909 F.3d 933
8th Cir.2018Background
- Mark Henderson, a 19-year-old Black man, fled a motel room where another guest (Ballinger) had taken hostages and pointed a gun; Ballinger fired once as Mark ran toward officers.
- Officers Krech, Bauer, and Ofstead encountered Mark in a hallway; initial shots were fired as he ran and missed.
- Mark then went to the floor face down; officers claim his right hand remained obscured and he failed to comply with commands to show his hands.
- The three officers fired a second volley (total 17 rounds fired by all officers), 12 striking Mark; he died.
- Plaintiff Tawana Henderson (as trustee) sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force and alleged wrongful death and vicarious liability against the City.
- The district court granted summary judgment for defendants on qualified immunity grounds; the Eighth Circuit reversed, finding disputed material facts (notably Officer Krech’s contemporaneous BCA statement suggesting Mark was compliant) precluded summary judgment.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified immunity for deadly-force § 1983 claim | Mark complied/was subdued before lethal shots; disputed testimony creates triable factual issue whether force was unreasonable | Officers reasonably believed Mark posed a serious threat because his right hand was hidden and he did not comply | Reversed: genuine dispute (Krech’s BCA statement vs. officers’ depositions) prevents summary judgment on qualified immunity |
| Official immunity and state wrongful-death/vicarious-liability claims | State claims should proceed because factual disputes undermine immunity defense | District court granted official immunity based on its qualified-immunity conclusion | Reversed: state-law immunity dependent on federal qualified-immunity ruling, so summary judgment on state claims also improper |
Key Cases Cited
- Ribbey v. Cox, 222 F.3d 1040 (8th Cir. 2000) (deadly-force reasonableness standard and allowance for split-second decisions)
- Nance v. Sammis, 586 F.3d 604 (8th Cir. 2009) (seizure by deadly force subject to Fourth Amendment reasonableness)
- Chambers v. Pennycook, 641 F.3d 898 (8th Cir. 2011) (summary judgment review and qualified-immunity framework)
- LaCross v. City of Duluth, 713 F.3d 1155 (8th Cir. 2013) (qualified immunity protects officials unless clearly established law violated)
- Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (2001) (qualified-immunity analytical framework)
- Craighead v. Lee, 399 F.3d 954 (8th Cir. 2005) (state-law official immunity and relation to federal qualified-immunity rulings)