McPherson v. Rivera et al

On October 22, 2018, in Phoenix, Arizona, Cynthia McPherson called 911 to seek help for her 22-year-old son, Jacob McPherson, who was experiencing a mental health crisis and armed with a knife. Officers Andrew Rivera and others responded. Body-camera footage captured officers repeatedly commanding Jacob to drop the weapon; when he advanced in their direction, they fatally shot him. Cynthia McPherson, as personal representative of his estate, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Officer Rivera and the City of Phoenix, alleging excessive force, unlawful seizure, and denial of medical care. The district court largely denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment, finding a jury could conclude the force was unreasonable. The case subsequently proceeded through appeals, drawing national attention to use-of-force standards during mental health emergencies.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona denied summary judgment on the excessive force claim, ruling that genuine disputes of material fact existed. The officers appealed. In July 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed in part, holding that the officers were not entitled to qualified immunity at that stage and remanding the case for further proceedings or trial.

Whether the officers' use of deadly force against a mentally ill individual holding a knife, who was not in close proximity to the officers and had not directly attacked them, constituted excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, and whether the officers were entitled to qualified immunity from the lawsuit.

The case intensified public scrutiny over police handling of mental health crises and fueled the debate on qualified immunity reform. It highlighted the need for specialized crisis-intervention training, non-lethal de-escalation tactics, and systemic changes in emergency response. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling was widely discussed as a significant precedent limiting the scope of qualified immunity in cases involving deadly force against mentally ill individuals.