Use of Force

Mouthy Detainees and Excessive Force: Johnson v. City of Miami Beach

Today’s case from the Eleventh Circuit examines an excessive use of force that ultimately ended in an officer being denied qualified immunity. Qualified immunity protects officers from civil liability unless their conduct violates clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. In excessive force cases, whether a plaintiff’s constitutional rights were violated is governed by the Fourth Amendment’s objective reasonableness […]

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Supreme Court 2023: What Cases are on the Docket with the Potential to Reshape Law Enforcement Landscape 

The Supreme Court of the United States has a packed schedule in 2023, with several cases that could potentially impact law enforcement officers and departments across the country. In this article, we will provide an overview of both, scheduled and petitioned cases to be on the lookout for.   First up on the Court’s Docket is Counterman v. Colorado, which is set to be argued

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Force That Matches the Escalation of Resistance

Betts v. Brennan, a case in the Fifth Circuit, involves a use of force incident during a traffic stop. The district court initially decided the case and cited Hanks v. Rogers, another use of force case where the court held that the plaintiff successfully rebutted the defendant’s qualified immunity defense. In Hanks v. Rogers, the court concluded that the plaintiff’s Fourth Amendment right to

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Weighing Qualified Immunity Against Several Versions of the Same UOF Incident

In the Seventh Circuit case of Bayon v. Berkebile, qualified immunity was denied for officers who mistakenly believed that the plaintiff had a gun. The incident became complicated due to the numerous conflicting versions from both the plaintiff and the officers about the use of force. As a reminder, qualified immunity balances the need to hold public officials accountable for irresponsible use of power

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What Validates Use of Force?

Today’s case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals involves the use of deadly force and poses a question regarding qualified immunity. The standard used to examine the use of force is proscribed by Tennessee v. Garner. In Garner, the Supreme Court held that when an officer uses deadly force, the reasonableness of such force turns primarily on whether “the officer had probable cause

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Deadly Use of Force Against an Armed Suspect

Today’s case from the Ninth Circuit involves the use of deadly force by a Sergeant, who was subsequently denied qualified immunity which he later appealed. On appeal from a denial of qualified immunity, the court must determine: (1) whether there has been a violation of the constitutional right; and (2) whether that right was clearly established at the time of the officer’s alleged misconduct.

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Clearly Established Rights and Deadly Use of Force

Our case today from the Eight Circuit highlights an alleged use of excessive force. To determine if the Officer in today’s case qualified for immunity, the court asked two questions: first, did his actions violate a constitutional right and second, was the right clearly established? To determine if a right is clearly established, the court will focus “on whether the officer had fair notice

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Highest Court Refuses to Review 6th Circuit’s Grant of Immunity to Officer

The Supreme Court recently declined to take up an appeal sought by the widow of Antonio Gordon, pertaining to the 6th Circuit’s decision in Gordon v. Bierenga, which granted immunity to the police officer who fatally shot Gordon in a drive-through line during vehicular flight.  The test that governs inquiries of qualified immunity maintains that: Public Officials are afforded immunity from civil damages unless the plaintiff can establish both: (1) a constitutional

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The Force Must Match the Circumstance

As we have discussed in previous training sessions, protests at City Council meetings and town halls are becoming more frequent. Today’s case, Williamson v. City of National City, took place in a City Council meeting. When evaluating a Fourth Amendment claim of excessive force, the court will ask whether an officer’s actions were objectively reasonable considering the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident. While

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