Smith Ex Rel. Kolski v. City of Brooklyn Park, 757 F.3d 765

1998–2008 domestic dispute; 911 call reports shotgun and threat to kill; officers set perimeter and tried to persuade Kolski to exit.
Kolski armed, exposed right side/hand; Glirbas, Cudd, Eckman, Halek, Nordin, Erickson observed Kolski manipulating weapon.
Officers forcibly entered home; Cudd fired first, Glirbas fired next; Kolski shot multiple times and died.
Investigation showed Kolski had a shotgun; autopsy found high BAC and painkillers; 16–17 gunshot wounds.
Grand jury returned no bill for Officers; Smith sued City and Officers under 42 U.S.C. §1983 and state-law theories (assault, negligence, respondeat superior).
District court granted summary judgment on qualified immunity, official immunity, and related claims; Smith appeals.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the officers are entitled to qualified immunity for the excessive-force claim	Smith argues material facts show Kolski was unarmed/hands up.	Defendants contend undisputed record shows Kolski armed, threat present, reasonable fear justified force.	Yes; District court properly granted qualified-immunity summary judgment.
Whether there are genuine issues of material fact about Kolski's armed status	Smith points to inconsistencies and lighting claims to suggest unarmed status.	Record shows Kolski armed; 911 transcript and witnesses corroborate threat.	No; record supports Kolski armed at time of shooting.
Whether Minnesota official immunity bars the state-law claims against the officers	Smith asserts officers acted willfully/maliciously or unreasonably slow to act.	Use of deadly force is discretionary; Rico standard requires reasonable action, no malicious intent shown.	Yes; official immunity applies; state-law claims barred.

Thompson v. Hubbard, 257 F.3d 896 (8th Cir. 2001) (summary-judgment standard for objective reasonableness applying credibility assessments)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (U.S. 1989) (objective reasonableness in use of force analysis)
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1985) (deadly-force standard for fleeing suspects)
Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (U.S. 2007) (courts may rely on video/record to resolve disputed facts at summary judgment)
Sinclair v. City of Des Moines, 268 F.3d 594 (8th Cir. 2001) (no bare fact disputes; credibility concerns insufficient to defeat summary judgment)
Royster v. Nichols, 698 F.3d 681 (8th Cir. 2012) (applies objective reasonableness to use of deadly force)
Nance v. Sammis, 586 F.3d 604 (8th Cir. 2009) (excessive-force analysis under Fourth Amendment)
Beaulieu v. City of Mounds View, 518 N.W.2d 567 (Minn. 1994) (official-immunity framework in Minnesota)
Rico v. State, 472 N.W.2d 100 (Minn. 1991) (malicious-wrong inquiry under official-immunity analysis)
Elwood v. Rice Cnty., 423 N.W.2d 671 (Minn. 1988) (definition of official-immunity protection for discretionary acts)