Trinell King v. Ricky Pridmore, et al.

Respondents Ricky Pridmore, Corey Archer, and Andrew Hill are White police officers who treated Petitioner Trinell King, a young Black citizen, as a tool and pawn. The officers repeatedly told King they would “fuck him over” if he did not work their sting operation to catch an armed felon. Because of this pressure, King gave in and was shot five times in the gunfight during the “botched sting.” The Eleventh Circuit weighed the evidence in favor of the officers at the summary judgment stage and held that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because King’s rights were not clearly established. The Court stated it would have ruled for King had the officers told King they would “fuck him up” instead of repeatedly telling him they were going to “fuck him over.” The questions presented for review are:

1. In granting the officers qualified immunity, the Eleventh Circuit disregarded the summary judgment standard in Tolan v. Cotton, 572 U.S. 650 (2014), when it improperly weighed the evidence in favor of the White officers, instead of the Black citizen.

2. The Eleventh Circuit’s holding conflicts with Hope v. Peltzer, 536 U.S. 730 (2002) and cases from the Fourth, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits, which rejected a requirement that previous cases be “fundamentally similar” or involve “material similar” facts.