Kelsay v. Ernst, No. 17-2181 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit reversed the district court's denial of a deputy's motion for summary judgment in a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action, alleging that the deputy used excessive force while arresting plaintiff. The court held that the deputy did not violate a clearly established right of plaintiff under the Fourth Amendment, and thus he was entitled to qualified immunity. In this case, it was not clearly established at the time that a deputy was forbidden to use a takedown maneuver to arrest a suspect who ignored the deputy's instruction to "get back here" and continued to walk away from the officer.
Court Description: Colloton, writing for the Court En Banc] Civil case - Civil rights. Plaintiff brought this suit alleging defendant used excessive force while arresting her, and defendant moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity; the district court denied the motion and defendant appeals. Held: defendant did not violate a clearly established right of plaintiff under the Fourth Amendment when he took her to the ground and injured her, and the denial of summary judgment is reversed; it was not clearly established in May, 2014 that a deputy was forbidden to use a takedown maneuver to arrest a suspect who ignored the deputy's instruction to "get back here" and continued to walk away from the officer. Smith, Chief Judge, with whom Kelly, Erickson and Grasz join, dissenting. Judge Grasz, dissenting.
This opinion or order relates to an opinion or order originally issued on September 27, 2018.
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.