Law enforcement cannot place a resisting person in a prone position regardless of other factors, the Supreme Court held this week. “Such a per se rule would contravene the careful, context-specific analysis” the Court requires.

The Department of Justice announced its findings relating to an investigation into the Narcotics Bureau of the Springfield, Massachusetts Police Department (SPD) this week. The DOJ found reasonable cause to believe the bureau engaged in a “pattern or practice of using excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution.”