Federal law enforcement officers have high-stakes, high-pressure jobs, and federal judges should not make a habit of second-guessing decisions officers make to keep us safe. But some actions are so negligent and harmful that innocent people injured by law enforcement ought to have the right to seek compensation in federal court. For too long, lower courts have made it next to impossible for innocent injured parties to hold federal law enforcement officers accountable, but the Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision last week, took a large step toward rectifying this problem.

Early one morning in the fall of 2017, a six-member SWAT team led by an FBI special agent broke down the door of a house in suburban Atlanta, fired off a flash-bang grenade, dragged the man of the house out of his bedroom closet, handcuffed him, pointed their drawn weapons at his undressed wife, and yelled questions at them both.