Cop Who Arrested High Schooler on 'Terrorizing' Charges for Class Joke Gets Qualified Immunity

A police officer who questionably arrested a high school student on "terrorizing" charges cannot be sued in connection with the incident, a federal court recently ruled. But the decision making that official—along with a fiery dissenting opinion—shows how some facets of criminal justice reform do not have to be partisan.

In February 2018, Lennon Betancourt, a student at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana, was pictured next to a cartoon caricature of himself labeled "Future School Shooter." Though there was perhaps cause for alarm at first glance, the benign circumstances behind the...