Henry v. Purnell, 06-1523 (4^th Cir., Sept. 20, 2007)

People are talking about the Florida college student who was Tasered for focusing too much on the question part of a question and answer session with John Kerry. (Note that I don’t normally read Malkin; I actually learned about this from a gabby hair dresser, whose analysis was comparable though not linkable.)

But things could have ended up a lot worse for Meyer, as this Fourth Circuit decision shows. From the opinion:

While attempting to use a Taser to stop Frederick P. Henry from fleeing arrest, Somerset County (Maryland) Deputy Sheriff Robert Purnell mistakenly drew his firearm, rather than his Taser, from his holster. Not realizing the mistake, Purnell then shot and wounded Henry.

Henry sued Purnell for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, and the district court denied Purnell’s motion to dismiss on qualified immunity grounds. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit partially reverses. The Court agrees that a seizure occurred when Purnell intentionally used a weapon to stop Henry, but Henry has yet to establish that the seizure was unreasonable. Accordingly, the Court remands to allow the district court to determine whether Henry has put on enough evidence that Purnell’s mistake of fact in pulling a Glock rather than a Taser, and then using it on Henry, was unreasonable.

Posted Thu, 20 Sep 2007 12:49:27 and filed under Fourth Amendment, Qualified Immunity, Decision of the Day. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.