Opinion ID: 655577
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Excessive Force against Lirio

Text: 31 Count Four alleged that Sellers-Sampson used excessive force when he arrested Lirio. Whether a specific use of force is excessive turns on factors such as the severity of the crime, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat, and whether the suspect is resisting or fleeing. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 1871, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). Use of force must be judged on a case-by-case basis from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Id. Because this standard establishes no bright line, qualified immunity applies unless application of the standard would inevitably lead every reasonable officer in Sellers-Sampson's position to conclude the force was unlawful. 32 Before the night of the arrests, another officer told Sellers-Sampson that he had recently arrested Lirio for resisting arrest and that Lirio's resistance had been violent. Plaintiffs admit that Lirio was in a choke hold for about five seconds and that he sought no medical treatment until almost three years after the arrest. When Lirio raised his hands, a reasonable officer in Sellers-Sampson's place could have concluded that the technique Sellers-Sampson used was needed to stop Lirio from becoming violent. 33 Once Lirio was handcuffed and taken outside, no further force was needed. But, even though pushing Lirio against the wall might have been unnecessary, this pushing was not plainly unlawful. When Sellers-Sampson acted, the case law on excessive force looked to, among other things, the need for force, the amount of force used, and the injury inflicted. See Leslie v. Ingram, 786 F.2d 1533, 1536 (11th Cir.1986). That the amount of force Sellers-Sampson used, even if unnecessary, was enough to violate the law was not plain; reasonable doubt existed, and still exists, on whether this amount of unnecessary force was unlawful. See, e.g., Ingraham v. Wright, 430 U.S. 651, 675, 97 S.Ct. 1401, 1415, 51 L.Ed.2d 711 (1977) (de minimis rule applies to excessive force claims asserted under Eighth Amendment); Norris v. District of Columbia, 737 F.2d 1148, 1152 (D.C.Cir.1984) (de minimis rule applies to excessive force claims asserted under due process clause); Johnson v. Glick, 481 F.2d 1028, 1033 (2nd Cir.1973) (Not every push or shove ... violates a prisoner's constitutional rights.); Hudson v. McMillian, --- U.S. ----, ----, 112 S.Ct. 995, 1000, 117 L.Ed.2d 156 (1992) (Eighth Amendment necessarily excludes from constitutional recognition de minimis uses of physical force). Sellers-Sampson is entitled to qualified immunity because it was not clearly established that the amount of force he used outside the restaurant was unlawful. 34 Plaintiffs alleged that Hurley was also liable on this count because he failed to stop Sellers-Sampson from using excessive force. A police officer has a duty to intervene when another officer uses excessive force. See Fundiller v. City of Cooper City, 777 F.2d 1436, 1441-42 (11th Cir.1985). But Hurley is a building inspector, not a police officer. As plaintiffs conceded at oral argument, no case clearly establishes that civilians have a duty to intervene. Hurley is thus entitled to qualified immunity.