By: Derek Hawkins//March 9, 2016//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: Mitchell Alicea v. Aubrey Thomas, et al
Case No.: 15-1255
Officials: BAUER, WILLIAMS, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.
Focus: 4th Amendment Violations – Excessive Force
Material dispute exists as to whether officers’ actions violated 4th amendment and if force used was excessive.
“Applying the Graham factors to Alicea’s account, we do not find that Alicea, standing in broad daylight with his hands up at gunpoint and enclosed by a five-foot pool, posed a sufficient threat to Thomas to justify ordering Leo to attack and hold him. The district court erred in holding it was reasonable to command a dog to attack a suspect who had ceased flight, was effectively trapped, and who immediately complied with police orders.”
Reversed and Remanded