Justin Hammett v. Paulding County, Georgia

On October 17, 2012, the police entered Brenda Van Cleve’s home to execute a search warrant. The officers were informed during the pre-execution briefing that there were no known weapons or threats within the residence. Once inside, Officers Rutherford, Horsley, and Whitener proceeded to the living room, where they encountered Van Cleve’s husband, Daniel Hammett. Fifteen to thirty seconds later, Hammett—who was unarmed and not the subject of the search- warrant or a target in the underlying investigation— was dead, shot once in the hand and then fatally in the back. Those are the undisputed…