Our case today, from the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, outlines qualified immunity and excessive use of force. Before we get into the details of the case, a recap of qualified immunity when it is weighed against alleged excessive force: the plaintiff must establish that the officer’s use of force was objectively unreasonable. When examining reasonableness, the court evaluates the […]
The Issues with watching the video before writing a Use of Force Report. Over the past few weeks, I have seen more and more articles regarding the policy of allowing police officers to view video of an incident before writing their use of force report, which is incredibly concerning. It appears that individuals across the country have decided to be reactionary to “win” over the
What Happened to the Perception of the Officer? Continue Reading
In the second of two SCOTUS opinions released on the subject of qualified immunity, the Court overturned a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. The Tenth Circuit Court relied on case law that “allows an officer to be held liable for a shooting that itself is objectively reasonable if the officer’s reckless or deliberate conduct created a situation requiring deadly force.1” SCOTUS emphatically stated,
SCOTUS: Qualified Immunity, Continued Continue Reading
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