Florek v. Vill. of Mundelein, IL, No. 10-3696 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff suffered a heart attack when police searched her apartment and arrested her during a drug raid. She claims that police unreasonably seized her by denying a request for aspirin and refusing to call an ambulance and conducted an unreasonable search by not giving her sufficient time to respond when they knocked and announced, but used a battering ram after 15 seconds. The district court granted summary judgment on the aspirin claim, citing qualified immunity, reasoning that there was no clearly established right to over-the-counter drugs during arrest. After trial on the ambulance and entry claims, the court entered directed verdict for the village; the jury delivered a verdict for the officer. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that the aspirin and ambulance issues should have been treated as a single claim, but that the error was harmless. The request for aspirin was inconsequential, given that police called an ambulance promptly when notified that plaintiff was suffering chest pains. Without the aspirin claim, plaintiff had no evidence linking a municipal policy or custom to any constitutional violation. The judge acted within her discretion in barring expert testimony about the 15-second wait and testimony that a reasonable police officer would call an ambulance.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 18, 2011.
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