Lowe v. Pettway et al

On September 1, 2020, Huntsville police officers Thomas Pettway and Justin Holt responded to a domestic disturbance at the home of Juston Lowe’s mother. Lowe, who was not the subject of the call, refused multiple commands and advanced toward the officers. Officer Pettway deployed his Taser, causing Lowe to fall and suffer a head injury. Lowe sued the officers and the City of Huntsville under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The district court denied the officers’ motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. On interlocutory appeal, the Eleventh Circuit reversed on March 28, 2023, holding that the use of the Taser did not violate clearly established law and that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the district court’s denial of summary judgment. The appellate court ruled that Officers Pettway and Holt were entitled to qualified immunity because their use of a Taser did not violate any clearly established Fourth Amendment right under the specific circumstances. The case was remanded with instructions to enter judgment in favor of the defendants.

Whether the officers used excessive force by deploying a Taser against a non-threatening, non-fleeing suspect who was refusing to comply with verbal commands, and whether the law was clearly established such that the officers should have known their conduct was unconstitutional, thereby defeating their claim to qualified immunity.

The decision reinforced the robust protection that qualified immunity provides to law enforcement officers in excessive force cases, especially those involving intermediate weapons like Tasers. It highlighted the high bar for plaintiffs to show that an officer's actions were unconstitutional under "clearly established law," contributing to the ongoing national debate on police accountability and the difficulty of prevailing in Section 1983 civil rights litigation.