<How
the Supreme Court Protects Bad Cops>
The Supreme Court
reversed the decision of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and ruled
unanimously in favor of the police. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said that the
driver’s conduct posed a “grave public safety risk” and that the police were
justified in shooting at the car to stop it. The court said it “stands to reason
that, if police officers are justified in firing at a suspect in order to end a
severe threat to public safety, the officers need not stop shooting until the
threat has ended.”
This
is deeply disturbing. The Supreme Court now has said that whenever there is a
high-speed chase that could injure others — and that would seem to be true of
virtually all high-speed chases — the police can shoot at the vehicle and keep
shooting until the chase ends. Obvious alternatives could include shooting out
the car’s tires, or even taking the license plate number and tracking the driver
down
later.
