Nation
Deputizing gone wild: Federal task forces give state and local cops ridiculously broad immunity
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As the Biden administration appears to be preparing an executive order to revive a police reform bill stalled in Congress, one key hurdle to holding law enforcement accountable has been overlooked: the seemingly unlimited power of joint task forces.
Designed as a way for local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to share resources and expand their jurisdiction, the nation’s more than 1,100 joint task forces include thousands of police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers cross-deputized as federal agents who collaborate with federal officers. Local and state officers who serve on federal task forces are still on their employing agency’s payroll but can easily earn overtime paid by the federal government.
Another fringe benefit is even more valuable: legal immunity from constitutional lawsuits.
‘Blow his head off’:Supreme Court must strip federal agents of absolute immunity
Ever since Congress enacted the civil rights act of 1871, individuals have been able to sue state and local government officials who violate their constitutional rights (codified today as Section 1983).
But in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court created the doctrine of “qualified immunity,” which protects all local, state and federal government employees from legal liability, unless they violated a “clearly established” right, a requirement that often means finding a precedent with practically identical facts.
Federal agents are free of liability
Congress never enacted a similar law for federal agents. So aside from an increasingly narrow set of circumstances, federal officers often cannot be sued for violating the Constitution, no matter how egregious their conduct. As a result, officers who serve on a federal task force are shielded by yet another form of immunity on top of qualified immunity.
James King learned this firsthand when two members of an FBI task force almost choked him to death. While walking to a college internship in 2014, James was brutally assaulted in Michigan by an FBI agent and a Grand Rapids police officer who mistook him for a fugitive. King sued.
Even though the officers were in Michigan and were executing a warrant against a Michigan resident accused of breaking a Michigan state law, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that the task force members were nevertheless acting as federal agents and could not be sued under Section 1983.
Police beat me for no reason:Why can’t my lawsuit move forward?
That meant James could only sue the officers who almost killed him via a Bivens claim, which is still ongoing. In its historic 1971 decision, Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Webster Bivens could sue the federal narcotics agents who strip-searched and shackled him for violating his Fourth Amendment rights. But in the decades since, the court has routinely curtailed Bivens claims, and now views expanding the decision as a “disfavored” judicial activity.
Because task force officers can be viewed as both state and federal officers, their hybrid status gives them ample maneuverability to avoid accountability.
Appalling lack of accountability
Consider the tragic case of Jimmy Atchison, a 21-year-old Black man who was fatally shot in the face while unarmed and hiding in a closet.
In January 2019, a joint task force between the Atlanta Police Department and the FBI was executing a federal warrant for Atchison’s arrest when he fled into a neighbor’s apartment. Atchison was ultimately found and killed by Sung Kim, then an Atlanta policeman who had been cross-deputized as a federal officer. Appalled by the shooting, Atlanta soon left the FBI task force, one of at least five cities that have stopped cooperating with a federal task force.
The FBI claimed Kim, as a police officer, had operated under Atlanta’s use of deadly force policy. Yet last summer, a federal district court concluded Kim, as a task force officer, had nevertheless acted as a federal agent. Although the family’s Bivens claims against the officer were preserved, the court tossed all of the family’s Section 1983 claims against all parties, including Atlanta.
That left the city off the hook entirely because municipalities cannot be sued under Bivens, only under Section 1983.
For too long, joint task forces have acted with impunity. To prevent further abuses, Congress must codify Bivens and allow individuals to sue any federal agent for any constitutional violation, as is the case for state and local government officials. Meanwhile, cities should follow Atlanta’s lead and pull out of any task force that refuses to be held accountable.
Nick Sibilla is a writer and legislative analyst at the Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm representing James King.
This column is part of a series by the USA TODAY Opinion team examining the issue of qualified immunity. The project is made possible in part by a grant from Stand Together. Stand Together does not provide editorial input.
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Uber, Lyft made safety improvements, but many of those protect riders more than drivers. But drivers are also in danger.
Naomi Ogutu
Opinion contributor
I’ve been a rideshare driver in New York City for six years, and I take pride in my job and helping my passengers get where they need to go safely. But my safety is not a guarantee. I’m a mom of three. I need to know that I’ll make it home to my kids at the end of each night.
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Business
'A bad déjà vu': Under the crush of Western sanctions, Russians fear a return to dark economic days
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The lone No. 1 seed still alive heading into the Elite Eight, Kansas needs only a win against No. 10 Miami (Fla.) to book a spot in the Final Four.
No. 2 Duke and coach Mike Krzyzewski can make one last Final Four and chase one final national championship by beating No. 4 Arkansas.
No. 2 Villanova can reach the national semifinals for the third time in six tournaments by winning what should be a defense-dominated brawl against No. 5 Houston.
And after beating No. 4 UCLA in the Sweet 16, No. 8 North Carolina is one win from reaching the Final Four under first-year coach Hubert Davis.
If everything goes according to plan, this year’s Final Four will consist of some of the biggest names in the history of the sport.
But the last week has taught us that this year’s NCAA Tournament will inevitably deviate from the script.
So look for the Jayhawks to be shocked in the Elite Eight, as the Bill Self collection of tournament collapses adds another painful chapter. Based on how things have gone through three rounds, Arkansas is a lock to send Krzyzewski into retirement one game shy of the Final Four. Villanova may be a two-time champion under Jay Wright, but the Wildcats will be smothered by Houston.
And, of course, the Tar Heels will lose to the team that embodies the wackiness and uncertainty of this entire tournament.
Saint Peter’s stands at the precipice of another outlandish achievement: being the first No. 15 seed — the first seed lower than No. 11, in fact — to reach the Final Four.
The Peacocks will be the underdog once again come Sunday, when they’ll match against a deeper and more talented opponent with decades of history to more than overshadow the Peacocks’ three-game run.
But beating another college basketball giant will simply take what we already know the Peacocks can bring to the table: Saint Peter’s reached the Elite Eight with energy, aggressiveness and composure, following the model set by unflappable coach Shaheen Holloway, and that same combination will give the Peacocks a chance at etching themselves into an even more permanent place in NCAA Tournament history.
“We’re happy but don’t mistake, we’re not satisfied, we’re not satisfied at all,” said guard Doug Edert. “The job is not finished. We feel like we belong and the more games we win the more confidence we build.”
That sounds like bad news for the Tar Heels, who might’ve righted the ship after a poor start to ACC play but could be the latest blueblood to the Peacocks’ formula.
At some point, the magic has to run out — for Saint Peter’s, which somehow keeps stacking upsets of higher-ranked opponents, and for the tournament at large, which has been wackier than ever but could suddenly snap back to the status quo.
But this March has not gone according to plan. Several big names lost early. Others failed to get out of the second round. The story of this year’s tournament has been upsets, shockers, letdowns, unpredictable officiating and unpredictability, period — why should the next two days be any different?
Follow colleges reporter Paul Myerberg on Twitter @PaulMyerberg
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