On October 22, 2015, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals decided Maresca v. Fuentes et al. [i], which is instructive for law enforcement officers regarding the potential consequences of typographical errors that lead to felony stops.  The relevant facts of Maresca, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Unless noted otherwise, the parties do not dispute the following facts: The Maresca family—Stephen Maresca, Heather Martin-Maresca, their three children (seventeen-year-old Anthony Maresca, fourteen-year-old C.M., and nine year-old M.M.), and their dog (Maya)—were returning from a family hiking trip on March 14, 2013, when Fuentes saw them driving by in their red 2004 Ford [...]

On October 16, 2015, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Gustafson v. Adkins [i], which serves as instructive concerning the law pertaining to workplace searches and qualified immunity for illegal searches.  The relevant facts of Gustafson, taken directly from the case, are as follows: Renee Gustafson served as a police lieutenant supervisor at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago from September 2007 through April 2009. During this period, William Adkins worked as a detective for the Police and Security Service at the Medical Center. Adkins reported to the Chief of the Police and Security Service, Myron K. Thomas. At all [...]

On September 11, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Murphy v. Demings et al. [i], which serves as excellent review regarding use of deadly force on dangerous, fleeing suspects.  The relevant facts of Murphy, taken directly from the case, are as follows: At about midnight on 21 November 2008, an armed robbery was committed at a 7-Eleven store. Shortly thereafter, police located a car matching the description of the car used in the robbery at a nearby home and began surveillance on the car. About one hour after the robbery, police followed the car from the home to a different 7-Eleven [...]

On August 19, 2015, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals decided Brown v. City of New York et al. [i], which is instructive regarding the law pertaining to false arrest and excessive force under the Fourth Amendment.  The relevant facts of Brown, taken directly from the case, are as follows: On the night of November 15, 2011, an Occupy Wall Street crowd gathered in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. Brown received a text message saying that the park had been raided. She went to observe around 2 a.m. and left around 5 a.m. to find a bathroom. Two blocks away, she came to [...]

Domestic violence (DV) calls carry a popular reputation within the law enforcement profession for being extremely dangerous for officers. Some academics and DV victim advocates, however, have challenged this reputation and have suggested that DV calls are rarely dangerous for officers. This research newsletter will examine the empirical, scientific research on assaults on officers at DV calls. Specifically, it will examine the prevalence of officer assaults, the trend of officer deaths at DV calls over time, what factors predict these officer assaults, the characteristics of lethal force assaults on officers at DV calls, and the factors that predict an officer [...]

On September 16, 2015, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided Moore v. Pederson [i], which serves as excellent review regarding warrantless home entry to arrest a suspect.  The relevant facts of Moore, taken directly from the case, are as follows: In the early morning hours of November 15, 2008, Defendant Seminole County Sheriff's Deputy Kevin Pederson was working road patrol. He received a dispatch from the Sheriff's Office in response to a call from someone at the Colonial Grand apartments. The complainant reported that a male and two females were outside, yelling at one another, though the complainant added that the dispute [...]