That might have been the intent, but how it actually works is "was there a federal court ruling in this circuit/surpeme court that gives precedent that this is wrong? no? ok fuck you I can do it with impunity"Qualified immunity is a false target. Basically it only protects as long as you are functioning within the bounds of the law, reasonableness and your training.
state level has similar issues, but the only court that can deal with the monstrosity qualified immunity has become at the federal level is SCOTUS
"The Supreme Court created qualified immunity in 1982. With that novel invention, the court granted all government officials immunity for violating constitutional and civil rights unless the victims of those violations can show that the rights were “clearly established.” Although innocuous sounding, the clearly established test is a legal obstacle nearly impossible to overcome. It requires a victim to identify an earlier decision by the Supreme Court, or a federal appeals court in the same jurisdiction holding that precisely the same conduct under the same circumstances is illegal or unconstitutional. If none exists, the official is immune. Whether the official’s actions are unconstitutional, intentional or malicious is irrelevant to the test."
courts have granted qualified immunity to:
►Officers who stole $225,000.
►A cop who shot a 10-year-old while trying to shoot a nonthreatening family dog.
►Prison officials who locked an inmate in a sewage-flooded cell for days.
►SWAT team members who fired gas grenades into an innocent woman’s empty home.
►Medical board officials who rifled through a doctor’s client files without a warrant.
►County officials who held a 14-year-old in pretrial solitary confinement for over a month.
►A cop who body-slammed a 5-foot-tall woman for walking away from him.
►Police who picked up a mentally infirmed man, drove him to the county line and dropped him off at dusk along the highway, where he was later struck and killed by a motorist.
Civil Asset Forfeiture is self-explanatory, seizure of property without due process in violation of the 4th amendment