Use of deadly force on a suspect armed with a replica firearm

An officer is not required to take the potentially dangerous route of failing to shoot simply because there is reason to believe that a weapon pointed at the officer by a suspect may not be real. 

• Fourth Amendment seizure by shooting a suspect 
• Use of deadly force by law enforcement officers 
• Brandishing a replica firearm and an officer’s use of deadly force in response 

When a suspect points a firearm at an officer, the Constitution entitles the officer to respond with deadly force. The officer, however, need only have “probable cause” to believe that the weapon used by the suspect was, in fact, a real firearm. The officer is entitled to be reasonably mistaken about the nature of the threat. The fact that the weapon used appeared to be nothing more than a replica firearm does not make it unreasonable for the officer to assume otherwise.  

Gabriel Strickland was well known to the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office as a homeless man with serious mental issues, including bipolar disorder, PTSD, and anxiety disorder. Since at least 2016, he’d been in and out of custody and undergone a number of mental evaluations.  

On Dec. 26, 2019, he was arrested again (unknown for what) and incarcerated at a correctional facility in Nevada City, Ca. At that time, Wellpath Management, Inc., a contractor providing medical services at the facility, performed a physical and mental intake assessment, determining that Strickland was uncooperative, angry, and had active mental health issues. It was further determined that he needed an urgent and more complete mental health evaluation. However, he was released after four days by the Nevada County Superior Court following a pretrial release hearing without further mental health evaluation.  

Two days later, on Jan. 1, 2020, the Nevada County Regional Dispatch received reports of a man walking on a residential road near a neighboring town –­­ Grass Valley – ­ with “what appeared to be a shotgun” slung over his shoulder. Officers from the Grass Valley Police Department and the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene, finding Strickland to be carrying what appeared to be a black plastic airsoft rifle marked ....