Page 134 - North Carolina 2020 Legal Guide

Task: Vehicle Pursuit

Mullenix v. Luna, 136 S.Ct. 305 (2015).

Where officer fired a rifle from overpass killing fleeing driver who had

threatened to kill officers during high-speed pursuit, the Court held: that

the law was not clearly established whether such action violated the 4 th

Amendment stating: The Court has thus never found the use of deadly

force in connection with a dangerous car chase to violate the Fourth

Amendment, let alone to be a basis for denying qualified immunity.

The Court did not address whether the shooting was constitutional-

merely that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because the

law was not clearly established.

NOTE: STATE LAW MAY BE MORE RESTRICTIVE

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