The federal courts are continuously faced with substantial numbers of §1983 actions challenging the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers. Most of these cases arise from police shootings. An intentional police shooting is clearly a “seizure” under the Fourth Amendment, governed by an objective reasonableness test. Graham v. O’Connor, 490 U.S. 369 (1989) (all police uses of force—deadly or otherwise—in the course of a stop, arrest or other seizure are governed by objective reasonableness test). A court must determine whether, under the totality of the circumstances facing the officer on the scene, a reasonable officer could have employed the force in question. Under this test the officer’s good faith or bad faith is irrelevant.
But what if the police shooting was accidental? There are many different kinds of accidental police shootings, and they are not all treated the same way under the Constitution. Think about some of the possibilities: The officer’s gun accidentally discharges while pursuing a suspect, striking him; the officer intends to shoot Jones but the bullet accidentally strikes Smith; the officer shoots at a person thinking he is suspect Franks but it turns out to be someone else; or, the officer’s gun accidentally discharges while it was pointed at a suspect.
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