Jacquelyn Wallace v. Nancy Cummings, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21911

Background

Carleton Wallace was shot and killed by Officer Nancy Cummings during an attempted seizure in Alexander, Arkansas after Wallace drew a gun and then tossed it into nearby woods.
Cummings and two eyewitnesses gave differing accounts: Cummings said the gun fired when Wallace pushed her; eyewitnesses said she grabbed the gun with both hands and shot Wallace in the back as he turned away.
Medical evidence showed stippling consistent with a close-range shot; Wallace had amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and cannabinoids in his system.
Wallace’s estate sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment; estate also asserted state-law claims.
The district court granted summary judgment to the city and police chief, but denied Officer Cummings qualified immunity because a genuine dispute remained whether she intentionally shot Wallace.
On interlocutory appeal, the Eighth Circuit affirmed the denial of qualified immunity as to Cummings, concluding disputed factual issues must be accepted in the estate’s favor and that, under those assumed facts, use of deadly force was not reasonable and the law was clearly established.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether this court has jurisdiction to review denial of qualified immunity on interlocutory appeal	Estate: district court correctly denied summary judgment; appeal challenges factual dispute and legal issues	Cummings: raises mixed legal and factual challenges; seeks interlocutory review	Court: has jurisdiction only over pure legal questions; cannot review factual disputes unless record "blatantly contradicts" district court — no such contradiction here; jurisdiction limited to legal issues
Whether Cummings’ use of deadly force violated the Fourth Amendment	Estate: viewing disputed facts in its favor, Wallace had discarded the gun, was not an immediate threat, and was shot while fleeing — deadly force unreasonable	Cummings: even assuming intentional shooting, force was reasonable given drawing of a firearm and struggle	Court: viewing facts favorably to estate, none of Graham/Garner factors justify deadly force as matter of law; triable issue remains whether force was reasonable
Whether the Fourth Amendment right was clearly established	Estate: precedent clearly bars deadly force against fleeing suspects who no longer pose immediate threat	Cummings: facts here were particular and did not place the constitutional rule beyond debate	Court: Garner and subsequent Eighth Circuit precedent clearly established that deadly force against a fleeing suspect who does not pose an immediate significant threat is unlawful; right was clearly established
Whether an unintentional shooting could give rise to Fourth Amendment liability	Estate: not necessary to resolve; assumes intentional shooting for appeal	Cummings: argued an unintentional shooting would not violate Fourth Amendment	Court: did not decide circuit split on unintentional Fourth Amendment liability and assumed intentional conduct for purposes of review

Key Cases Cited

Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (limits interlocutory appeal of qualified immunity to legal questions)
Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (collateral order doctrine and appealability of qualified immunity denials)
Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (narrow exception allowing appellate rejection of district court factual findings when blatantly contradicted by video/record)
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (deadly force against fleeing suspect permissible only if suspect poses immediate significant threat)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (Fourth Amendment objective reasonableness standard for excessive force)
Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (qualified immunity two-step analysis)
Ashcroft v. al-Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (clearly established law standard)
Walton v. Dawson, 752 F.3d 1109 (Eighth Circuit on reviewing factual findings in qualified immunity appeals)
Thompson v. Murray, 800 F.3d 979 (Eighth Circuit guidance on interlocutory review scope)
Moore v. Indehar, 514 F.3d 756 (Eighth Circuit applying Garner to fleeing suspect context)