Case Law & Resources: North Carolina
Citation
Issue Presented & Facts
Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the town on the issue of whether deadly force was necessary to mitigate the danger posed by the plaintiff-motorist.
​
Motorist sued the town after a police officer fired two shots into motorist's car, injuring him, as he tried to escape a mob that attacked him after a party. There was a dispute of material fact as to whether the motorist posed an imminent danger to the officer or others, whether the officer reasonably believed that motorist posed such imminent danger, and whether officer's use of deadly force was necessary to prevent harm to himself or others.
Holding
Under N.C. law, the use of deadly force is not necessary, and thereby not justified, "when an officer has a reasonable opportunity to 'avoid' the danger or threat allegedly supporting the decision to use deadly force." Here, there was a genuine dispute of material fact for whether the officer could have avoided the threat posed by motorist's car, for another officer on the scene testified that the car was moving slowly and that the officer who fired at the car was standing five feet away from the car and facing its side at the time he fired.
Reference to Wilcox v. City of Asheville, 730 S.E.2d 226, 233 (N.C. Ct. App. 2012) and N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-401(d)(2).
Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the city on the issue of whether the use of deadly force was justified.
Following a car chase involving a person with bipolar disorder, which the police were aware of, police shot and killed the person, who had been driving recklessly, who had collided with several vehicles already, and who had "lodged" his car in between a police and civilian vehicle at the moment of the shooting.
The officers' conduct was objectively reasonable, and therefore justified, under state law, for the decedent's actions "could have caused the officers to reasonably believe they faced an imminent risk of deadly physical force." A police officer "is permitted to use deadly force only in the defense situation or when necessary to prevent the risk of death or serious physical injury to others..."
​
Reference to N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-401(d)(2) (and cmt. d).
Whether the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the officer on the issue of whether the officer committed assault and battery against the plaintiff.
​
An off-duty police officer, who was working a second job as a truck driver at the time of the incident, forcibly arrested the plaintiff, a school bus driver, when she failed to move the school bus as ordered.
It is the factfinder's job to decide whether a police officer was entitled to use force at all against the plaintiff. If an officer does not have probable cause to arrest plaintiff, the officer loses the benefit of § 15A-401(d), and "any use of force becomes at least a technical assault and battery against plaintiff."
​
Reference to N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 15A-401(d)(1).
Case Law
Resources
Citation
S.B. 456, General Assembly of North Carolina (March 29, 2017)
Died in committee
Summary and Notes
In 2017, the N.C. Senate proposed a bill to mandate de-escalation/crisis intervention training for law enforcement officers, but the bill died in committee.
Relevant Excerpt
N/A
The manual provides the basic instruction plan for training police officers in how to interact with individuals with mental illness and developmental disabilities.
N/A
The N.C. sheriffs' report calls for the state to incorporate 40 hours of crisis intervention training into the basic police officer training curriculum, as well as for the legislature to prescribe a uniform definition of "use of force" and a model policy on the use of force by officers.
N/A
The N.C. police chiefs' recommendations include the development of a comprehensive de-escalation training curriculum for law enforcement.
N/A
The Charlotte police department has policies on utilizing de-escalation strategies, issuing a verbal warning before using deadly force, and interacting with people with mental illness.
N/A