Jackson v. Gautreaux
3 F.4th 182
| 5th Cir. | 2021Background
- On Feb. 23, 2016, Travis Stevenson assaulted his girlfriend, threatened suicide, and later was located in a parked car near an apartment complex by law enforcement.
- Stevenson ignored commands, repeatedly yelled "Kill me!", and used his car to ram a patrol unit and a concrete pillar, repeatedly moving back and forth with officers and Lieutenant Birdwell in his path.
- Officers made multiple unsuccessful attempts to disable the vehicle (including shots at a tire); the encounter from initial contact to Stevenson being down lasted ~85 seconds.
- Officers ultimately fired multiple shots, killing Stevenson; Louisiana State Police investigated and found no criminal misconduct.
- Survivors sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging excessive force and a failure-to-train claim against the sheriff; the district court granted summary judgment based on qualified immunity and forfeiture; Fifth Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excessive force (use of deadly force) | Officers used clearly excessive, objectively unreasonable deadly force in shooting Stevenson. | Officers reasonably believed Stevenson posed an imminent threat by using his vehicle as a weapon, justifying deadly force; qualified immunity applies. | No Fourth Amendment violation; officers' use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under controlling precedent; summary judgment affirmed. |
| Failure-to-train (against Sheriff Gautreaux) | Sheriff failed to adequately train officers to handle mentally unstable individuals, causing the constitutional violation. | Claim was not pleaded — plaintiffs raised it first at summary judgment; therefore forfeited. | Forfeited for failing to plead or move to amend; district court properly declined to consider it; affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Fraire v. City of Arlington, 957 F.2d 1268 (5th Cir. 1992) (officer reasonably used deadly force when driver repeatedly crashed and then drove toward officer)
- Hathaway v. Bazany, 507 F.3d 312 (5th Cir. 2007) (officer reasonably fired when a nearby vehicle accelerated toward him and escape was impossible)
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective-reasonableness standard for Fourth Amendment excessive-force claims)
- Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force permissible when officer reasonably believes suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm)
- Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (2011) (Fourth Amendment reasonableness is predominantly an objective inquiry; subjective intent irrelevant)
- Ryburn v. Huff, 565 U.S. 469 (2012) (courts must exercise caution about second-guessing on-scene officers' danger assessments)
- Cutrera v. Bd. of Supervisors of La. State Univ., 429 F.3d 108 (5th Cir. 2005) (claims not raised in the complaint but asserted first at summary judgment are forfeited)