Ouedraogo v. Neely et al

On January 13, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio issued a pivotal ruling in Ouedraogo v. Neely et al. The case stems from the fatal shooting of Amidou Ouedraogo, a 24-year-old Burkinabe immigrant, during a traffic stop in Columbus, Ohio. Plaintiff Fatimata Ouedraogo, the decedent's mother, alleged that Officer Jeremy Neely and the Columbus Division of Police employed excessive force, violating Ouedraogo's Fourth Amendment rights. The incident sparked protests after body camera footage showed Ouedraogo appearing confused and unarmed at the time of the shooting. The family's wrongful death and Section 1983 suit sought compensatory and punitive damages. The court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds, ruling that a reasonable jury could find the force used was constitutionally excessive given the circumstances, allowing the case to proceed toward trial.

The district court denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment, holding that genuine disputes of material fact existed regarding the reasonableness of the officer's use of deadly force. The court ruled that Officer Neely was not entitled to qualified immunity at this stage, allowing the excessive force, wrongful death, and related claims to proceed to trial.

The central dispute focused on whether Officer Jeremy Neely violated clearly established constitutional rights, thus overcoming qualified immunity. The defense argued Neely reasonably perceived a threat when Ouedraogo made a sudden movement. The plaintiff contended that Ouedraogo, unarmed and disoriented due to a language barrier and mental health crisis, posed no imminent danger, making the lethal force objectively unreasonable under Graham v. Connor standards.

The ruling reverberated nationally, intensifying the debate over police use of force against non-English speakers and individuals in mental health crises. Immigrant rights advocates highlighted the case as emblematic of systemic failures in de-escalation training. The decision to deny qualified immunity was viewed as a significant procedural victory for civil rights litigants and reignited calls for federal police reform legislation, including the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. Community organizations in Columbus expanded multilingual crisis intervention programs in direct response to the shooting and subsequent legal proceedings.