Published on: Wednesday, July 26, 2023
Allegation: Rookie Cleveland police officer gets spooked when he sees a suspect holding a gun. The officer runs away while firing his own gun blindly behind him. Oops! He hits his field training officer, who survives but suffers nerve damage. She sues. Rookie (who was not disciplined for the shooting or lying about what happened): I didn't intend to shoot her, so there was no seizure and therefore no Fourth Amendment violation. Sixth Circuit (unpublished): No qualified immunity.
The case is Kilnapp v. City of Cleveland, 6th Cir., No. 22-4059, unpublished (6th Cir. July 21, 2023).