Critical Incident Breakdown: Use Of Deadly Force To Stop A Dangerous Vehicle Pursuit
This post is only offered as a discussion topic only and does not represent legal advice. Officers must refer to the laws in their own State as well as their agency's policies, which can be more restrictive on officers that the law requires.
On August 9, 2024, The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals released their opinion in Williams v. City of Sparks, a police shooting that took place in 2020. Let's watch the critical incident debrief that the agency released after the shooting occurred and then we'll see what the court decided. The pursuit in this incident lasted over 40 minutes so sections of the dashcam footage that aren't relevant to the case have been sped up or removed.
The man survived and so naturally, he sued the officers and their employer for among other things, excessive force and denial of medical care. Here are the 9th circuit court of appeals judges discussing this case with the suspect's attorney.
On August 9 of 2024, the court released their official opinion. They said, "It is reasonable that an officer, without the benefit of hindsight, might fear that (the suspect’s) truck would gain traction at any moment, maneuver out of the pin, and accelerate forward into traffic. Based on the engine revving and the tires spinning, (the suspect) appeared “intent on resuming his flight” and would have “once again pose[d] a deadly threat for others on the road.” We hold that (the suspect)—taking into account the duration, speed, and other hazards of his flight, as well as his clear intent to flee—“posed a grave public safety risk” and that “the police acted reasonably in using deadly force to end that risk.”
“Once (the suspect) attempted to accelerate his vehicle, the officers did not need to risk their safety by first waiting to see if his attempt would be successful, and they acted reasonably in firing the immediate fourteen-second volley of shots in response to that effort. Having fired that initial volley, the officers then reasonably ceased firing, as (the suspect’s) further attempts at acceleration proved fruitless.”
“Because we find no constitutional violation in the officers’ use of force, they are entitled to qualified immunity.”
This is yet another case where because the officers had their cameras rolling and capturing multiple angles of this incident, they were able to refute the false claims made against them by a suspect who is ultimately the only person responsible for what happened.
The Briefing Room has a short training video available on this exact scenario so agency supervisors can easily train every officer in your agency on this essential topic.
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