Excessive Force-Municipal Liability

7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Mace Davis v. City of Elgin, Illinois

Case No.: 25-1299

Officials: Kirsch, Pryor, and Maldonado, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Excessive Force-Municipal Liability

The After threatening his ex-wife and her nephew with what appeared to be a firearm while intoxicated, Davis left his residence and fell asleep at a neighbor’s home. Law enforcement officers, believing he was inside the residence and armed, surrounded the property with S.W.A.T. teams and other tactical units. Negotiators eventually established telephone contact with him, during which he threatened to harm himself and was reported to have threatened the responding officers, although he denied making any direct threats against them. When he exited the residence, officers fired non-lethal projectiles after he refused repeated commands to leave the porch, causing serious injury to his arm. After briefly retreating inside, he emerged again and was struck three additional times with less-lethal ammunition after acting aggressively and shouting threats toward the officers.

Davis filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, alleging that the officers used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the officers and the City of Elgin, concluding that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate a violation of clearly established constitutional rights. In reaching its decision, the court distinguished the facts of the case from prior Seventh Circuit precedent, including Phillips v. Community Insurance Corp., and determined that the officers’ conduct did not clearly violate established Fourth Amendment law.

The Seventh Circuit reviewed the district court’s grant of summary judgment de novo. The court found that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity because no binding precedent placed the constitutionality of their specific actions beyond debate under the circumstances, which involved reported threats with firearms and knives, as well as the plaintiff’s aggressive and threatening behavior. The court further concluded that the plaintiff failed to establish a viable basis for municipal liability against the City of Elgin.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/09/26

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