit an
offense, or the person to be arrested is pursued immediately after
its commission, or after an escape.
The person making the arrest must, on request of the person he is
arresting, inform the latter of the offense for which he is being
arrested.
846. Any person making an arrest may take from the person arrested
all offensive weapons which he may have about his person, and must
deliver them to the magistrate before whom he is taken