Michigan legislators Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) and Rep. James DeSana (R-Carleton), announced new proposed legislation this week meant to protect people, including police officers, from civil lawsuits if they act in self-defense.
The lawmakers say Senate Bill 270 and House Bill 4404 would shield people from civil lawsuits if they’re cleared of criminal charges.
Under House Bill 4404, people who are cleared of criminal wrongdoing in a self-defense case could be immune from civil claims and could recover attorney fees, court costs, and lost wages — offering the defendant full recovery of legal costs, DeSana said.
Samuel Bagenstos, a law professor at the University of Michigan who specializes in civil rights, said the bills would give police officers too many protections.
"What this bill would do is make it significantly harder to win the case against the police officer, and in fact would essentially take a standard that applies in the criminal context and move it over into the civil context in a way that we don't do anywhere else in the law. And we don't do for any other public officials." Bagenstos explained.
The proposals came as former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr stands trial for the 2022 shooting death of 26-year-old Patrick Lyoya during a traffic stop.
Lyoya's father, Peter Lyoya, filed a civil lawsuit in federal court, as an amended complaint against Christopher Schurr and the City of Grand Rapids, acting as the personal representative of Patrick Lyoya’s estate
The complaint alleges violations of civil rights under federal law — specifically, that Schurr used excessive force constituting a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
The suit states that Schurr shot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head while Patrick was unarmed and posed no threat to him or others.
The suit also claims that Schurr showed failure to follow proper procedures and asserts that the use of deadly force was excessive and unreasonable.
In a press release from Michigan Senate Republicans, Runestad says, “Law-abiding citizens who are forced to defend themselves against brazen criminals should not be at risk of further victimization from these bad actors or their family members who look to weaponize the court system for financial gain.”
Bagenstos said just because police escape criminal charges doesn’t mean they didn’t do anything wrong.
"Most people or even the overwhelming majority of people would conclude that they actually did this thing that violated a civil law. And we shouldn't let the mere showing of reasonable doubt allow someone to evade civil liability, which just means they compensate the person who injured them. Very different consequence than going to prison." he said.
The bills are set to be officially introduced Tuesday, April 29.
