City of Tahlequah v. Bond

Dominic Rollice’s ex-wife Joy called 911 one day because Rollice was in Joy’s garage, intoxicated and refusing to leave. Three police officers arrived and spoke with Rollice in the doorway of the garage. After some discussion, one officer took a step toward Rollice. Rollice retreated toward the back of the garage, where some tools were hanging, and picked up a hammer. The officers yelled at Rollice to drop the hammer and drew their guns. Instead, Rollice stepped out from behind a piece of furniture and lifted the hammer above his head as if to throw it. Two of the officers fired their guns, killing Rollice. Austin Bond (plaintiff), the administrator of Rollice’s estate, sued the City of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and the two officers who fired their guns (defendants) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that they had violated Rollice’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from excessive force. The district court granted the officers’ motion for summary judgment on the merits and on qualified-immunity grounds, holding that the use of force was reasonable and that the officers were shielded from suit by qualified immunity. The Tenth Circuit reversed, holding that a jury could find that the officers’ conduct of stepping toward Rollice and cornering him in the garage recklessly created a situation leading to the fatal shooting, and that prior cases decided in the Tenth Circuit with similar fact patterns supported a finding that the officers’ conduct was unlawful and qualified immunity did not apply. In particular, the Tenth Circuit focused on a case in which police responded to a potential suicide call by running toward a parked car, screaming at the man inside, and attempting to physically wrest the gun away from him. The officers appealed.