California Police Officers Avoid Protester Excessive Force Suit

Police officers who removed a protester from a city council meeting in California didn’t use excessive force and so can avoid a lawsuit by a woman who said she was injured in the process, the Ninth Circuit said Monday in reversing a lower court.

The type and amount of force used by the National City, Calif., police officers was minimal, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As a result, the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, which shields them from liability, the court said.

The officers didn’t strike Tasha Williamson, who filed the lawsuit, or ...