Deputy Not Entitled to Immunity in Use of Deadly Force Case

By Robert Phillips, Deputy District Attorney (Ret).

Use of Deadly Force and Qualified Immunity
Use of Deadly Force Upon One Carrying a Baseball Bat
Post Civil Trial Relief and Summary Judgment

Estate of Aguirre v. County. of Riverside (9th Cir. Mar 11, 2025) 131 F.4th 702

Rule:  Deadly force used by a law enforcement officer is not justified where the suspect poses no immediate threat to the officer or to others. The use of deadly force on a subject who is carrying a baseball bat, but not threatening anyone with it, violates the Fourth Amendment and subjects a law enforcement officer who uses the force to civil liability.

Facts: On April 15, 2016, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant responded to a call in Lake Elsinore, California, concerning a person destroying property with a bat or “club-like” object.  Upon arriving at the scene, the Sergeant located a person matching the subject’s description, standing in the driveway of a house.  That person, later identified as Clemente Najera-Aguirre (“Najera”), was holding a baseball bat, resting it on his shoulder.  Also observed at the scene was some shattered glass around the house he was standing in ....