By John Tunison
mlive.com
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A U.S. Supreme Court decision means a civil case against a Grand Rapids police officer accused of using excessive force during the May 2020 riot can move forward.
Supreme Court justices on Monday, May 26, denied a petition to hear an appeal from Officer Phillip Reinink.
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Sean Hart, who sued, was part of a large crowd in downtown Grand Rapids on May 30, 2020, following the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in Minneapolis five days earlier.
People came to protest Floyd’s death at the hands of police.
Grand Rapids police, along with officers from multiple agencies in the area, had come under attack during the night of violence, with bricks, bottles and fireworks targeted at officers.
Hart said he wasn’t part of what became a riot, but became upset when police confronted him. He was trying to go down a one-way street they had blocked.
Hart started to walk away, according to details in his lawsuit, but turned around to complain. He was about 20 feet from officers when Reinink mistakenly fired the wrong projectile toward Hart.
He intended to fire “Muzzle Blast,” a chemical powder for short-range targets, but instead fired a long-range projectile, “Spede-Heat,” which is not supposed to be fired at people.
Hart was struck in the shoulder. He was later treated at a local hospital for burns and bruises.
Reinink served a two-day, unpaid suspension for using unreasonable force as deemed by Grand Rapids Police. He was not criminally charged.
Hart later filed a federal lawsuit. A U.S. District Court judge in 2023 dismissed the majority of the lawsuit, finding that Reinink had qualified immunity, which protects government officials from civil liability if their actions do not violate constitutional rights or clearly established law.
An appeals court in 2025 reversed that decision and Reinink sought to have the case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Supreme Court justices denied that request Tuesday.
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