Bad tactics rarely will amount to a constitutional wrong
Welfare Check Results in Officer Stabbed and Suspect Shot
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Category: Use of Force
Struggle in Car Leads to Deadly Shooting
The plaintiff showed neither controlling precedential authority nor a “robust consensus of cases of persuasive authority”
Qualified Immunity for Bizarre Stop Leading to Roadside Shooting
The court bypassed the issue of whether the stop was a legitimate welfare check
Court Grants Qualified Immunity for Officers Who Fired at Fleeing Suspect Driving Toward Them
“Cherry-picking specific facts in hindsight is not at all reflective of how this event transpired in real life”
Ankle-Crushing Stomp Was Unreasonable, but Qualified Immunity Still Applies
Qualified immunity protects “all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law.”
I Can’t Breathe: What It Means for Law Enforcement
When a subject tells you they can’t breathe, it should be understood as a nontrivial indication that something might be seriously wrong
4 Conditions for Effective De-Escalation
Realistic de-escalation by law enforcement boils down to these four factors
3 Considerations When Taking Officer Use of Force Statements
Investigators need to focus on what’s most important—allowing the officer to tell their story
Realistic Law Enforcement De-Escalation: Legitimacy and Force
Balancing priorities during a force encounter is never easy and requires training
“Realistic” Law Enforcement De-Escalation: Learning from the Mental Health Profession
We can learn from our colleagues in emergency psychiatry to make the best of fraught, dynamic circumstances
Magnitude and Duration: Measuring Police Use of Force from Bodycam Video
Responding to a change in threat with commensurate force doesn’t happen in an instant
Shooting a Dog May Be a Fourth Amendment Seizure
[vc_section css=".vc_custom_1540328728009{padding-top: 3em !important;padding-bottom: 3em !important;}" el_class="container"][vc_column width="2/3"]Ray v. Roane, 948 F.3d 222 (4th Cir. 2020) Officers went to Tina Ray’s house to arrest her for domestic abuse. Several...