Overzealous police officers score absolutely bonkers victory over Fourth Amendment

[babylonsister]

Overzealous police officers score absolutely bonkers victory over Fourth Amendment
Let's talk about Ferguson, again.
Ian Millhiser
Jun 18, 2019, 10:29 am

snip//

You and a friend are walking peacefully down a residential street in the middle of the day, when a police car pulls next to you and orders you to “get the fuck on the sidewalk.” After you walk a few steps more, the cop suddenly puts his car into reverse and maneuvers it in front of you to block your path — stopping the car just inches from your friend.

The cop then opens the car door and slams it into your friend. He grabs your friend and threatens to shoot him. As your friend struggles to free himself, the cop shoots twice, hitting him once in the arm. Fearing for your life, you flee, as the cop continues to fire his gun at you.

You live. Your friend dies.

Now, ask yourself this: as this series of events played out, would you believe throughout the entire experience that the cop was merely instructing you to move to the sidewalk, or would there come a point where you felt that the cop expected you to stay put? If you paused, as the cop blocked your path and assaulted your friend, did you do so because you were calmly deciding where else to go — or did you freeze because you believed that the cop was demanding your submission?


snip//

Yet, in the process of arguing that Johnson was free to go, Judge Wollman deploys some simply astounding reasoning. Reasoning like this:

Johnson’s complaint concedes that neither he nor Brown was ordered to stop and to remain in place. Johnson’s decision to remain by Brown’s side during Brown’s altercation with Wilson rather than complying with Wilson’s lawful command to return to the sidewalk was that of his own choosing. That he was able to leave the scene following the discharge of Wilson’s weapon gives the lie to his argument that the placement of Wilson’s vehicle prevented him from doing so.

Think about that for a second. This is a federal appellate judge, joined by five other federal appellate judges, arguing that Johnson was free to leave the scene because he managed to flee with his life while he and his friend were under gunfire from a cop.

more...

https://thinkprogress.org/overzealous-cops-score-victory-fourth-amendment-ferguson-06309033dfca/

[Dennis Donovan]

1. My.Fucking.God.

[DetlefK]

2. Holy shit. The end of the article.

This is legal precedent that when cops shoot at you, it doesn't count as the cops trying to keep you from leaving.

Rather, the significance is that there is now binding legal precedent, in a federal court whose jurisdiction includes seven states, holding that a cop who behaves in the way Johnson says that Wilson behaved is not liable to their victims.

...

But that was not enough. Binding precedent now says that Ferguson cops can behave with utterly astounding disregard for human life — and that federal civil rights law will not hold them accountable.