Ninth Circuit ruling limits Use of Deadly Force Immunity in a Knee to the Neck and Back Case

• The Fourth Amendment and excessive force 
• The Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right to familial association 
• Qualified immunity from civil liability 
• Use of force in subduing a mentally ill person 

Under the Fourth Amendment, an officer’s use of force in taking a mentally ill person into protective custody must be reasonable. With the law on this issue being clear, the doctrine of qualified immunity from civil liability does not apply. The use of deadly force on a plaintiff’s father potentially deprives the plaintiff of her Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right to “familial association.” The illegality of using force on a mentally ill person as a due process violation, however, is not sufficiently established in the law, allowing for a finding of qualified immunity from civil liability.

Roy Scott called the police early in the morning on March 3, 2019, reporting that multiple assailants were outside his apartment, one armed with a saw. Officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) responded. LVMPD dispatch notified the officers that Scott appeared to be mentally ill. Upon officers’ arrival, it was apparent that Scott was “distressed and hallucinating.” When officers knocked on his door, Scott yelled for them to “break the door down,” while claiming there were people inside his apartment. The conversation between the officers, as recorded on their bodycams, reflected the fact that they were well aware Scott was mentally ill.  

Believing there was no one else inside with Scott, the officers continued to knock, trying to convince him to open the door. After about seven minutes and numerous pleas from the officers, Scott opened the door, holding a metal pipe at his side. As the officers backed away from the entrance and descended the stairs, Scott followed. When told to drop the pipe, he readily complied. An obviously disoriented Scott asked twice: “What am I supposed to do ”  

Told to stand near a wall at the base of the stairs, Scott did so. Asked if he had any other weapons, Scott produced a knife from his front pants pocket. Telling ....