Supreme Court Reinstates Qualified Immunity for Police Officers

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the denial of qualified immunity in a pair of cases alleging excessive force, emphasizing that a constitutional violation must be “clearly established” before officers can be sued.

In one case, the justices said Union City, California officer Daniel Rivas-Villegas didn’t have to face a civil rights suit after “briefly” placing his knee on Ramon Cortesluna’s back while the officer removed a knife from his pocket.

The justices similarly said Tahlequah, Oklahoma officers couldn’t be sued for killing Dominic Rollice, who charged at the officers while preparing to swing a hammer.

In both cases, the justices—without ...