A Closer Look at Mullenix v. Luna (Qualified Immunity for Texas Trooper Shoots Moving Vehicle)

By Robert Farago

forcescience.org writes:

The U.S. Supreme Court recently decided a case involving fatal shots fired at a moving vehicle. Mullenix v. Luna provides an important reminder to officers about thoroughly articulating use of force and offers help to police lawyers in arguing qualified immunity cases. The case was decided 8-1 early in November in favor of a Texas trooper who killed a threatening suspect during a brief high-speed pursuit. [Click here for the full decision.] The shooting occurred nearly six years ago . . .

during a nighttime, 18-minute chase on I-27 in north Texas as a suspect tried to flee arrest on an outstanding warrant at speeds between 85 and 110 mph.

As responders from multiple agencies joined in, the driver twice called a police dispatcher, “claiming to have a gun and threatening to shoot at officers if they did not abandon their pursuit,” according to the court’s recap of the encounter. The dispatcher relayed this warning “to all concerned officers,” along with the impression that the suspect “might be intoxicated.”

Tire spikes were set up at three locations, the first beneath an overpass at the aptly named Cemetery Rd. A trooper armed with a rifle took a …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns