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An Evansville police officer did not violate a man’s Fourth Amendment rights and was entitled to qualified immunity after a physical confrontation resulted in the man being knocked unconscious, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
The appellate court reversed a U.S. Southern District Court opinion that denied Evansville Police Department Sergeant Sam Smith’s motion for summary judgment, which was filed after Charles Brumitt sued Smith and the City of Evansville and claimed his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated.
The case stemmed from a physical altercation between Smith and Brumitt, with much of the incident captured on video by Smith’s body-worn camera.
Smith was patrolling around 3 a.m. when he encountered Brumitt in a bar parking lot lying down on a utility box.
Their encounter quickly turned physical. Court records stated Brumitt swung his arm at Smith and his open hand hit Smith’s face in a roundhouse swing.
Smith then grabbed Brumitt’s shirt and punched him in the face four times. Brumitt lost consciousness and lay still for several minutes.
He suffered an acute fracture of his eye socket, a broken nose and lacerations that later required surgery.
Brumitt later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and public intoxication.
In his summary judgment motion to the district court, Smith had argued that his force was reasonable and he was entitled to qualified immunity because precedent did not put him on clear notice that his actions were unconstitutional.
Brumitt replied that Smith’s force, enhanced by his martial arts training, was grossly disproportionate to the threat that Brumitt posed while drunk and it needlessly continued after Brumitt was unconscious and subdued.
In denying Smith’s motion, the district court concluded it could not determine whether Smith was entitled to immunity.
The 7th Circuit, in its opinion, agreed with Smith that Brumitt had not met his burden of showing Smith violated a clearly established right.
“We will assume that Smith could have interrupted his delivery of force to see Brumitt appear limp. But to conclude that Smith clearly violated Brumitt’s right to be free from excessive force, we must assume that a reasonable officer in Smith’s position would know instantaneously that Brumitt was unconscious and react accordingly within less than four seconds,” the court stated.
The court added that Brumitt struck Smith, and Brumitt did not make any gesture indicating his surrender, with there being fewer than four seconds between the moment Brumitt went limp and the moment Smith stopped using force.
“No case clearly establishes that a reasonable officer must reassess his force that quickly. Smith is therefore entitled to qualified immunity,” the 7th Circuit opinion stated.
The court remanded the case with instructions to enter judgment in Smith’s favor on the Fourth Amendment claim.
The case is Charles Brumitt v. Sam Smith, 23-1321.
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