The stories you want. The opinions that matter.
No, thanks
Tag: deadly force
Supreme Court Upholds Police Shooting After High-Speed Car Chase

Supreme Court Upholds Police Shooting After High-Speed Car Chase

By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON — The police may use deadly force to shoot and kill a motorist who leads them on a reckless, high-speed chase, even if the suspect’s car is temporarily cornered, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

In a unanimous decision, the justices threw out an “excessive force” claim brought against Arkansas police officers who chased a speeding car across the bridge into Memphis and shot the driver when he refused to give up.

In the past, the court had said police may use force to stop a fleeing motorist because he represents a danger to the public. But the law has been unclear on whether “deadly force” can be used against the occupants of a stopped car.

In the case decided Tuesday, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said the officers were justified in shooting the motorist because he continued to maneuver his car after he had been temporarily stopped by a squad car. As the motorist, Donald Rickard, tried to drive away, police fired 15 shots in all, killing him and a passenger.

Alito also said officers deserve the benefit of the doubt when they are engaged in a high-speed pursuit. “We analyze this question from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight,” he wrote in Plumhoff v. Rickard.

The case began on a summer night in 2004 when officers in West Memphis, Ark., pulled over a white Honda because the car had only one headlight. When an officer sought to question the driver, he sped away.

The chase reached 100 miles per hour when Rickard crossed the bridge into Memphis. Sgt. Vance Plumhoff led the pursuit and collided with the fleeing vehicle, sending it spinning into a parking lot.

Though Rickard’s car was cornered, he put it into reverse and spun the wheels. When Rickard refused to surrender, Plumhoff fired three shots into the vehicle. The car then spun away, and officers fired more shots, killing the driver and his passenger.

Rickard’s daughter sued, alleging the officers violated the Fourth Amendment by using “excessive force” to make an arrest. A federal judge and the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals allowed the suit to proceed on the theory that a jury should decide whether the shooting was excessive.

But the Supreme Court decided there was no constitutional violation. “It is beyond serious dispute that Rickard’s flight posed a grave public safety risk, and here the police acted reasonably in using deadly force to end that risk,” Alito wrote. It would be “a different case,” he added, if the initial shots “had clearly incapacitated Rickard” or “if Rickard had clearly given himself up.”

“But that is not what happened,” he concluded.

©afp.com / Joe Raedle

Feds Condemn Use Of Deadly Force By Albuquerque Police

Feds Condemn Use Of Deadly Force By Albuquerque Police

By Cindy Carcamo, Los Angeles Times

Albuquerque police have used deadly force more often than necessary, resulting in a series of unjustified fatal shootings by officers, according to a damning report released Thursday by U.S. Justice Department officials.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels said the Albuquerque Police Department needs a “systematic change” to address a long-ingrained culture of using deadly force.

“This is no longer an acceptable way to proceed,” Samuels said.

Speaking to a crowded room of reporters and community leaders in a televised news conference from Albuquerque, Samuels listed a number of recommended reforms, such as stronger oversight of the department and better police training.

The federal recommendations come on the heels of a string of fatal shootings by officers, including the death March 16 of a homeless and mentally ill man, James “Abba” Boyd, who was illegally camping in the Sandia Mountains. Boyd had been acting erratically and got into a confrontation with officers before he was shot.

A video of the shooting that surfaced last month touched off mass protests and unrest in this desert city of 550,000 residents. The video also has prompted calls for better police training, especially on how to deal with the mentally ill.

Since 2010, Albuquerque police have shot 37 people, 23 of them fatally. The shootings prompted the Justice Department to open its investigation.

Mayor Richard J. Berry had called Boyd’s death a “game changer” and urged the Justice Department to expedite its investigation. He also introduced a raft of proposed “sweeping changes” to be implemented by Albuquerque police Chief Gorden Eden Jr., who has been in his post for about a month.

However, Berry stopped short of saying there was a cultural problem in the agency.

Tension between police and parts of the community has been brewing for years, and Boyd’s death was not just an isolated incident, experts and community leaders have said. A Department of Justice letter to Berry seems to agree with that assessment:

“For too long, Albuquerque officers have faced little scrutiny from their superiors in carrying out this fundamental responsibility. Despite the efforts of many committed individuals, external oversight is broken and has allowed the department to remain unaccountable to the communities it serves. Based on our investigation, we find that the department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force during the course of arrests and other detentions in violation of the Fourth Amendment,” the letter states.

Samuels said federal officials planned to meet with city leaders, community members and police union officials, among others, to discuss the recommendations and come up with a plan of action.

“It’s unclear how long that process will take,” Samuels said. “It is one that we are committed to for as long as it takes.”

Photo: OregonDOT via Flickr.com