Supreme Court says ex-LAPD officer may be sued for excessive force in street shooting

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court refused Monday to block an excessive force lawsuit against a former Los Angeles Police Department officer who shot and killed a knife-wielding man whose speeding truck had slammed into several cars near downtown Los Angeles.The court turned down an appeal petition from the Los Angeles city attorney’s office, over the objections of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A.

Alito Jr.Litigation over the six-second shooting incident has extended over six years.

Federal judges in California agreed that Officer Toni McBride had reason to fire four shots at the suspect in April 2020 but not the two final shots that killed him.Daniel Hernandez was alleged to be under the influence of methamphetamine when he got out of his truck and walked toward the officer.

She repeatedly ordered him, “Drop the knife,” as he approached.But the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, by a 6-5 vote, ruled last year that a jury could decide the officer went too far when she fired two final shots after the suspect had fallen to the ground.The majority reasoned that in the one-second pause between shots four and five, McBride “could have and should first reassessed the situation” and possibly concluded the suspect no longer posed a danger.

California A federal appeals court reversed a prior ruling that shielded a Los Angeles police officer from being sued for a fatal shooting, a decision that could have broad implications for future cases that involve the legal doctrine known as qualified immunity.That ruling would have sent the case to a trial.But the Los Angeles city’s attorney’s office appealed to the Supreme Court in October and urged the justices to review and reverse the 9th Circuit’s decision.The city’s attorneys said the appeals court failed to consider the “totality of circumstances from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene” and its deci...