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CA11: Officers get qualified immunity in shooting death during SWAT raid where gun was raised at them

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers were entitled to qualified immunity in a SWAT team raid that led to them killing a man inside the house where he refused to get down, ran into a bedroom with officers in pursuit, picked up a shotgun and racked a shell into the chamber and was shot. He fell into a closet with the gun still in hand, and raised the gun again and was shot again. Whittier v. Kobayashi, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 19488 (11th Cir. August 31, 2009), Whittier v. Bruna, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 19473 (11th Cir. August 31, 2009) (unpublished): Within the context of warrantless searches, we have held the mere presence of contraband, without more, does not give rise to exigent circumstances. United States v. Tobin, 923 F.2d 1506, 1510 (11th Cir. 1991). At the same time, however, we have also repeatedly noted the dangerous, and often violent, combination of drugs and firearms, see, e...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 02, 2009 (boomark / email).