Civil Rights — excessive force — supervisory liability

United States Court of Appeals

Civil

Civil Rights — excessive force — supervisory liability

A municipal police chief who relegated a situation to a state tactical unit is not liable as s supervisor if the unit used excessive force.

“At best, the appellants can point to evidence that Chief Sutton was consulted when CIERT members formulated their plan, that he gave the CIERT team a recommendation on how to proceed, and that he ultimately agreed with the chosen course of action. But even these facts do nothing to connect Chief Sutton to CIERT in any supervisory capacity. If he condoned the plan, it was not as a supervisor but as a mere consultant from a completely separate governmental department. Once CIERT made the decision on how to respond, it executed its plan without any input or involvement from Chief Sutton.”

Affirmed.

10-3748 Backes v. Village of Peoria Heights

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Gorman, Mag. J., Bauer, J.