The National Police Association (NPA) has filed an amicus brief in Schurr v. Lyoya with the U.S. Supreme Court, supporting a case that aims to break the judicial paralysis strangling American law enforcement.
At issue: whether former Grand Rapids, MI, Police Officer Christopher Schurr—now facing legal fire for a deadly use-of-force encounter with an armed resisting suspect—will finally receive the protection in civil court that the Constitution and common sense demand.
“For too long, America’s police have been dragged through the mud by activist attorneys, agenda-driven courts, and politicians who tremble at the sound of a protest chant,” said Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith (Ret.), spokeswoman for the NPA. “We are seeking a return to constitutional clarity, where officers are not at risk of being sued for doing the dangerous job society depends on them to do.”
The NPA criticizes the 2009 Pearson v. Callahan decision for undermining the development of vital constitutional precedent, rendering qualified immunity a legal minefield. Under Pearson, courts are allowed to skip over whether an officer’s actions violated the Constitution—as if it doesn’t matter—the result: a game of legal limbo where the rules are never written. And who pays the price? The patrol officer answering a 911 call.
The Schurr case, involving a violent struggle with a suspect who attempted to flee, fought the officer and took the officer’s Taser, is the perfect vehicle to confront the issue. If the Court fails to act, the NPA warns, the message to police across the country is chilling: hesitate and die—or act, and be destroyed in civil court.
With violent crime still plaguing America’s cities and police recruitment at historic lows, now would be a good time for the Supreme Court to put an end to the judicial second-guessing of split-second decisions made in life-or-death situations.
America cannot survive without peacekeepers. Peacekeepers cannot survive under a legal regime that punishes courage and worships chaos.
The National Police Association is represented by Robert S. Lafferrandre and Jeffrey C. Hendrickson of Pierce Couch Hendrickson Baysinger & Green, L.L.P., in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The full brief is available on the Supreme Court docket under case number 24-886 and can be read here.
About the National Police Association: The National Police Association (NPA) is a nonprofit organization supporting law enforcement through advocacy, education, and law. For more information, visit NationalPolice.org.
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