Salvato Ex Rel. Estate of Salvato v. Miley, 790 F.3d 1286

Deputy Miley shot Salvato during an attempted arrest after Salvato retreated; Salvato died from internal bleeding due to the gunshot.
Brown discharged his Taser multiple times after Salvato was shot and handcuffed; Salvato was unarmed.
Salvato’s energy and conduct leading to the encounter included shouting at cars and resisting arrest; Miley had initially encountered Salvato without weapons.
The sheriff did not order an internal affairs investigation, relying instead on Florida grand jury and state law enforcement investigations.
Salvato’s estate sued Miley and Brown in their individual capacities and the sheriff in his official capacity for § 1983 excessive force and for ratification; trial resulted in mixed findings and post-trial motions.
The district court denied Miley’s summary-judgment motion on qualified immunity; the jury found the sheriff liable for ratification; on appeal, the court consolidated Miley’s and sheriff’s appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Miley’s use of deadly force violated the Fourth Amendment.	Salvato estate argues Miley’s shot was unreasonable and excessive.	Miley argues qualified immunity should shield her unless clearly established law warned against her conduct.	Not entitled to qualified immunity; deadly force unreasonable under clearly established law.
Whether Miley’s failure to intervene against Brown’s Taser constitutes a qualified-immunity violation.	Estate asserts Miley had a duty to intervene and could be liable for nonfeasance.	Miley contends lack of clear supervisory liability or causal link to obtain immunity.	Not entitled to qualified immunity for failure to intervene; jury evidence supports nonfeasance liability.
Whether the sheriff can be held liable under § 1983 for ratification based on a single failure to investigate.	Estate contends sheriff’s failure to investigate ratified Miley’s use of excessive force.	Sheriff argues single failure to investigate cannot establish ratification absent policymaker review and approval.	Sheriff cannot be held liable for ratification based on a single failure to investigate; grant judgment for sheriff.

Graham v. Connor, 490 F.3d 386 (9th Cir. 1989) (standard of objective reasonableness for excessive force under Fourth Amendment)
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force to prevent escape requires imminent threat)
Oliver v. Fiorino, 586 F.3d 898 (11th Cir. 2009) (retreating unarmed suspect; excessive force analysis)
Praprotnik v. City of St. Louis, 485 U.S. 112 (1988) (municipal liability requires official policy or ratification by policymakers)
Thomas ex rel. Thomas v. Roberts, 261 F.3d 1160 (11th Cir. 2001) (single incident ratification requires opportunity to review, not present here)
Gilmere v. City of Atlanta, 774 F.2d 1495 (11th Cir. 1985) (deadly force in scuffle distinguished from retreating suspect)
Holloman ex rel. Holloman v. Harland, 370 F.3d 1252 (11th Cir. 2004) (fair warning concept in excessive-force standards)
Ensley v. Soper, 142 F.3d 1402 (11th Cir. 1998) (officer's ability to intervene when another officer uses excessive force)
Fundiller v. City of Cooper City, 777 F.2d 1436 (11th Cir. 1985) (police officer nonfeasance liability for failure to intervene)