Qualified Immunity

Tom Brady wants an end to qualified immunity for police officers. He is an NFL quarterback, not a lawyer….or a police officer. His job is to pass a slightly deflated football and break league rules to gain an advantage.

The Supreme Court yesterday appropriately said they didn’t want to revisit qualified immunity for police or public officials. . Let me better define the issue.

Qualified immunity shields officials from harassment, distraction and liability when they perform their duties responsibly. Without it, they’d become paralyzed and fearful of acting in line with their duties.

It does not protect someone like Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was filmed kneeling on George Floyd’s neck while he lay handcuffed and struggling to breathe. Chauvin was charged with murder.

But I think we might be able to agree…if an officer believes he or she is in grave danger, they have the right to protect themselves without fear of arrest or lawsuit.

And if you are one of those people, like me, who wants police to protect, I don’t want them afraid of doing their duty.

The consequence of rolling back qualified immunity will make all of us less safe.

But that’s not a concern for Tom Brady. He has his own security detail at his mega-mansion in Tampa Bay. The detail is made up of Tampa Bay city police officers.

The same blue he sacked by circulating a petition to end qualified immunity for law enforcement.