83-Year-Old Woman Handcuffed and Forced to Kneel During Stop Can Sue the Police
Elise Brown was a little over 5 feet tall and weighed all of 117 pounds when she was ordered out of her blue Oldsmobile by police in California in 2019. She was also 83 years old. The officers who pulled Brown over thought the car she was driving had been stolen – mistakenly, it turns out – and, following their protocol, they drew their handguns, handcuffed Brown and forced her to her knees. A federal appeals court this year ruled that Brown could sue the police for excessive force, waiving a legal doctrine known as qualified immunity that protects police from liability for civil rights violations in many circumstances. The Supreme Court on Monday let that lower court ruling stand, keeping Brown's lawsuit alive. At a time when the nation is grappling with fatal police confrontations, the Supreme Court has mostly balked at lawsuits questioning the legal immunity extended officers. Police organizations have long countered that officers need immunity in cases when they must defend the...
