Rutherford Institute: Don't Grant Immunity to Police
Jul 6, 2016 4:44:59 GMT -5
Post by avordvet on Jul 6, 2016 4:44:59 GMT -5
Rutherford Institute Asks Court Not to Grant Immunity to Police Who Carried out 'Welfare Check' With a 2-Hour, SWAT-Style Raid, Grenade & Wrongful Arrest
Rutherford Institute, June 30, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked a federal court not to grant immunity from wrongdoing to Virginia police whose so-called “welfare check” on a 58-year-old man resulted in a two-hour, SWAT team-style raid on the man’s truck and a 72-hour mental health hold. During the standoff, a heavily armed police tactical team confronted Burruss, surrounded his truck, deployed a “stinger” device behind the rear tires, launched a flash grenade, smashed the side window in order to drag him from the truck, handcuffed and searched him, and transported him to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and mental health hold.
As the November 2015 lawsuit makes clear, police acknowledged that they had no legal basis nor probable cause for detaining Burruss, given that he had not threatened to harm anyone and was not mentally ill. The motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia asks the court to reverse its decision to dismiss parts of a Fourth Amendment lawsuit filed against Albemarle County police by Rutherford Institute attorneys on behalf of Benjamin Burruss. In April 2016, a federal judge gave The Rutherford Institute the go-ahead to proceed with their lawsuit, which charges government officials with violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments as well as state law.
www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/rutherford_institute_asks_court_not_to_grant_immunity_to_police_who_carried
Rutherford Institute, June 30, 2016
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute have asked a federal court not to grant immunity from wrongdoing to Virginia police whose so-called “welfare check” on a 58-year-old man resulted in a two-hour, SWAT team-style raid on the man’s truck and a 72-hour mental health hold. During the standoff, a heavily armed police tactical team confronted Burruss, surrounded his truck, deployed a “stinger” device behind the rear tires, launched a flash grenade, smashed the side window in order to drag him from the truck, handcuffed and searched him, and transported him to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and mental health hold.
As the November 2015 lawsuit makes clear, police acknowledged that they had no legal basis nor probable cause for detaining Burruss, given that he had not threatened to harm anyone and was not mentally ill. The motion filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia asks the court to reverse its decision to dismiss parts of a Fourth Amendment lawsuit filed against Albemarle County police by Rutherford Institute attorneys on behalf of Benjamin Burruss. In April 2016, a federal judge gave The Rutherford Institute the go-ahead to proceed with their lawsuit, which charges government officials with violating the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments as well as state law.
www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/on_the_front_lines/rutherford_institute_asks_court_not_to_grant_immunity_to_police_who_carried