Brady Celebrates Supreme Court Decision in Barnes v. Felix to Hold Accountable Police Who Unjustly Use Deadly Force

Brady Celebrates Supreme Court Decision in Barnes v. Felix to Hold Accountable Police Who Unjustly Use Deadly Force

Washington, D.C., May 15, 2025 — Today, in a unanimous decision in Barnes v. Felix, the Supreme Court rejected the harmful, so-called “moment-of-threat” doctrine that had the potential to, and did, shield police officers from accountability for unreasonably using firearms as deadly force against civilians. Brady had filed an amicus brief in the case, and the Court’s ruling has major implications for racial justice and gun violence prevention. 

Ashtian Barnes, a 24-year-old Black man, was shot and killed by a police officer in a “routine” traffic stop prompted by unpaid toll violations, for which he was not responsible. When Barnes’ mother, Janice Hughes Barnes, brought an excessive force claim against the officer who shot and killed her son, the Fifth Circuit dismissed her claim through the “moment-of-threat” doctrine. However, the Supreme Court rightly rejected this dangerous precedent, ruling that instead, an officer’s use of deadly force should be evaluated under the “totality of the circumstances” when determining whether that deadly force was reasonable. This brings a modicum of justice to the Barnes family, because requiring courts to consider the entire interaction between the officer and the victim instead of just the very moment before force is used will result in more officers being held properly accountable when they unreasonably use deadly force. 

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Brady President Kris Brown said:

“We know that police violence is often gun violence and it devastates communities across our country. In 2024, over 1,300 people were shot and killed by police, more than any other year in the past decade. And this is not a problem that affects all Americans equally — Black men are 2.5 times more likely to be shot and killed by the police compared to their white counterparts. 

When communities cannot trust law enforcement to use force reasonably and face accountability when they do not, public safety suffers dramatically. The ‘moment of the threat’ doctrine gave officers a free pass for creating the very danger they later claim justified their use of deadly force, eroding trust and endangering communities. 

The generational impact of police violence is incomprehensible. There is no easy solution, but reckoning with the systems of racial oppression and changing the way officers are held responsible is a start. This Supreme Court decision is definitely a step toward a safer America.”

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