Court Won’t Review Deadly Force Case

The Supreme Court will not review a ruling that allows police to shoot defendants who try to escape while awaiting criminal trials, even if they are unarmed and not dangerous.

The court also turned down the appeal of a Florida man who said a Halloween celebration at his sons’ elementary school offended his family by including brooms, caldrons and teachers dressed as witches. He said use of such symbols in a public school violates the separation of church and state.

In the deadly force case, the justices, without comment, let stand an earlier ruling that police may not shoot unarmed, fleeing criminal suspects who pose no immediate danger, if they had not been arrested.

The case involved Roland Brothers Jr., who was arrested in Jersey Village, Tex., for auto theft in November, 1988. He was turned over to Harris County sheriff’s deputies for transfer to the county jail.

Brothers, who had escaped twice before, somehow removed his restraints and fled. The deputies shouted at him to stop, but he did not. They then drew their guns and fired 12 times, killing him.

His family sued, attacking as unconstitutional the policy that allows deputies to shoot in such circumstances.

In the Halloween case, the court turned away Robert L. Guyer’s argument that Halloween symbols are religious symbols. Guyer had sued the Alachua County, Fla., school board over the issue.