Santa Rosa police officers were justified in shooting an Oakland murder suspect who ran from them in 2007, an appellate court has ruled.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a prior court's dismissal of a lawsuit brought by the father of Haki Thurston, who was shot 13 times by Santa Rosa SWAT team members as he fled from them near the Comfort Inn on Cleveland Avenue.
Officers were helping Oakland police apprehend Thurston, a 22-year-old Oakland resident suspected in the murder of his cousin, 26-year-old Hodari Benson.
He was suspected of being armed and dangerous, but no weapon was found on Thurston.
A review of the shooting by the district attorney's office later that year found the officers acted lawfully.
Thurston's father, Anderson, argued in district court the shooting violated his son's constitutional rights. He appealed the denial, but the appellate court called his argument "unpersuasive." Thurston has been incarcerated since 1985.
"The Court of Appeal's decision reaffirmed that officers who are forced to make split second decisions in critical situations when they reasonably believe a suspect is armed should be entitled to immunity," said City Attorney Caroline Fowler.
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