GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear an appeal from a Grand Rapids police officer at the center of a use-of-force case dating back to the civil unrest of May 30, 2020.
The decision comes one day after the 6-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Floyd’s death was the root of the civil unrest in Grand Rapids that day in 2020, as protesters took to the streets.
The court denied Officer Phillip Reinink’s petition for a writ of certiorari. A writ of certiorari is a formal request asking the Supreme Court to review a lower court’s decision. Since the petition was denied, a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that allows Sean Hart’s excessive force lawsuit against Reinink to move forward will stay in place…