Man shot while resisting arrest cannot sue for assault, gross negligence
It is perhaps obvious that a guy who resists arrest for domestic violence doesn't have a strong claim against the officers who shot him in the back after becoming exhausted with wrestling with him. Deon Gentry found that out when the Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the dismissal of his excessive force claim. Gentry had argued that Deputy Sheriff Daniel Carmona was not justified in resorting to deadly force to complete his arrest, despite the fact that he had been wrestling with four officers for more than 15 minutes and attempting to escape.
Carmona argued that one of the officers yelled that Gentry had his gun, making Carmona's actions justified. Although the trial court thought there were questions of fact with regard to whether the shooting was justified, the Court of Appeals disagreed. It concluded that an arresting office must be allowed the discretion to take actions which he deems are necessary to his and others' safety.