Police-reform advocates have called for an end to qualified immunity, arguing it insulates officers from accountability for wrongdoing.
The Supreme Court on Monday first ruled on a case in which police in Union City, California, responded to a 911 call alleging Ramon Cortesluna was going to hurt his girlfriend and her two children, who were trapped in another room of her home.
Cortesluna sued, arguing Rivas-Villegas used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. A federal district court sided with the officer, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed that decision, ruling that "existing precedent put [Rivas-Villegas] on notice that his conduct constituted excessive force."
The other case involved a 2016 police incident in which the ex-wife of Dominic Rollice told 911 that her former husband was drunk in her garage and refusing to leave. Rollice's estate sued alleging that the officers violated his Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive force. The district court found the use of force was reasonable and that qualified immunity applied.
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