Supreme Court rules in favor of police officers who fired to end high-speed car chase

WashingtonTimes ^ | 05/27/2014 | Kelly Riddell

[BuckeyeTexan]

The Arkansas police officers who fired 15 rounds into a fleeing vehicle, killing both the driver and passenger, were justified in doing so, the Supreme Court ruled Monday.

In 2004, police officers in West Memphis ended a high-speed car chase by firing shots into the fleeing vehicle. The drivers of the car weren’t armed and were killed as a result of the firing, leading many to argue the use of force by the police squad was excessive. Not so, declared Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the decision for the court.

“Under the circumstances present in this case,” Mr. Alito said, “we hold that the Fourth Amendment did not prohibit petitioners from using the deadly force that they employed to terminate the dangerous car chase.” “If police officers are justified in firing at a suspect in order to end a severe threat to public safety,” the high court held, “the officers need not stop shooting until the threat has ended.”

[MHGinTN]

Not cool; read #110 above.

[QT3.14]

...the cops didn’t need to start a high speed chase...

You're mixed up. The driver started a chase by running.

[Rusty0604]

chase noun \ˈchās\ Definition of CHASE 1 a : the hunting of wild animals —used with the b : the act of chasing : pursuit c : an earnest or frenzied seeking after something desired : something pursued : quarry : a tract of unenclosed land used as a game preserve : steeplechase 1 : a sequence (as in a movie) in which the characters pursue one another The chase starts when with the chaser, the pursuer. Otherwise, you just have someone running off.

[1010RD]

It’s the current system and it’s not likely to change. What’s likely to change and easier is to end sovereign immunity. It’s judge-made law and is unconstitutional.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Is that because the 4th amendment controls warrants for persons being seized, and forceable seizure vs. being secure in one's houses and effects is considered unreasonable when one is being fired upon for fleeing in a car?

An arrest is a "seizure." The argument was that shooting to kill was an "unreasonable" method of "seizing" the driver.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Is that because the 4th amendment controls warrants for persons being seized, and forceable seizure vs. being secure in one's houses and effects is considered unreasonable when one is being fired upon for fleeing in a car?

An arrest is a "seizure." The argument was that shooting to kill was an "unreasonable" method of "seizing" the driver.

[NormsRevenge]

we’ll just have to deploy more lawyers..

[BobL]

I pull over when a cop lights up behind me. So far no bullet holes.

[Valpal1]

If cops are required to quit chasing cars, more criminals will run from the police, and thumb their noses as they do.

So what? Once they've identified the vehicle and plates, they can just wait and pick them up later. I see no reason why cops need to escalate situations to the point that they only option they have left is lethal force.

[FBD]

“Cop-haters who believe officers are always in the wrong vs. sane people who respect the law.”

-Like the newspaper ladies who were mistaken for Christopher Dorner and were shot at by officers over 80 times? Do you “sane people” *respect* that?

http://www.laweekly.com/imager/newspaper-delivery-ladies-shot-by-lapd-in-dorner-manhunt-see-42-mil-settl/b/original/4176576/4ba3/dorner_open_fire_meme.JPG

[OneWingedShark]

“Under the circumstances present in this case,” Mr. Alito said, “we hold that the Fourth Amendment did not prohibit petitioners from using the deadly force that they employed to terminate the dangerous car chase.”

What about the fifth, asshat?

[OneWingedShark]

Why did our military have tighter controls on firing in Iraq and Afghanistan than our police in the United States ?

Simple: the American citizen's life is worth less than the foreigner's.

[OneWingedShark]

I’m a radical who thinks law enforcement works for the people. That the power in this country comes from the people and the PEOPLE need to stand up and hold our law enforcement RESPONSIBLE.

For what? They're only enforcing laws written by the people's elected representatives.

Hm, I think you miss both the letter and the spirit of the following:

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

[OneWingedShark]

The only attitude I’m condemning is those who hold the entire function of law enforcement in contempt.

Some older freepers have contemplated the difference between a peace officer and a law enforcement officer.
Going by their distinctions, I'd be fairly open to condemning the entire function of law enforcement.

[OneWingedShark]

Almost no innocent people flee. Armed and dangerous offenders often do.

Well, maybe if the police were interested in upholding justice… there's a lot of videos that show that to be a thing of the past.
(Remember the vet in AZ who was SWAT-ed? How the SWAT-team was leaning into the door and shooting over the shoulders of those in front… no, they were out to shoot the guy.)