Estate of Williams, v. Cline, No. 17-2603 (7th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseAfter a chase and takedown, a Milwaukee Police Department (MPD officer remained on top of Williams after he was handcuffed. Williams stated, repeatedly that he could not breathe, even after the officer shifted his weight. The officer’s radio transmission was recorded, and Williams can be heard complaining that he could not breathe. Williams, a 22-year-old African American man in good physical shape, went limp when the officers lifted him up. Williams subsequently began sweating and breathing heavily and, when he regained consciousness, would complain of being unable to breathe. Officers did not call for help until several minutes after he was discovered to have no pulse and to have stopped breathing. Williams apparently died in the squad car, leaving three children. The cause of death is disputed. The estate sued under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The court denied a defense motion for summary judgment of qualified immunity. The Seventh Circuit remanded for an individual analysis of each officer’s claim of qualified immunity. The court noted material issues of fact concerning whether the officers were on notice of Williams’s serious medical condition; each officer had a different degree of contact with Williams and had different assigned responsibilities with respect to the apprehension of Williams and investigation of the alleged armed robbery.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.