(StraightShooterNews.com) – In an effort to address instances of police turning routine interactions with citizens into deadly confrontations, a Christian firm is calling upon the Supreme Court to rule on the issue.
The Rutherford Institute has submitted a brief in support of reviewing these practices, detailing alarming cases.
For instance, the Institute listed a situation where an Illinois sheriff’s deputy was charged with first-degree murder after shooting Sonya Massey when she sought help.
It also included the case of a pregnant mother in Ohio who was shot dead by an officer in a grocery store parking lot.
These incidents are sometimes defended in court under the “moment-of-threat doctrine.”
However, the Institute argues that this climate in which police unnecessarily escalate situations over relatively minor crimes and then respond to the perceived danger with deadly force.”
In the Barnes v. Felix case, the Institute is urging the justices to discard this doctrine, asserting it violates Fourth Amendment standards on reasonable force.
The Rutherford Institute President and constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead wrote:
“In an age when police are increasingly militarized, weaponized and protected by the courts, run-of-the mill encounters between police and citizens are now inherently dangerous for any individual unlucky enough to be in a situation where police are inclined to respond to unsubstantiated fears for their safety and perceived challenges to their ‘authority’ by drawing and using their weapons.”
Whitehead, who also authored “Battlefield America: The War on the American People,” criticized the dominant view that any opposition to police is a threat that needs to be neutralized.
He noted a troubling national trend of courts frequently acquitting officers in such shootings, often with minimal consequences.
The specific dispute stems from an incident on April 28, 2016, in Harris County, Texas. Officer Roberto Felix pulled over Ashtian Barnes for a traffic stop because of reported toll violations.
After smelling marijuana, Felix ordered Barnes to open his trunk. Moments later, the situation escalated when Barnes complied and Felix ultimately shot Barnes in the head.
When Barnes’s parents sued, claiming the use of deadly force was unjustified, especially since Felix had aggressively approached their son, the trial court dismissed their case. It ruled that Felix’s actions were “presumptively reasonable” due to his safety concerns.
This decision was upheld by the 5th Circuit Appeals Court under the contentious “moment-of-threat” doctrine.
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