Supreme Court Makes It Tougher To Sue Police

[Lady Effingbroke]

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WASHINGTON — In a pair of victories for law enforcement, the Supreme Court on Monday made it harder to sue police for a questionable shooting of a fleeing suspect or for arresting a motorist on false charges.

In both instances, the justices said the courts should give police officers the benefit of the doubt and not allow them to be sued for doing their jobs.

Monday's decisions reversed rulings of the San Francisco-based U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that the police violated the rights of the suspects by subjecting them to an "unreasonable seizure."

Nearly 20 years ago, the Supreme Court ruled that police may not use "deadly force" to stop a fleeing felon, except when the officer has good reason to believe "the suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm, either to the officer or to others." Applying that rule has proven to be difficult for police and courts.

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