Thursday, February 20, 2014
Supreme Court case on use of deadly force to stop vehicle pursuit
Shortly, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument on a case that may provide clearer rules on when police can use (and can get qualified immunity) when deadly force is used to stop a suspect fleeing in a vehicle. The incident began with a traffic stop for a busted headlight and ended around 10 minutes later with multiple police officers firing a total of 15 rounds into the fleeing vehicle. Killed were the driver, Donald Rickard, and his passenger, Kelly Allen, both of whom were unarmed. The case is Plumhoff v. Rickard.
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Remember the "great car chase" from the 1980s? It began up on I-10 with a traffic stop of what was quickly found to be a stolen car, The driver and her boyfriend came down 87 to 90 and then through Alpine toward Marfa. DPS, Brewster County SO, Alpine PD, Sul Ross PD and the tail-end Charley was the constable from Marathon. A friend who was passed by this entourage counted fourteen official vehicles.
ReplyDeleteAs the whole pack was approaching a road block east of Marfa, the police there opened fire. Wrecked car. One "bad guy" dead, one wounded.
One wonders at the thoughts of the owner of the car. Or of the relatives of the deceased. Death penalty for car theft?
Anon:
ReplyDeleteYes, I remember that. The fleeing suspect doesn't get much sympathy from me either. Recent Supreme Court majority opinions don't have much sympathy either. The kicker is the safety of 3rd persons (pedestrians, other drivers, etc.). It is not easy to figure out how to balance all the interests.
While I have little sympathy for wrong-doers, speeding through Alpine doesn't seem like a death-penalty offense.
ReplyDeleteMy recollection is that the roadblock east of Marfa was done with a semi rig pulled across the highway. So, why shoot? And why shoot into the interior? The radiator and engine in an approaching car are easy enough targets.
Granted, not everybody has driven dirt-track roundy-round, but had I been one of the DPS guys, I'd have run up on the left rear corner and nerfed them into the pasture, long before reaching US 290. Piece of cake.
Art