Sheriffs deputy saw him, A Black male, Pickett, age 29 and

Sheriffs deputy saw him

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Reference no: EM133809400

A Black male, Pickett, age 29 and a former engineering student, was walking to his motel shortly after 9 P.M. when a sheriff's deputy saw him; exiting his cruiser, the deputy approached him and demanded his name and age. Pickett complied and then did everything asked of him. But when asked if he lived at the motel and where he was from, Pickett said he didn't know. The deputy would later state under oath that he knew he had no probable cause to arrest Pickett and that Pickett had the right to walk away. But when Pickett tried to do so, the deputy grabbed him and told him to "stop resisting," and threatened to use a taser on him. Pickett put his arms up and was running toward his room when he tripped and fell; the two scuffled, and the deputy punched Pickett 15 to 20 times before pulling out his service weapon and threatening to shoot him. He then fired, hitting Pickett twice in the chest; Pickett died at the scene. The deputy, who was also Black, had worked on patrol assignment for just a few months and said he shot Pickett because he feared for his life. Later the deputy said that he stopped Pickett after seeing him hop the motel fence, thinking he was trespassing, and that he was fidgety, like he might be under the influence (Pickett did have marijuana in his system, and his blood alcohol level was 0.01%, far below the level of legal intoxication). The deputy never faced criminal charges in Pickett's death (the district attorney deter-mining that the shooting was justified), but his family filed civil charges. At the civil trial, the deputy changed his story, saying that he never saw Pickett jump over the fence and that the gate actually was open. He also said it never occurred to him that Pickett could be mentally ill (Pickett was officially diagnosed with mental illness years earlier). An expert witness, a former Los Angeles Police Department officer, said that the deputy's use of force was "unnecessary and unreasonable" and was probably "one of the worst cases I have looked at because of the mental health component."

Questions

1. Did the deputy have a legal right to detain Pickett?

2. Did the deputy use reasonable force against Pickett?

3. If you were a member of the jury at civil trial, would you award Pickett's family a financial award for his death? If so, what do you believe would be the appropriate amount?

Reference no: EM133809400

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