858
Breyer, J., concurring
ment, is bound to respect. I agree with the Court's assessment of the State's interests in this regard. Absent intent to injure, the police, in circumstances such as these, may conduct a dangerous chase of a suspect who disobeys a lawful command to stop when they determine it is appropriate to do so. There is a real danger in announcing a rule, or suggesting a principle, that in some cases a suspect is free to ignore a lawful police command to stop. No matter how narrow its formulation, any suggestion that suspects may ignore a lawful command to stop and then sue for damages sustained in an ensuing chase might cause suspects to flee more often, increasing accidents of the kind which occurred here.
Though I share Justice Scalia's concerns about using the phrase "shocks the conscience" in a manner suggesting that it is a self-defining test, the reasons the Court gives in support of its judgment go far toward establishing that objective considerations, including history and precedent, are the controlling principle, regardless of whether the State's action is legislative or executive in character. To decide this case, we need not attempt a comprehensive definition of the level of causal participation which renders a State or its officers liable for violating the substantive commands of the Fourteenth Amendment. It suffices to conclude that neither our legal traditions nor the present needs of law enforcement justify finding a due process violation when unintended injuries occur after the police pursue a suspect who disobeys their lawful order to stop.
Justice Breyer, concurring.
I join the Court's judgment and opinion. I write separately only to point out my agreement with Justice Stevens, post, at 859, that Siegert v. Gilley, 500 U. S. 226 (1991), should not be read to deny lower courts the flexibility, in appropriate cases, to decide 42 U. S. C. § 1983 claims on the basis of qualified immunity, and thereby avoid wrestling with
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