GIFFORDS Law Center and Brady applaud unanimous SCOTUS decision in Barnes v. Felix

WASHINGTON – Today, GIFFORDS Law Center and Brady: United Against Gun Violence applauded the U.S. Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Barnes v. Felix reversing a Fifth Circuit holding that only the “moment of threat” and not the larger context should be taken into account when assessing whether a law enforcement decision to use deadly force was reasonable. If allowed to stand, the Fifth Circuit’s narrow standard would have resulted in shielding more police officers who break the law from accountability when they unreasonably use firearms for deadly force against civilians. Effective policing is essential to stopping gun violence. The case concerned the fatal police shooting of Ashtian Barnes, a 24-year-old Black man, during a “routine” traffic stop prompted by unpaid toll violations, for which he was not responsible. The organizations had filed an amicus brief in the case last year.

“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a victory in the fight against gun violence, including police gun violence. The Court recognized that police must act reasonably in using lethal force, and warned lower courts to not employ ‘chronological blinders’ that allow police who break the law to escape accountability. Police can only be effective with the trust of their community, and today’s decision will ensure that courts look at the facts the same way the community does: with all of the context. The United States still has a lot of work to do to address police gun violence, but this is an important win,” said Esther Sanchez-Gomez, Litigation Director of GIFFORDS Law Center.

“We know that police violence is often gun violence and it devastates communities across our country. In 2024, over 1,300 people were shot and killed by police, more than any other year in the past decade. And this is not a problem that affects all Americans equally — Black men are 2.5 times more likely to be shot and killed by the police compared to their white counterparts. 

When communities cannot trust law enforcement to use force reasonably and face accountability when they do not, public safety suffers dramatically. The ‘moment of the threat’ doctrine gave officers a free pass for creating the very danger they later claim justified their use of deadly force, eroding trust and endangering communities. 

The generational impact of police violence is incomprehensible. There is no easy solution, but reckoning with the systems of racial oppression and changing the way officers are held responsible is a start. This Supreme Court decision is definitely a step toward a safer America,” said Kris Brown, President of Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

Failing to hold officers accountable for excessive force perpetuates a dangerous cycle of violence: when unjustified police violence ruptures community trust in law enforcement, it leads to decreased community cooperation with police and less effective policing.  This is a particularly acute problem for communities of color, and especiallyBlack Americans — who are disproportionately impacted by the devastating effects of gun violence, including police gun violence.