Congressional Digest

Supreme Court Debates April 2007 No. 4 Vol. 10
Lower Court Holding

Police Chases

The Constitutionality of Using Lethal Force to Stop a Fleeing Suspect

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Lower Court Holding

Decision of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals

As we have oftenstated, “Qualified immunity offers complete protection for government officialssued in their individual capacities as long as their conduct violates noclearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonableperson would have known. — Lee v.Ferraro (11th Cir. 2002). This immunity “allow[s] government officials tocarry out their discretionary duties without the fear of personal liability orharassing litigation[.] Thus, in order to receive its protections, thegovernment official must first prove that he was acting within the scope of hisdiscretionary authority when the allegedly wrongful acts occurred. In thiscase, there is no dispute that when [Deputy Timothy] Scott rammed [Victor]Harris’s…

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