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Supreme Court To Hear Case Testing 'Moment of Threat' Doctrine

Crime and Justice News

It took just seconds for a routine traffic stop on a Texas highway to escalate into a fatal shooting that left 24-year-old Ashtian Barnes bleeding to death in the driver’s seat. What happened during those seconds and the minutes earlier in the April 2016 incident is central to a Supreme Court case being argued on Wednesday that could make it easier — or harder — to hold police officers accountable for the use of excessive force, NBC News reports. For Barnes’ mother, Janice Hughes, 55, who filed the civil rights lawsuit, the oral argument is the latest stop on a more than eight-year quest for justice on behalf of her only son, a Black man. Almost five years since the death of George Floyd, Hughes believes no progress has been made despite the mass protests and calls for social justice that followed. “I feel like at some point, somebody has to really take this seriously, because it continues to happen and all we get to do is rally, and ‘Black Lives Matter,’ and nothing changes,” Hughes said. “Nobody’s policing the police.” Hughes’ suit was dismissed by lower courts on the grounds that no excessive force was used. Courts made that assessment based only on the precise moment that force was used, based on a precedent adopted in parts of the U.S. but embraced by the Supreme Court. Hughes' lawyers are now asking the justices to reject the “moment of the threat doctrine,” which could lead to a ruling that makes clear courts should consider events leading up to the use of force when assessing an officer’s conduct.


Barnes was driving a rented silver Toyota Corolla, in west Houston when the incident took place at 2:45 p.m. on April 28, 2016. He was on his way to pick up his girlfriend’s daughter from school. Roberto Felix Jr., a traffic enforcement officer with the Harris County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, received a report that Barnes’ car had outstanding toll violations. He pulled the vehicle over to the left on the median side of the southbound tollway and approached the driver’s side. Barnes initially could not produce his license or proof of insurance and told Felix the documents might be in the trunk. Felix said he smelled marijuana, although no evidence of drugs was found in the car. Felix asked Barnes to exit the car. He said that almost as soon as the car door was opened, Barnes quickly put the key in the ignition, started the engine, and put the car in drive. The vehicle started to move forward. Felix stepped onto the door sill and shouted at Barnes not to move. He then fired his firearm twice, hitting Barnes in the torso, and the vehicle quickly stopped. Barnes died at the scene.


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