This report discusses the rule of qualified immunity for police officers, which prevents officers from being sued for actions taken in the course of their job unless there was a clear decision by the officer to break the law or incompetence. It specifically discusses the case of "White v. Pauly" heard by the Supreme Court, which upheld qualified immunity for Officer White after he was accused of violating a suspect's fourth amendment rights by use of excessive force to seize the suspect who had been fatally shot during the incident.