Read a PDF of our statement here.
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF), Schulz Law PLC, and attorney Hugh M. Davis filed a brief in Phelps v. City of Saginaw on behalf of Cornelius Phelps urging the Sixth Circuit to affirm a denial of qualified immunity.
In the summer of 2020, Mr. Phelps, a Black man, attended a demonstration outside of the Fraternal Order of Police aimed at fostering dialogue with police officers. During the course of the event, police officers arrived at the demonstration because they (mistakenly) believed that the demonstrators were on private property. While Mr. Phelps calmly explained that the demonstration was on public property, the police ignored Mr. Phelps and escalated the situation resulting in their kneeing, repeatedly tasing, and arresting Mr. Phelps. The district court ruled that one of the police officers violated Mr. Phelps’s constitutional rights and was not entitled to qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that shields government officials from liability despite their constitutional violations. The officer appealed to the Sixth Circuit, where the case is currently pending.
The brief urges the Court to affirm the denial of qualified immunity. The brief argues that the officer used excessive force by tasing Mr. Phelps repeatedly, while he was not resisting arrest. When the officer began tasing Mr. Phelps, he was on the ground with his hands up, calmly explaining to the police that he had committed no crime. The officer continued to tase Mr. Phelps as he writhed in agony and eventually was motionless on his stomach and then curled up into a ball. The brief explains that the officer was on notice that his conduct violated Mr. Phelps’s constitutional rights, given that the Sixth Circuit has consistently concluded that conduct like his constitutes excessive force.
“There is a long, shameful history of Black people being brutalized by law enforcement while protesting police violence. Cornelius Phelps is another tragic victim of this sordid practice,” said Elizabeth Caldwell, Assistant Counsel at LDF. “But the law is clear: Qualified immunity cannot be used to shield law enforcement officers who engage in unlawful conduct of this sort. Cornelius Phelps deserves justice, and we are hopeful the Court will hold this officer accountable.”
“Any officer who engages in excessive force must be held accountable. The use of qualified immunity to deny justice is an affront to the rule of law, an erosion of public trust, and an insult to the trauma that countless impacted communities have endured due to police abuse,” said Jack W. Schulz, an attorney at Schulz Law PLC. “We are hopeful that Cornelius Phelps will be able to pursue justice through the courts, as is his constitutional right.”
“This is a clear case of police misconduct. Cornelius Phelps was brazenly attacked by a police officer in an obvious violation of the law,” said Hugh M. Davis. “Our legal system must not immunize any officer who acts as if they are above the law. We urge the Court to affirm the denial of qualified immunity and allow Mr. Phelps’s claims to proceed.”
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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation’s first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF’s archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.
