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Qualified Immunity

By: Derek Hawkins//December 4, 2018//

Qualified Immunity

By: Derek Hawkins//December 4, 2018//

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7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Craig Strand v. Curtis Minchuk

Case No.: 18-1514

Officials: KANNE, SCUDDER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Qualified Immunity

We consider whether the district court erred at summary judgment in denying qualified immunity to a police officer who, in the context of an argument and fist fight over parking tickets, shot a semi‐truck driver. The officer fired the shot after the driver stopped fighting, stepped back from the officer, and—with his hands in the air—twice said “I surrender.” The district court concluded that a material question of fact existed as to whether the driver continued to pose a threat at the exact moment the officer fired the shot.

We affirm. We cannot read the facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and, on the record as it presently stands, conclude as a matter of law that the officer is entitled to qualified immunity. Doing so would mark a stark departure from clearly established law regarding an officer’s use of deadly force. A trial is necessary to determine the precise timeline and circumstances leading to and surrounding the officer’s deployment of such force.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.

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