Appeals Court Denies Immunity in College Nerf Gun Prank Case

Oakland University campus police officers facing a lawsuit over armed robbery arrests for pointing a yellow-orange Nerf gun at various students haven’t yet shown they’re entitled to qualified immunity, a federal appeals court said Monday.

The plaintiffs, former students Andrew Evans and Ryan Geheb, have plausibly alleged that the officers lacked probable cause to arrest them for anything, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said.

Andrew Evans, Ryan Geheb—then members of the school’s varsity swim team—were arrested in 2022 for driving around while another member of the swim team, Valence Washington, pointed “a small pistol-shaped children’s ...