Estate of Gabriel Strickland, et al. v. Nevada County, California, et al.

This case presents a unique question of law under 42 U.S.C. §1983 concerning the application of the “totality of the circumstances” test adopted in Graham v. Connor1 to determine whether an officer’s use of deadly force was objectively reasonable. Specifically, is the reasonableness of an officer’s use of deadly force in face of an imminent threat evaluated solely upon the circumstances of the final moment or upon the “totality of the circumstances” that created the imminent threat? 1 Graham v. Conner, 490 U.S. 386 (1989), 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 ("Graham").