Supreme Court sides with police officers seeking ‘qualified immunity’ in two use-of-force cases

The Supreme Court in two cases Monday ruled police officers were entitled to protection from being sued over their use of force against suspects.

The unsigned opinions, posted in the court’s periodic list of orders, both overturned lower appellate decisions.

One case involved an officer accused of excessive force when he put his knee on a man’s back during an arrest, while trying to remove a knife from the man’s pocket. In the other case, two officers were sued by the estate of a man whom they shot and killed after he appeared to threaten them with a hammer.

The high court said officers in both cases were entitled to qualified immunity. That doctrine protects officers from lawsuits unless it can be shown that they violated “clearly established” rights that a reasonable person would know about.