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Scott v. Henrich5/5/1998
ch the officers approached Mathieu was negligent and the legal cause of his injuries and thus awarded damages. The appellate level court agreed, determining that the method employed by the officers left no alternative but to use deadly force if Mathieu made any movement. However, the Louisiana Supreme Court reversed. Using a seven-factor test to determine whether the officers were negligent, the court concluded that the conduct of the officers was reasonable under the circumstances and that the officers were not required to choose the "best" possible alternative for approaching the suspect, only a reasonable alternative. Mathieu, 646 So.2d at 325.
21 Respondents assert that Mathieu is controlling because, like the officers in Mathieu, Officers Henrich and Flamand were not required to use the best method of confronting John. However, we determine that Mathieu is not controlling in this case because Doris is not asserting that the officers were required to use the best method. Rather, Doris has presented expert testimony from Payne that the method employed by the officers was simply not reasonable under the circumstances.
22 When presented with Payne's expert testimony and the circumstantial evidence regarding the officers' veracity, reasonable jurors could differ as to whether the officers acted reasonably on the day of the shooting, thus genuine issues of material fact remain that preclude summary judgment. We hold that the District Court improperly entered summary judgment in favor of the Respondents on the grounds that the officers acted reasonably as a matter of law. Reversed and remanded.
JUSTICES REGNIER, NELSON, HUNT and GRAY concur.
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