Thread by @senatorshoshana

Kids are playing in their yard when a fugitive ends up on their property. Police come over, hold the kids at gunpoint and make them all get down on the ground. The family dog comes out, and an officer tries to shoot it. He misses.

The dog runs underneath the porch. Some time passes. The dog comes back out. The cop tries to shoot it again, misses it, and hits one of the kids in the knee.

BUT GUYS IT'S ALL OK DON'T WORRY

Qualified immunity.

So the police won't be held accountable
media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/f… #CJreform cc @ConLawWarrior

"Because Vickers’s actions did not violate any clearly established rights, we conclude that he is entitled to qualified immunity and that the district court should have granted his motion to dismiss."

"No other efforts were made to restrain or subdue the dog, and no one appeared threatened by him. Eight or ten seconds after Vickers fired the first shot, the dog reappeared and was “approaching his owners,” when Vickers fired a second shot at the dog..."

UPDATE: "Defendant Vickers has an extensive history of using unnecessary, excessive force of which Defendant Wooten is and was at the time of the subject matter incident aware of. Vickers’ extensive prior excessive force record includes approximately...

...10 separate occurrences in the immediate three years prior to the incident, the most recent of which was when Vickers shot and killed a dog during the execution of a search warrant about a month before the incident." douglasenterprise.net/news/4-million…

And for those asking, here's more about qualified immunity - unlawfulshield.com/2018/07/the-ba… @CatoInstitute