PSRB reviews Supreme Courtdecision in Barnes v Felix and stresses detailed reporting for officer use-of-force reviews

The West Valley City Professional Standards Review Board (PSRB) heard a training briefing from outside counsel Heather White on a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Barnes v Felix, and the implications for how the board and department review officer uses of force.

White told the board the high court unanimously rejected a narrow —moment-of-threat— approach and directed courts to consider the totality of circumstances under Graham v. Connor when evaluating whether an officers use of force was reasonable. "Prior events may show, for example, why a reasonable officer would have perceived otherwise ambiguous conduct of a suspect as threatening, or instead they may show why an officer would have perceived the same conduct as innocuous," White said.

Why this matters: the ruling clarifies that events leading up to a use-of-force incident can be relevant to whether force was justified. That affects both…