CA5: Standard of review for QI in excessive force cases

In this excessive force case, the Fifth Circuit discusses qualified immunity in the heat of a confrontation. Henderson v. Harris County, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 28436 (5th Cir. Oct. 12, 2022). The standard of review:

The hurdle is even higher when the plaintiff alleges a Fourth Amendment violation. As we have said elsewhere, in excessive-force cases requiring split-second judgments, it is “especially difficult” to overcome qualified immunity. Morrow, 917 F.3d at 875. That is because in the Fourth Amendment excessive-force context, “it is sometimes difficult for an officer to determine how the relevant legal doctrine … will apply to the factual situation the officer confronts.” Mullenix, 577 U.S. at 12 (quotation omitted); see Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396-97, 109 S. Ct. 1865, 104 L. Ed. 2d 443 (1989) (laying out the excessive-force inquiry, which “requires careful attention to the facts and circumstances of each particular case”). Thus, Henderson must demonstrate that the law is “so clearly established that—in the blink of an eye, in the middle of a high-speed chase—every reasonable officer would know it immediately.” Morrow, 917 F.3d at 875.