By Associated Press - Thursday, July 9, 2020

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - A civil rights lawsuit against a police officer who shot a fleeing suspect in 2012 can go forward, a closely divided New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

Bryheim Baskin’s suit claims he was unarmed and had his hands up when he was shot by Detective Rafael Martinez in Camden, New Jersey, after a traffic stop. A witness corroborated Baskin’s account. Baskin later pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges.

Baskin alleged he was carrying the gun but tossed it in a backyard before Martinez came around the corner and confronted him. Martinez testified he saw Baskin running with the gun then lost sight of him, then saw Baskin turn toward him with his right arm extended and pointing an object that appeared to be a gun.

A lower court dismissed Baskin’s suit, writing that Martinez had immunity because he reasonably believed that Baskin still had the gun. A split appeals court reversed that decision.

Thursday’s 4-3 Supreme Court ruling agreed with the appeals court, holding that the case shouldn’t have been dismissed by the lower court and that a jury should be allowed to determine the facts.

Taking into account the testimony of Baskin and the eyewitness, “a police officer would not have had an objectively reasonable basis to use deadly force,” the majority wrote.

The three dissenting justices wrote that Martinez should be shielded from liability because he “reasonably believed that he confronted an armed and dangerous suspect who posed an immediate threat to his life.”

A message seeking comment was left with an attorney representing the city of Camden in the lawsuit.

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