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The high court also declined to hear a second police Taser caseinvolving a woman in Maui, Hawaii , Jayzel Mattos, who was intentionally shocked with a Taser aspolice attempted to arrest her husband, Troy, following a domesticabuse allegation. Both Brooks and Ms. Mattos filed suit against the police, allegingthey violated their Fourth Amendment right to be free from the use of excessive force. Lawyers for the policeofficers argued that the officers were protected from such lawsuitsby qualified immunity. In both cases, federal judges ruled that the police officers werenot entitled to qualified immunity, and that the cases shouldproceed to a trial. The Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling that even though the actions by police amountedto the excessive use of force, the law was not established clearlyenough at the time of both incidents to give police fair warningthat their actions were unreasonable and unconstitutional. We conclude that Brooks and the Mattoses have allegedconstitutional violations, but that not every reasonable officer atthe time of the respective incidents would have known beyonddebate that such conduct violates the Fourth Amendment, theNinth Circuit said. The high court decision not to take up the two cases allows theNinth Circuit decision to stand. The Taser incident with Brooks took place in November 2004. The33-year-old expectant mother was pulled over by a police officerand issued a ticket for driving too fast in a school zone. Under Seattle law, traffic violators are required to sign theirtickets upon receipt. Failure to sign the ticket is itself aviolation of the law. After stopping at the side of the road, Brooks told her son to walkthe rest of the way to school. She then told the officer that shedid not believe she was speeding in the school zone and that shefelt signing the ticket was an admission of guilt. She told theofficer she wished to contest the charge. Another officer and a police sergeant soon arrived on the scene.The officers insisted that unless Brooks signed the ticket shewould be arrested and taken to jail. As further incentive anofficer produced a Taser. Brooks told the officer she did not know what a Taser was. Sheadded: I have to go to the bathroom, I am pregnant, I m lessthan 60 days from having my baby. The officers attempted to physically remove Brooks from the car,but she held tightly to the steering wheel. One of the officersthen used the Taser to deliver an electric shock to Brooks, firstto her thigh, then her arm, and finally to her neck. The threeshocks took place within 42 seconds. She was then pulled from the car to the ground, handcuffed, andtaken to jail. A jury later convicted her of refusing to sign a traffic citation.No verdict was reached on a resisting arrest charge. Brooks gave birth to a healthy baby girl in January 2005. Brookshas permanent burn scars at the Taser contact points, according tobriefs filed in the case. I am an expert from 8051-mcu.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Ultrasound Generator Manufacturer , MCU Programmer, 8051 MCU,and more.
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