2024 Lesson 16: Caselaw Update

The lesson addresses recent court decisions providing guidance to law enforcement officers regarding:

1. Whether police officers engage in entrapment, during an Internet sting operation, by sending somewhat suggestive comments and a photo to an adult who then arranges to meet the fictional minor for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity.

2. Whether a peace officer will be entitled to qualified immunity if the officer uses deadly force against an unarmed individual who assaulted another officer but then fell to the ground.

3. Whether a person commits the crime of interfering with arrest by physical interference when the person ignores an officer’s order to unlock a door to give the officer access to a suspect.

4. Ways officers can corroborate the truthfulness of a confidential informant’s statement to establish the informant’s reliability, thus enabling officers to use the information to establish probable cause to arrest a suspect and search the suspect’s vehicle.

5. What facts, beyond merely deceiving a police officer, are required for a person to be guilty of hindering prosecution.