'He was the threat': How a driver’s 'tenacity paid off' after one police officer’s 'road rage' episode

In a Daily Beast op-ed published Tuesday, August 29, attorney Marie Miller public interest law firm the Institute for Justice writer Daryl James explain how a Roswell, New Mexico motorist fought to hold a police officer accountable.

When Mario Rosales "legally passed a pickup truck," the driver of the truck tailgated Rosales all the way to his driveway.

Miller and James write that "During the tense exchange, the assailant identified himself as a law enforcement officer, though he was driving an unmarked vehicle and wearing plainclothes with flip flops—none of which bore law enforcement insignia."

The officer then went on to draw and point his weapon at Rosales, despite his compliance with all demands.

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The pair writes:

A federal district judge agreed that if Rosales could prove his allegations, the deputy would be guilty of constitutional violations. But the judge also held that the deputy was entitled to qualified immunity, which meant Rosales was stuck.

Qualified immunity, a judge-made doctrine, protects government employees from civil liability unless their misconduct is 'clearly established' in prior cases as unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court said so in 1982. Since then, beneficiaries have used qualified immunity to escape accountability for torturing prison inmates, stealing cash, retaliating against critics, and hundreds of other abuses.

The writers also note:

Defenders of the doctrine say it is necessary to protect officers who make split-second decisions, so they don't hesitate when lives are on the line. Essentially, these defenders see qualified immunity as a buffer against Monday morning quarterbacks.

What happened to Rosales blows up this narrative. The deputy who followed him home was not called by duty to defuse a threat. He was the threat. And he had ample time to think about what he was doing.

According to the report, "The officer, who had his child in the passenger's seat, was fired from the Chaves County Sheriff's Office and convicted of aggravated assault and child endangerment," but Rosales pressed for more accountability, and decided to appeal "with representation from the Institute for Justice."

The emphasize:

His tenacity paid off on July 5, 2023, when the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision granting qualified immunity. The three-judge panel recognized that courts 'can protect officers' ability to make reasonable split-second law-enforcement decisions when dealing with suspected violent criminals without protecting an officer who was himself the only violent criminal on the scene.

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The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).