Perez v. City of Fresno (9th Cir. - April 15, 2024)

Judges Forrest and Thomas disagree on whether the law is "clearly established" that it's not okay for police officers to use continuous force (e.g., by kneeling on someone's back) to someone who's on the ground and handcuffed, particularly when (as here) he is telling the officer that he's unable to breathe.

But can we all at least agree that there are a disturbing number of cases, both in the Ninth Circuit and elsewhere, involving that pretty much identical fact pattern? (FWIW, Judge Thomas' dissent quotes a prior Ninth Circuit opinion that says "The officers—indeed, any reasonable person—should have known that squeezing the breath from a compliant, prone, and handcuffed individual despite his pleas for air involves a degree of force that is greater than reasonable," and says "Between 2003 and 2017, six of our sister circuits reached a similar conclusion concerning use of prone compression on a subject who has been restrained." We all could likely add additional cases that didn't result in opinions in the Court of Appeals.)

At a minimum, we can all at least hope that the number of these cases diminishes in the future, right?

Surely there's got to be at least some common ground.

P.S. - Hat tip to 11-year old Carli, who left us this morning for Dog Heaven. Godspeed.