Wins

Plaintiff Michael Easley jumped out of a car that had just led police officers on a high speed chase, and ran down a residential street.  As he ran, he pulled a gun out of his pants, raised it across his body, and threw it like a frisbee.  The police officer who was running behind him interpreted Easley’s arm movement as preparing to turn around and shoot him.  The officer fired three shots in self-defense.  Easley sued, alleging that he threw his gun 2-4 seconds before being shot, and therefore that the force was excessive.  GMSR won qualified immunity for the officer in the district court, and secured an affirmance on appeal, where the Ninth Circuit held that the use of force was objectively reasonable under the circumstances.

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