4th Circuit Upholds Dismissal in Wrongful Death Case
In an unpublished opinion, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld a wrongful death case coming from the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina at Charleston. According to the statement of facts, a man walked into a grocery store and threatened the store employees with a knife, took a ham and left the facility. Lawyer office in US . The police stopped the man outside of the store and he refused to drop the knife. The police used pepper spray and batons in an attempt to stop him, and eventually shot him because he would not drop his weapon. Personal representatives of the decedent brought a claim against local law enforcement for wrongful death, survival and loss of consortium. Specifically, the plaintiff argued that the police officr's use of deadly force constituted a Fourth Amendment violation. However, the district court granted the defendant's motion for judgment as a matter of law and the plaintiff's case was dismissed. On appeal, the Fourth...