Ray v. Hamm et al.

On September 26, 2025, in Crestview, United States, Marcus Ray was pulled over for a broken taillight. During the traffic stop, Officer David Hamm allegedly ordered Ray out of the vehicle and, within seconds, deployed a Taser and delivered multiple knee strikes to his back while he was prone and handcuffed, causing a spinal fracture. Bystander video captured the incident. Ray filed a federal lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Officer Hamm, a supervising officer, and the city, alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, failure to intervene, and municipal liability for inadequate training. The case drew immediate national attention as another high-profile police use-of-force incident.

The United States District Court denied summary judgment on qualified immunity, ruling a reasonable jury could find the force grossly disproportionate. Before trial, the parties reached a settlement in April 2026: the city agreed to pay $4.8 million in damages and adopt sweeping policy reforms, including mandatory de-escalation protocols and enhanced body-worn camera audits. Officer Hamm retired and faces a separate state criminal investigation for aggravated assault.

Whether Officer Hamm’s use of force was objectively unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment and whether the officers were entitled to qualified immunity. A secondary issue was whether the City of Crestview maintained a custom of deliberate indifference to constitutional violations by failing to properly train officers on de-escalation and use of less-lethal weapons.

The settlement intensified nationwide calls for ending qualified immunity for police and spurred several states to introduce bills restricting prone restraint techniques. The bystander video was used in Congressional hearings on police accountability. Locally, Crestview replaced its police chief and established a civilian oversight board, making the case a touchstone in the post-2020 police reform movement.