CA8: Pulling a gun on officers in pursuit justified deadly force

Plaintiff’s decedent’s vehicle was stopped as part of a pseudoephedrine buying investigation. A shotgun was admitted to being in the truck, and decedent repeatedly reached to his waist. Officers got him out, but, as soon as he hit the ground, he struggled and broke away and ran. He was stopped by the police dog but pulled a gun, and pointed it toward officers. “Here, Garringer and Jones reasonably believed Gossman posed a serious threat to their safety and that deadly force was justified. When Bane caught him, Gossman drew a handgun. That drawn handgun ‘pose[d] a threat of serious physical harm’ to the officers and justified their use of deadly force against Gossman.” It matters not that one of the officers erroneously thought decedent fired his gun. McElree v. City of Cedar Rapids, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 40217 (8th Cir. Dec. 23, 2020).*