A legal shield protecting police officers from excessive force lawsuits has taken a major blow in San Jose.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied qualified immunity for Michael Panighetti, a San Jose Police Department officer who shot a Black activist, Derrick Sanderlin, in the groin with a foam round while he held a sign in 2020. The incident occurred during local protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The ruling allows Sanderlin’s excessive force lawsuit to proceed, despite city officials’ efforts to prevent it from going forward.
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