Always Nice to See Reversals!

A police officer was trying to help an injured person and got beaten up by his own department! He lost the case at the trial level, but the Appeals Court reversed the decision.


Johnson v. Dist. of Columbia, No. 06-7136, 06-7180
In a suit brought under 42 U.S.C. section 1983 for use of excessive force in an unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment, as well as common law claims of police brutality, assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress when a police officer was mistaken for a criminal when he unwittingly landed in the middle of a drug bust, summary judgment in favor of defendant is reversed as to section 1983 claims and affirmed as to the common law claims where: 1) defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity against the section 1983 claims because of conflicting deposition testimony, which gave rise to genuine issues of fact material to both the section 1983 claim and the qualified immunity defense; and 2) the Police and Firefighters Retirement and Disability Act barred plaintiff's common law claims. Read more...

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A police officer was trying to help an injured person and got beaten up by his own department! He lost the case at the trial level, but the Appeals Court reversed the decision.