Opinion ID: 3003387
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Officer Ayala’s Dismissal from the Lawsuit

Text: In their motion for summary judgment, the defendants argued that the court should dismiss Officer Ayala from the suit due to his lack of personal involvement in the 4 Lewis filed his original action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The case was later transferred to the Central District of Illinois, where Kankakee County is located, after which the parties consented to proceed before a magistrate judge. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 73. No. 08-2960 7 events surrounding the February 6 taser shot. The magistrate judge agreed and dismissed Ayala, a decision Lewis now claims was in error. It is uncontested that Ayala played no direct role in the taser incident. Officer Shreffler fired the taser at the command of his superior officer, Corporal Woods. Even as a bystander, however, Ayala can be held liable under § 1983 if Lewis can show that Ayala (1) had reason to know that a fellow officer was using excessive force or committing a constitutional violation, and (2) had a realistic opportunity to intervene to prevent the act from occurring. See Chavez v. Ill. State Police, 251 F.3d 612, 652 (7th Cir. 2001); see also Harper v. Albert, 400 F.3d 1052, 1064 (7th Cir. 2005). According to Lewis’s version of events, which, as we will discuss below, we must accept as true on a motion for summary judgment, see Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986) (“The evidence of the non-movant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor.”), Ayala did not have a realistic opportunity to stop Shreffler from discharging the taser gun. In his deposition, Lewis discussed at length how quickly Shreffler shot him with the taser after ordering him off the bed. Lewis said that the shot came “[b]efore I could say I can’t get up.” Even assuming Lewis was as sluggish as he claims, if the time between the order and the shot was so brief that Lewis could not respond, we decline to hold Officer Ayala liable for failing to respond as well. Ayala’s dismissal from the lawsuit was appropriate. 8 No. 08-2960