In Jackson v. Gautreaux, we see an officer put in harm’s way while handling a mentally ill suspect. Mental health has become a very prominent topic in our society today and at times officers are put in a position where a mentally ill person tries to push for suicide-by-cop. The aggressive and violent nature of today’s case pushes a Lieutenant to defend himself with […]
Suicide-by-Cop, Fatal Use of Force Situation Continue Reading
In Emmett v. Armstrong, we travel over to the Tenth Circuit to examine a taser and UOF case. This case is from 2020, but raises some important use of force topics regarding tasers and qualified immunity. To begin, a review of Electronic Control Weapon guidelines from IACP. According to the IACP, the ECW is authorized to be used: to protect the officer or others from reasonably perceived immediate threat of physical
A Refresher on Tasers – Tenth Circuit Continue Reading
After a very quiet 2019-2020 Supreme Court session on the topics of Law Enforcement operations, 2020-2021 SCOTUS session was packed with cases that are important to Public Safety operations. The following Supreme Court of the United States cases will be reviewed in this webinar: Lombardo v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, (6-3 Per Curiam opinion on June 28, 2021) The Court vacated and remanded
Webinar: Supreme Court Legal Update 2020/21 Continue Reading
Today’s update focuses on a fatal use of force incident out of the 5th Circuit. Our case will review a few hot topics, including qualified immunity, mental health and use of force. To help further understand the court’s decision we have also included a link to the full video from the dashboard camera that the 5th Circuit Court of appeals strongly leaned on when deciding the outcome of
Mental Health, Qualified Immunity and the Luxury of Time Continue Reading
Our case today is another question of excessive use of force stemming from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In this case officers arrive to the scene to handle a perceived violent individual who may or may not have been experiencing a seizure. From the facts in this case, it seems that our suspect, James O’Doan, was of sound mind and was evading police during his “episode”.
Excessive Use of Force – Ninth Circuit Continue Reading
On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) examined the topic of excessive force in the case of Lombardo v. City of St. Louis. In an unsigned opinion — and over the dissents of three justices — SCOTUS threw out the 8th Circuit Court ruling in favor of the officers—which dismissed the excessive force suit filed by the man’s parents—and
SCOTUS: Excessive Force Continue Reading
Today we travel to the Fifth Circuit to review a fatal use of force case. As officers, we never want to be in the position where we get to the point of needing to deploy our firearm to protect ourselves, but as you will see in this case the use of force was more than necessary. What should have been a simple traffic stop
Fatal Use of Force – Fifth Circuit Continue Reading
Our case today comes to us from the Third Circuit and involves both qualified immunity and alleged excessive force. The facts of this case get a little hectic and in order to fully understand the court’s decision it is important to review how an officer is entitled to qualified immunity. When deciding if an officer is entitled to qualified immunity the officer’s actions must not violate a
UOF Following a Pursuit and Plaintiff Safety – Third Circuit Continue Reading
Today we head to the 11th Circuit which covers the states of Alabama, Georgia and Florida to talk about issues that are currently faced by police departments across the country. These issues include appropriate applications of force, Qualified Immunity and Bystander Liability, also known as the Failure to Intervene. Before we look at the facts and the court decision in this case let me just make a
Use of Force Failure to Intervene – Eleventh Circuit Continue Reading
Today’s case highlights the important role that all of the facts play in a court’s legal calculation and an important operational consideration for your agency: it is necessary to have a plan in place that allows officers to change and reevaluate the use of force throughout an incident. Especially in today’s age of video recording and all eyes on our officers, we must be
Qualified Immunity, Deadly Use of Force Continue Reading