Opinion ID: 2758674
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Stiegel’s Monell Claim

Text: Stiegel also appeals the District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Peters Township. Specifically, Stiegel argues that Peters Township should be liable for Collins’s actions because it authorized them. However, the Supreme Court has held that courts cannot “authorize[ an] award of damages against a [municipality] based on the actions of one of its officers when in fact the jury has concluded that the officer inflicted no constitutional harm.” City of Los Angeles v. Heller, 475 U.S. 796, 799 (1986) (per curiam). Because we find that Stiegel has not suffered any constitutional harm at the hands of Collins, “the fact that the departmental regulations might have authorized the use of constitutionally excessive force is quite beside the point.” Id.