7 12, 2020

CA9 – Qualified Immunity Denied – Clearly established precedent person not endangering officers or attempting to flee violated unreasonable seizure

By |2021-02-10T16:33:31+00:00December 7th, 2020|CA9, Federal Circuits, Use of Force|0 Comments

Penaloza v. City of Rialto, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 38050 (9th Cir. Dec. 7, 2020) We affirm the denial of qualified immunity as to Officer Jarrod Zirkle (“Zirkle”), Boda’s handler, for the release of Boda onto Goode. Goode was the passenger in a car Zirkle pulled over for an expired registration. The driver initially tried to evade police—leading Zirkle in a chase—but once the car stopped, Goode exited the car and knelt on the ground. Zirkle approached the passenger side of the car with Boda, planning to send Boda into the car to bite the driver, Erick Aguirre. Zirkle feared [...]

4 09, 2020

CA6 – Dog Biting Handcuffed, Nonresisting Suspect is Excessive Force

By |2021-02-09T16:02:03+00:00September 4th, 2020|CA6, Federal Circuits, Use of Force|0 Comments

Hammond v. County of Oakland, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28285 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2020) A police dog bit plaintiff while he was handcuffed and on the ground. That’s excessive force if a jury believes it was gratuitous. Qualified immunity denied. Hammond v. County of Oakland, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 28285 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2020): The next segment came when Cadotte ordered Odin to bite Hammond after the deputies had handcuffed him. We have held that police violate the Fourth Amendment when they order a dog to bite a suspect who posed no threat to the officers’ safety and [...]

29 05, 2020

CA6 – Duration of K9 Bite as Reasonable Force

By |2021-02-09T16:02:32+00:00May 29th, 2020|CA6, Federal Circuits, Use of Force|0 Comments

Zuress v. City of Newark, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 17134 (6th Cir. May 29, 2020): The second alleged unreasonable use of force was the delay in stopping the dog bite after plaintiff had been subdued. We have acknowledged that it is possible for “a delay in calling off [a police] dog . . . [to] rise to the level of an unreasonable seizure.” Greco v. Livingston Cty., 774 F.3d 1061, 1064 (6th Cir. 2014). But the facts here do not support a Fourth Amendment violation. Once defendant and the dog made physical contact with plaintiff, there were about five seconds [...]

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