In 2008 Robbie Tolan, a former minor league baseball player, sued the Bellaire Police Department after being shot by Sergeant Jeffrey Cotton in front of his home. Tolan, who is black, said he was racially profiled by Cotton, a white officer. Cotton was indicted on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant and found not guilty in May 2010. The Tolan family sued Cotton and Bellaire police officer John Edwards, among others, saying their civil and constitutional rights were violated. U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon dismissed the case citing that the Tolan family had not established that the two officers violated their constitutional rights. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Harmon. Last week the Supreme Court ruled that the 5th Circuit acted too hastily when they dismissed Tolan’s civil case. Should a jury get to decide whether Tolan’s rights were violated?
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