Opinion ID: 70829
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Tookes

Text: 26 We now turn to the district court's order denying Tookes' motion for summary judgment, in his individual capacity, on qualified immunity grounds. All Tookes did was remove Hamilton from the pool and place her on the ground beside it. The plaintiffs do not contend that Tookes interfered with Simpson's rescue attempt, or that he affirmatively did anything at all improper. They simply contend that he should have done more. 27 Everything we said as to Duncan applies equally, or with even more force, to Tookes. There are no decisions clearly establishing that Tookes' alleged nonfeasance rises to the level of a constitutional violation. At oral argument, the plaintiffs conceded that if Tookes had left Hamilton in the pool to drown, that inaction would not have violated Hamilton's constitutional rights. However, plaintiffs argue that because Tookes rescued Hamilton from the pool he incurred a constitutional duty to continue rescue efforts even if he was not properly trained to do so. We doubt that the Constitution requires such a rule of law, under which some rescue effort is worse than none from the rescuer's perspective. Although we do not have occasion to pass on the merits of the plaintiffs' constitutional claim against Tookes, we note that it does border on the frivolous. 28 The district court should have granted summary judgment to Tookes in his individual capacity on qualified immunity grounds. We turn now to the plaintiff's state law negligence claims. 29