DISCLAIMER: Any unofficial case summaries below are prepared by the clerk's office
as a courtesy to the reader. They are not part of the opinion of the court.
213885P.pdf 10/31/2022 Dean Christiansen v. Christopher Eral
U.S. Court of Appeals Case No: 21-3885
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Western
[PUBLISHED] [Arnold, Author, with Loken and Kobes, Circuit Judges]
Civil case - Civil rights. Police department guidelines and policies
concerning use of a PIT maneuver did not create rights that give rise to a
Section 1983 action, and an officer's knowing violation of the guidelines
and policies does not transform his actions into unconstitutional
behavior; moreover, the Supreme Court has already deemed materially
identical behavior constitutional - see Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372,
374-75 (2007); the district court did not err in finding plaintiff had not
plausibly pleaded that defendant used excessive force or violated
plaintiff's substantive-due-process rights; in the absence of a
constitutional violation, plaintiff's claims against the officer's
supervisor in his official capacity and against the city necessarily fail
as well.