May 15, 2025 — The Policing Project at NYU School of Law welcomes today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision rejecting the “moment-of-the-threat doctrine” in evaluating claims of excessive force by law enforcement. The justices found that only considering an officer’s immediate reaction to a perceived threat violates the Supreme Court’s own rule that police use of force incidents must be considered under the “totality of the circumstances” leading up to them.
The Policing Project filed a brief in the case on behalf of nearly two dozen law enforcement leaders, urging the Supreme Court to reach the decision it did. Justice Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion for himself and three other justices stressed the dangers inherent in traffic stops, but cited the amicus brief that we filed in acknowledging that when police officers use excessive force during traffic stops, they should be held accountable.
As we explained in our brief, an evaluation of whether police officers violated an individual’s constitutional rights by using excessive force should entail an evaluation of the totality of the circumstances – including escalatory measures an officer may have taken prior to using force, but also de-escalatory measures, like warnings and tactical re-positioning. Public trust in law enforcement requires both attempted de-escalation and legal accountability for officers who engage in dangerous, escalatory conduct.
“We commend the Court for its unanimous decision recognizing that the moment-of-threat rule is far too narrow to decide cases of excessive force by law enforcement,” said Barry Friedman, faculty director of the Policing Project. “True public safety, however, also requires measures in place to prevent potentially dangerous police encounters from happening in the first place – for example, policies limiting the use of pretextual traffic stops and restricting police chases for minor offenses.”
The Policing Project partners with lawmakers across the country to pass these reforms into law through our model statutes, including our Act Restricting Vehicle Pursuits and Act to Curtail Pretextual Traffic Stops, as well as through legislative analysis and support. In March, we launched the Traffic Safety for All Coalition with several partners to limit low-level traffic enforcement and modernize road safety.