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Billy Binion

28 Jun, 9 tweets, 4 min read

@reason

A suicidal man burned to death after cops shot him with Tasers, knowing he was covered in gas. A court says that’s a reasonable use of force.

This is one of the most shocking cases I’ve covered. Let’s talk about accountability. 🧵

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/06/28/qua…

Gabriel Olivas was having a mental health crisis when police came to help. They knew he was doused in gas—and one warned that tasing him would set him on fire.

The other cops did it anyway. He was burned alive, & his family’s home burned along with him.
reason.com/2021/06/28/qua…

Here’s where it gets rich. The 5th Circuit said the officers didn’t violate Olivas’ rights—when they set him & the home ablaze—because he posed a threat.

But the fire that endangered others was set in motion *because* of the cops…not in spite of them.
reason.com/2021/06/28/qua…

The officers were given qualified immunity.

The family will thus have no *right* to sue, not only for their ravaged home, but for the father/husband they lost to what appears to be reckless negligence.

And other officers are free to come along & do the same.

The 5th Circuit has an embarrassing record when it comes to qualified immunity.

I’m 2019, they gave it to a group of prison guards that locked a naked inmate in cells covered in human feces & sewage. The Supreme Court wasn’t having that one.
reason.com/2020/11/20/qua…

In February, the Supreme Court overturned *another* 5th Circuit ruling after they gave qualified immunity to a prison guard who pepper-sprayed an inmate for the fun of it.

If that’s not obviously a constitutional violation, then what is?
reason.com/2021/02/23/sup…

Notably, the judge who wrote the primary opinion Friday—James Ho—is the same judge who has said cops need qualified immunity “to stop mass shoutings.”

Translation: The government should be able to violate your rights with impunity for your own good!
reason.com/2019/10/25/jud…

So unless SCOTUS intervenes in *another* 5th Circuit decision—this one—the Olivas family will have to live with the idea that it is reasonable for the government to set a man on fire and destroy a home without any recourse.

That’s where we’re at.
reason.com/2021/06/28/qua…

@jack

shootings* where’s that edit button @jack 😭

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More from @billybinion

Billy Binion

@billybinion

5 May

@reason

Four Texas cops hog-tied a man & held him on the ground for 5-and-a-half minutes. He was not resisting, nor did he have a weapon.

He died. The officers got qualified immunity.

Last month, an appeals court overturned that.

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/05/05/qua…

An autopsy ruled it homicide by asphyxiation. The court was tasked with deciding whether or not it was "clearly established" that cops cannot apply such extreme force to a subject who isn't resisting.

Is there anything more ridiculous than qualified immunity?

What's most amazing is that the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the original ruling.

This is the same court that gave qualified immunity to prison guards who locked a naked inmate in cells covered in human feces & raw sewage.
reason.com/2020/06/25/qua…

Read 4 tweets

Billy Binion

@billybinion

30 Mar

@reason

Here's a doozy: A group of cops knowingly violated the First Amendment when they tried to force a man to delete a video of them beating a suspect, a federal court said this week.

That same court gave them qualified immunity anyway.

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/03/30/qua…

The story: A man named Levi Frasier sees a group of cops making an arrest in an alleged drug deal, & he films them punching the suspect 6 times in the face.

The cops find Frasier afterward, surround him, search his tablet without a warrant, & try to delete the video.

The kicker: The cops had *specific training* on this issue. The public has the right to film an arrest, and the cops knew it. The city had explicitly told them so.

The 10th Circuit acknowledged this & agreed it was a free speech violation.

Read 6 tweets

Billy Binion

@billybinion

26 Mar

@reason

Some good news for your Friday: New York City has voted to end qualified immunity for police officers.

Hi, Congress. Are you watching?

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/03/26/new…

@justinamash

@justinamash's bill from last June would've ended qualified immunity for all state actors. It had tripartisan support. It never received a vote.
reason.com/2020/06/06/jus…

@RepPressley

@RepPressley reintroduced that bill earlier this month. I sincerely hope people will hear her out.
reason.com/2021/03/01/aya…

Read 4 tweets

Billy Binion

@billybinion

26 Mar

@reason

ICE set up a fake college, stole millions of dollars from immigrants who *came here legally*...and then deported them.

The Biden admin has claimed sovereign immunity, & says the plaintiffs have no right to sue.

Lots to unpack here.

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/03/26/ice…

I talked with a man who came to the U.S. legally from India. His student visa was running out, so he applied for a master's at the University of Farmington.

The university's website, secretly set up by ICE, claimed to be approved by DHS's Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

So he enrolled, paid $15,000 in tuition, & got his visa. He then got a letter telling him it was all a lie & he needed to leave the country.

600 other students are in the same boat. Some left right away. About 250 were arrested & deported.

None have gotten their money back.

Read 8 tweets

Billy Binion

@billybinion

5 Mar

@reason

THREAD: A SWAT team decimated this innocent woman's home while chasing a fugitive. The city says it's not their problem—and has refused to pay for any damages.

Let's talk about police accountability.

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2021/03/05/swa…

The story: A man barricaded himself inside the home of 76-year-old Vicki Baker, whose daughter gave police the keys & a garage door opener.

Instead, agents used explosives to blow off the garage entry, and drove right on through the front door in an armored vehicle.

The city quickly told her that they don't owe her anything under the 5th Amendment & that she's not a victim.

"I've lost everything," she told me. She is battling cancer & was looking forward to retirement. So much for that.

Read 7 tweets

Billy Binion

@billybinion

5 Oct 20

@GovWhitmer

On Friday, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down @GovWhitmer's COVID-19 executive orders, calling them "unlawful."

Here's a timeline of her coronavirus response, which has sparked national debate over the limits of executive power.

My latest @reason:
reason.com/2020/10/05/mic…

Whitmer's April stay-at-home order prohibited all public and private gatherings. It banned the in-store sale of paint & outdoor goods at big retailers. It shuttered lawncare services. It made it illegal to use motorboats, but not boats without motors.
reason.com/2020/04/13/mic…

Even with all the prohibitions, lottery sales were still deemed essential.

That's likely because the proceeds help fund the state's public schools.
freep.com/story/news/loc…

Read 7 tweets

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