Opinion ID: 770823
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Shooting Officers

Text: 53 Under the Fourth Amendment, police may use only such force as is objectively reasonable under the circumstances. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 397 (1989). Determining whether force used in making an arrest is excessive or reasonable requires careful attention to the facts and circumstances of each particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight. Id. at 396. We have recently reiterated that the test for qualified immunity in excessive force cases is the same as the test on the merits. See Katz v. United States , 194 F.3d 962, 968 (9th Cir. 1999).
54 Plaintiffs allege that the SIS used excessive force against them when the officers fired repeated shotgun blasts into plaintiffs' car after the officers failed to announce that they were police. The district court found a disputed fact issue concerning what was going on in the officers' minds--what they saw, and what they thought. Cunningham , 989 F.Supp. at 1260. Because the district court found material factual disputes, i.e., whether the officers had probable cause to use deadly force against Cunningham and Soly, we lack jurisdiction to review whether the shooting officers are entitled to qualified immunity. See Collins, 110 F.3d at 1370. Thus, for purposes of this opinion, we must assume that the plaintiffs can prove that they suffered a constitutional injury.
55 Although the district court did not specifically identify material issues of fact regarding the shooting of Smith, such disputes are easily gleaned from the record. Defendants argue that the SIS officers who shot Smith reasonably mistook him for the fleeing suspect who they knew to be armed. Defendants also argue that they shot only after Smith moved his hand towards his waistband as if reaching for a gun. Smith claims that he made no threatening movements. Given this factual dispute, the shooting officers are not entitled to qualified immunity. A reasonable juror could find that Smith suffered a constitutional injury when the officers mistook him for a fleeing felon and shot him without reason to believe that he was reaching for his gun.