Fourth Circuit 1983 Decision

Today the Fourth Circuit issued this interesting qualified immunity and Fourth Amendment decision in a section 1983 case where a police officer reached to his holster for his taser but mistakenly pulled his gun instead. Not realizing the mistake, he shot and wounded the man. The Court held that a seizure occurred but remanded to determine if seizure was unreasonable (i.e., that the officer's mistake in using the gun rather than the taser was unreasonable), in which case the officer can demonstrate his entitlement to qualified immunity.