On Nov. 9, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered an important decision concerning police use of deadly force. In Mullenix v. Luna1 the court, in an 8-1 per curiam opinion, held that a police officer who terminated a high-speed pursuit by shooting to death a fleeing suspect, whom the officer believed was armed, possibly intoxicated, and threatened to kill police officers in his path, was protected from §1983 liability by qualified immunity.
Justice Antonin G. Scalia, concurring in the judgment, criticized the court for characterizing the case as a “deadly force” case, because the officer’s object was to stop the suspect’s vehicle. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was the sole dissenter. The court’s opinion is filled with important points concerning §1983 excessive force litigation, which we will flag as we work our way through an analysis of the decision.
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