MD - Ofc. William Torbit, 33, & Sean Gamble, 22, shot to death, Baltimore, 9 Jan 2011

A Baltimore judge on Monday dismissed a civil lawsuit against police officers who shot four people, including another officer killed by friendly fire, in 2011 during a melee outside the Select Lounge nightclub.

After hearing five weeks of testimony, Circuit Judge Videtta Brown ruled that the actions of the officers who fired the shots couldn't be judged in hindsight. The case was dismissed before getting into jurors' hands.

Brown said the plaintiffs failed to show that the officers were acting in an unreasonable way when they opened fire in a dark parking lot and killed plainclothes Officer William H. Torbit Jr. after he had shot and killed a patron who was part of a group that attacked him. Officers fired 34 shots, and three women were hit by stray bullets.

"The reasonableness of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on scene, rather than with 20/20 hindsight," Brown said.

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A review by an independent commission faulted the officers' decision-making. It led to changes in policies and procedures, including requiring plainclothes officers to wear yellow vests or jackets emblazoned with the word "police."

No criminal charges were filed. The department has declined to say whether it took any disciplinary action, which must be kept private by state law.

Brown said she spent much of the weekend looking over the case. In deciding to dismiss the case, Brown said, she had to look at the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, and that any questions that existed should be put forward to the jury. She said there wasn't enough to let a jury decide.

"The balance tips in favor of granting [the motion to dismiss] when the facts presented lead to only one conclusion," she said.

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