Brown v. Blanchard, No. 14-2808 (7th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseIn both cases, consolidated on appeal, family members called police officers to their home because a family member had locked himself in a room of his home and was threatening suicide. The officers responded to the distress call, but in both cases the situation ended with the person’s death as a result of shots fired by the officers. On behalf of the deceased person, the plaintiffs in each case brought suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging that the officers used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment when they effected the seizure. The Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment based on qualified immunity in one case and affirmed denial of the same motion in the other. Officers responding to a scene in which a suicidal person is locked in a room are faced with the difficult determination as to whether delay in responding will allow the person to further harm himself or to become aggressive toward others. It is clearly established, however, that officers cannot resort as an initial matter to lethal force on a person who is merely passively resisting and has not presented any threat of harm to others.
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