Stewart v. City of Bessemer, The et al

On March 11, 2026, in Bessemer, Alabama, police officers executed a no-knock warrant at the residence of Kevin Stewart. The warrant was based on an informant's tip alleging Stewart was a low-level drug dealer. During the raid, officers forcibly entered the home. Stewart, allegedly awoken and disoriented, retrieved a legally owned handgun for self-defense. Officers Bradford and Campbell, encountering Stewart with the weapon, fired multiple shots, killing him. No significant quantities of drugs were found. Stewart's estate filed a federal civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging the officers used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the city maintained unconstitutional policies regarding no-knock raid procedures and officer training.

The case is currently pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The defendants have filed a motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The court's decision is forthcoming.

The central dispute is whether the officers' use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, given that Stewart was in his own home and may have been unaware he was confronting police. A key question is whether the officers' actions—including the failure to properly announce themselves during a no-knock entry—created the very danger that led to the shooting. The case also contests the reliability of the informant that justified the raid and the city's liability for its no-knock warrant policies, training, and supervision under Monell v. Department of Social Services.

The case has ignited intense public debate in Bessemer and nationally over the use of no-knock warrants, reigniting calls for their abolition. It has spurred protests from civil rights organizations and community groups, who point to the case as another instance of a flawed system disproportionately endangering innocent lives. The incident has prompted the City Council to propose a temporary moratorium on no-knock warrants pending a policy review and has become a rallying point for state-level legislative efforts, such as "Stewart's Law," aimed at strictly limiting the use of such warrants to situations involving an imminent threat of violence.