Johnson v. Scott

WOOD, Circuit Judge.

When a suspect waves the white flag of surrender, the use of force in connection with an arrest may, as an objective matter, become unnecessary and inappropriate. Not all surrenders, however, are genuine, and the police are entitled to err on the side of caution when faced with an uncertain or threatening situation. This case involves Antonio M. Johnson, a suspect in a shooting who fled police first by car and then on foot. He made a last-second surrender when Sergeant Steven Scott and Archer, Scott’s German Shepherd police dog, were closing in on him. Archer bit Johnson’s…