A legal shield protecting police officers from excessive force lawsuits has taken a major blow in San Jose.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied qualified immunity for Michael Panighetti, a San Jose Police Department officer who shot a Black activist, Derrick Sanderlin, in the groin with a foam round while he held a sign in 2020. The incident occurred during local protests over the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. The ruling allows Sanderlin’s excessive force lawsuit to proceed, despite city officials’ efforts to prevent it from going forward.
“We are happy the case is going forward. It’s been a long time coming — over four years at this point — so all my clients are eager to have their case finally heard by a jury,” attorney Sarah Marinho, who represents Sanderlin and six others in the lawsuit, told San José Spotlight.
Marinho said she expects the case to move forward in the trial courts soon.
“I’m waiting at any moment to receive the next court date by the trial judge. That could be a month out — there’s no way to know when exactly,” Marinho said.