SCOTUS GIVES POLICE IMMUNITY IN USE OF DEADLY FORCE AGAINST FLEEING SUSPECTS

In Mullenix vs. Luna, the Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that a Texas state trooper was justified when he shot Israel Leija Jr. with a rifle from a highway overpass in an attempt to end a police car chase

In March 2010, Israel Leija Jr. fled from police in Tulia, Texas when an officer tried to arrest him for violating probation. The 25-mile chase reached speeds between 85-110 mph and lasted about 18 minutes. During the chase, Leija called the Tulia PD dispatcher and said he had a gun and would shoot at the cops if they continued to chase him. The pursuit took place at night on I-27 in a rural area when there was little traffic on that highway.

While other officers laid down three tire spike strips, Texas state trooper Chadrin Mullenix got on a freeway overpass with his .223 caliber M–4 rifle. He intended to disable the fleeing car by hitting its engine block. Mullenix fired six rounds but failed to hit the car’s radiator and engine block. He did however hit Leija once in the neck and three times in the upper body. End of chase.

Mullenix had been radioed by his sergeant to stand by and see if the spikes would stop the car, but the trooper claims he did not hear the order because he was outside his patrol car. After the shooting, Mullinex told his sergeant, “How's that for proactive?” While that may seem as a callous and smartass remark, it should be noted that earlier during the shift, the sergeant had chewed out Mullenix for not being proactive enough.

The family of Leija filed a civil rights lawsuit against the DPS, the DPS Director, Mullinex, his sergeant and another state trooper, claiming that he subjected Leija to an unconstitutional use of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. All but Mullenix were dismissed from the suit. Mullenix asserted the defense of qualified immunity and moved for a summary judgment. The District Court denied his motion and the denial was upheld 9-6 by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Monday however, the Supreme Court overturned the decisions of the District Court and 5th Circuit by an 8-1 vote. SCOTUS ruled that officers are immune from lawsuits unless it is “beyond debate” that a shooting was unjustified and clearly unreasonable. The court said:

“By the time Mullenix fired, Leija had led police on a 25-mile chase at extremely high speeds, was reportedly intoxicated, had twice threatened to shoot officers and was racing towards an officer’s location. Ultimately, whatever can be said of the wisdom of Mullenix’s choice, this court’s precedents do not place the conclusion that he acted unreasonably in these circumstances beyond debate.”

The lone dissenter was uber-liberal Obama appointee Sonia Sotomayor. Justice Sotomayor chided her fellow justices for “rendering the protections of the 4th Amendment hollow” and referred to Mullenix’s action as “rogue conduct.” She wrote:

“When Mullenix confronted his superior officer after the shooting, his first words were, ‘How's that for proactive? The glib comment … seems to me revealing of the culture this court’s decision supports when it calls it reasonable — or even reasonably reasonable — to use deadly force for no discernible gain and over a supervisor’s express order to ‘stand by.’”

Sotomayor made a big deal out of Mullenix’s “How's that for proactive?” remark, obviously ignoring the fact that earlier during the shift, his sergeant had chewed out Mullenix for not being proactive enough.

Monday’s ruling will make it hard for survivors of a fleeing suspect to sue the officer(s) for a civil rights violation. However, the ruling does not prevent prosecutors from filing criminal charges against the officer(s) involved in a deadly chase.

Personally I believe that Leija got his just deserves for fleeing from officers at speeds between 85-110 mph even though there was little traffic on the highway. While Leija may not have endangered the lives of other motorists, he certainly put the lives of the pursuing officers at risk.

Mullinex, however, is a dumbass if he believes he can disable a car by firing at the engine block. One of my fellow officers once fired six rounds at a car’s engine block without damaging the engine. He fired his .45 standing aside a fleeing car from about three feet away. He hit the engine block all six times, but while the rounds left big holes in the hood, they left only small indentions on the block. I doubt that with today’s thinner hoods and cast aluminum engine blocks the results would be any different.

Thanks to eight justices, cops now have some protection for doing their jobs.