use of excessive force resulting in an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment. §1983, alleging, inter alia, a violation of his federal constitutional rights, viz. Respondent filed suit against Deputy Scott and others under Rev. Respondent was badly injured and was rendered a quadriplegic. Instead, Scott applied his push bumper to the rear of respondent’s vehicle.1 As a result, respondent lost control of his vehicle, which left the roadway, ran down an embankment, overturned, and crashed. Having radioed his supervisor for permission, Scott was told to “‘o ahead and take him out.’” Harris v. Six minutes and nearly 10 miles after the chase had begun, Scott decided to attempt to terminate the episode by employing a “Precision Intervention Technique (‘PIT’) maneuver, which causes the fleeing vehicle to spin to a stop.” Brief for Petitioner 4. Respondent evaded the trap by making a sharp turn, colliding with Scott’s police car, exiting the parking lot, and speeding off once again down a two-lane highway.įollowing respondent’s shopping center maneuvering, which resulted in slight damage to Scott’s police car, Scott took over as the lead pursuit vehicle. In the midst of the chase, respondent pulled into the parking lot of a shopping center and was nearly boxed in by the various police vehicles. Petitioner, Deputy Timothy Scott, heard the radio communication and joined the pursuit along with other officers. The deputy radioed his dispatch to report that he was pursuing a fleeing vehicle, and broadcast its license plate number. Instead, respondent sped away, initiating a chase down what is in most portions a two-lane road, at speeds exceeding 85 miles per hour. The deputy activated his blue flashing lights indicating that respondent should pull over. In March 2001, a Georgia county deputy clocked respondent’s vehicle traveling at 73 miles per hour on a road with a 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. Put another way: Can an officer take actions that place a fleeing motorist at risk of serious injury or death in order to stop the motorist’s flight from endangering the lives of innocent bystanders? We consider whether a law enforcement official can, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, attempt to stop a fleeing motorist from continuing his public-endangering flight by ramming the motorist’s car from behind. JUSTICE SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court.
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