Robert Graham The City of Fresno could once again be defending itself in a legal battle in the U.S. Court of Appeals following the 2017 death of a man in Fresno, who video shows was restrained on the ground in a face-down position.
The petition filed with the appeals court follows the publication of the court’s opinion earlier this month; prosecuting attorneys say it sided with Fresno police, sheriff’s deputies, and paramedics from American Ambulance.
“A divided panel ruled that Fresno law enforcement officers and American Ambulance paramedics…were cleared of liability under the legal doctrine of qualified immunity,” wrote the attorneys in a statement.
The attorneys are now calling for a review of the decision because they think the panel misapplied qualified immunity in a way that threatens to convert it into absolute immunity.