Court Upholds Use of Deadly Force in High-Speed Chase, Dismisses Municipal Liability Claim

By Robert Phillips  

Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

Legal Issues and Case Citation 

The Fourth Amendment and the use of deadly force 
Constitutionality of deadly force used in a high-speed chase 
Municipal liability pursuant to Monell v. Department of Social Services 

Rule: The use of deadly force to end a high-speed pursuit after all else has failed, and where the suspect is attempting to continue the chase, is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Where no constitutional violation has been committed by an officer’s use of deadly force, the employing municipality is also immune from civil liability. 

Facts: Joseph Williams, the plaintiff in this lawsuit, stole alcohol from a gas station in the city of Sparks, Nev., at about 12:10 a.m. on May 5, 2020, and vandalized a vehicle in the parking lot for good measure. Two Sparks patrol officers responded separately to the gas station attendant’s 911 call. Upon the first officer’s arrival, Williams took off in his truck with the officer in hot pursuit. Joined by other officers, they chased Williams code 3 all over the county while attempting several unsuccessful pursuit intervention (PIT) maneuvers, as well as spike strips laid across the road.  

In the process, Williams ignored speed limits, stop signs and traffic lights. Even when cornered in a dead-end street, where officers spent 10 minutes attempting to talk him out of his truck, Williams eventually escaped by driving through a chain-link fence and starting the pursuit again. Finally, 42 minutes into the chase, and with sparks flying from a flat tire caused by a spike strip, officers finally boxed Williams in between three patrol vehicles, which were actually pressed against the sides and front of his truck.  

With the truck’s engine making “a loud, continuous noise and a cloud of dirt and debris form(ing) near the back of the truck,” five officers surrounded Williams, yelling at him to “stop the car!” When he failed to do so, the officers then began shooting “dozens of rounds into the cabin of the truck” from three sides, continuing the shooting for approximately 14 seconds, as Williams’ engine continued making a loud ....