Read up on “qualified immunity.”
My only slightly exaggerated take is that police on duty can do whatever they want to whomever they want - up to and including killing someone - and not be held liable.
My only slightly exaggerated take is that police on duty can do whatever they want to whomever they want - up to and including killing someone - and not be held liable.
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known".[1]
I'm sure killing people violates clearly established constitutional rights, so the concept looks puzzling.
A web search should turn up plenty of blogs by lawyers ranting helplessly about whatever the latest absurdity was.
Dave Chappelle's "Sprinkle some crack on him and let's get out of here" wasn't just fanciful comedy.