Susan Doxtator v. Erik O'Brien, 39 F.4th 852

On Oct. 19, 2018, GBPD officers arrested Jonathon Tubby on outstanding warrants, placed him handcuffed in the back of a squad car, and later transported him to the Brown County Jail for booking.
While in the squad car Tubby moved his hands beneath his shirt, threatened multiple times “I’ll fucking do it,” and refused repeated commands to show his hands.
Officers believed Tubby was armed, called for backup, used an armored Bearcat to break the squad-car rear window, and deployed pepper spray and bean‑bag rounds; a K9 engaged Tubby as he exited the car.
As Tubby moved toward the sally‑port exit, an officer (O’Brien) heard a “pop” he believed to be a gunshot and fired eight rounds, striking Tubby five times; Tubby was unarmed and pronounced dead at the scene.
The Estate sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (excessive force, failure‑to‑intervene, failure‑to‑train, Monell, state‑created danger) and state tort claims; the district court granted summary judgment for defendants and the Seventh Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Excessive‑force §1983 vs. O’Brien	O’Brien used unreasonable, deadly force (Tubby was subdued, handcuffed, face‑down, unarmed)	O’Brien reasonably believed Tubby posed an imminent threat and used force to prevent escape/harm	No constitutional violation; force reasonable under the circumstances
Qualified immunity for O’Brien	Even if rights were violated, they were clearly established	Right was not clearly established; officers entitled to qualified immunity	O’Brien entitled to qualified immunity
Monell / failure‑to‑train vs. City & Chief Smith	City failed to train officers on removing non‑compliant arrestees and had a practice of excessive force	Municipal liability depends on an underlying constitutional violation by an employee	Dismissed: no municipal liability because no underlying §1983 violation
State‑created danger (Deshaney) vs. Zeigle, City, County	Plaintiffs: plan to force Tubby from car created danger that led to death	Defendants: Deshaney and its exceptions apply only to harms by private actors; direct state violence is remediable under §1983	Claim inapplicable—state‑created danger doctrine does not extend to harms directly inflicted by public actors; dismissed

Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force permissible to prevent escape when officer has probable cause to believe suspect poses a serious threat)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (excessive‑force claims judged by Fourth Amendment objective reasonableness)
DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social Servs., 489 U.S. 189 (1989) (state’s failure to protect individuals from private violence is not a due‑process violation)
White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (2017) (clearly established law must be particularized to the facts)
Plumhoff v. Rickard, 572 U.S. 765 (2014) (qualified immunity standard; right must be clearly established)
Ashcroft v. Al‑Kidd, 563 U.S. 731 (2011) (plaintiff must show existing precedent placed the constitutional question beyond debate)
Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194 (2004) (Garner too general to clearly establish law except in obvious cases)
Becker v. Elfreich, 821 F.3d 920 (7th Cir. 2016) (distinguished canine "bite and hold" use‑of‑force context)