{"id":531,"date":"2006-10-31T04:26:23","date_gmt":"2006-10-31T04:23:47","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2017-09-17T13:44:00","modified_gmt":"2017-09-17T18:44:00","slug":"en-us-234","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=531","title":{"rendered":"Cert. granted: Does use of deadly force against a fleeing motorist who is not an immediate threat entitle the officer to qualified immunity?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court granted cert. October 27th from Scott v. Harris, 433 F.3d 807 (11th Cir. 2005)<\/a>, a Fourth Amendment qualified immunity case. The question presented is not yet available online. The docket is here<\/a>. The summary from Willemette School of Law:<\/p>\n

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a police officer who uses deadly force against a fleeing offender who does not pose an immediate threat to human life is not allowed to claim qualified immunity from the offender\u2019s Fourth Amendment right from excessive force during a seizure.<\/p>\n

A deputy police officer clocked Victor Harris at 73 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone. Harris was not wanted for any other offense, but he attempted to flee. Without knowing details of the event, Sergeant Fenninger gave Deputy Scott permission to use \u201cprecision intervention technique\u201d (PIT) to stop Harris\u2019 car. The PIT is not classified as deadly force. However, because of the high speeds involved, Scott could not perform the technique and instead rammed Harris\u2019 vehicle, which caused an accident that left Harris a quadriplegic. Harris brought suit against Fenninger and Scott. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied both Defendants\u2019 motion for summary judgment, which was founded on a qualified immunity defense. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed in part, and affirmed in part, holding that Scott used deadly force against a fleeing offender who did not pose an immediate threat to human life and was therefore not allowed to claim qualified immunity. The Court of Appeals noted that a reasonable officer would have notice under established law about what conditions were sufficient to use deadly force to stop a fleeing motorist. In this case, the chase only concerned a traffic violation; therefore Scott\u2019s deadly force was excessive, especially given Sergeant Fenninger\u2019s authorization for the safe PIT maneuver. The Court of Appeals ruled that because Fenninger authorized a safe maneuver, he was entitled to use the qualified immunity defense. However, because Scott used unreasonable force in intercepting Harris, the Court of Appeals held Scott was not entitled to the immunity defense. Scott appealed, and The United States Supreme Court granted Certiorari.
\n[Summarized by Kerensa Pearce.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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