Cop conduct: ‘Reasonable’ standard may be changing

WASHINGTON – A high-speed police chase in 2001 ended when Georgia deputy Timothy Scott bumped the rear of a speeding suspect’s car, leading it to tumble down an embankment and overturn. The driver was rendered a quadriplegic.

Federal district and appeals courts allowed Victor Harris’ lawsuit alleging excessive force to proceed, but he ran into a roadblock at the Supreme Court.

“In the end, we must still slosh our way through the factbound morass of ‘reasonableness,’ “Associate Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the 8-1 majority. “Whether or not Scott’s actions constituted application of ‘deadly force,’ all that matters is whether Scott’s actions were reasonable.”

That standard – set out in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution – has given police what critics call an extra level of protection from civil lawsuits, making prosecutions for brutality or misconduct difficult.

On top of that, the high court routinely grants police and other public officials “qualified immunity” that protects them from being sued for official actions unless they violated “clearly established” laws or constitutional rights.

The justices may agree as soon as this month to reconsider that immunity, but the murky standard of “reasonableness” would remain a hurdle for those claiming police misconduct.

In the wake of George Floyd’s killing , local, state and federal officials are once again calling for law enforcement changes.

“Everywhere you go in criminal procedure, it’s ‘was it reasonable, was it reasonable, was it reasonable?’ “says Barry Friedman, faculty director for the Policing Project at New York University School of Law.

“The Supreme Court has basically refused to regulate policing,” Friedman says.

But the public’s aversion to Floyd’s death may prompt a reexamination.

Police associations say officers have come to rely on the Supreme Court’s doctrine of qualified immunity as a first line of defense in disputes over whether their actions were reasonable. Without that protection, they say, officers would be afraid to act.

“More peace officers may choose to take an overly cautious path that could result in lives lost if the law enforcement community believes that the courts will not guard them from liability for reasonable actions taken to protect the public,” lawyers for a coalition of police and municipal groups argued in a Texas case pending before the high court.