An absolute shield: Qualified immunity, police misconduct and black lives matter
Published date | 01 June 2024 |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/13582291241249674 |
Author | Donathan Brown,Tomaž Onič,Sebastijan Novak,Katja Plemenitaš |
Date | 01 June 2024 |
Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
International Journal of
Discrimination and the Law
2024, Vol. 24(1-2) 93–105
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/13582291241249674
journals.sagepub.com/home/jdi
An absolute shield: Qualified
immunity, police misconduct
and black lives matter
Donathan Brown
1
, Tomaˇ
z Oniˇ
c
2
,
Sebastijan Novak
3
and Katja Plemenitaˇ
s
2
Abstract
Before the global spotlight ascended upon nationwide efforts to codify into law that Black
Lives Matter, specifically, police accountability against the use of excessive force against
unarmed civilians, qualified immunity has silently flourished throughout America. Created
to shield police officers and other government officials for the actions they engage on the
job, this long-standing judicial doctrine continues to proliferate a culture of near-zero
accountability when police officers engage in misconduct, which for communities of
color, oftentimes results in deadly outcomes against unarmed civilians. This article will
first revisit the development and legacy of qualified immunity, followed by analyzing its
universal defense from police unions, then shifting to a data-rich illustration of disciplinary
data highlighting the systemically designed outcomes of qualified immunity via the New
York Police Department, before providing concluding thoughts. Ultimately, this article
asserts that the retrogressive outcomes of police disciplinary inquiries, especially with
respect to communities of color, is operating as designed, whereas efforts to review and
revisit its structure and practices threaten a longstanding culture of disregard and near-
zero accountability.
Keywords
qualified immunity, police brutality, black lives matter, police misconduct, excessive force
1
Northeastern University - Boston Campus, Boston, MA, USA
2
University of Maribor, Maribor, Slovenia
3
Independent Researcher
Corresponding author:
Donathan Brown, Northeastern University - Boston Campus,360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Email: don.brown@northeastern.edu
To continue reading
Request your trial