5th Circuit

In disgusting opinion, court affords qualified immunity to sole officer on duty at jail who observed prisoner, who had said he wanted to kill himself, had previously received psychiatric services, and who had earlier been placed on suicide watch, fatally strangle himself with phone cord in his cell; officer called fellow officer for backup and declined to enter cell for ten minutes until second officer arrived; neither officer attempted resuscitation and waited seven more minutes for paramedics to do so; court holds it was unconstitutional for officer not to call for emergency assistance im

Plaintiffs arrested for engaging in organized criminal activity properly alleged Franks violation where after excluding materially false statements from affidavit and considering material omitted, all that remained was that they were at the scene of a shooting wearing common identifying distinct signs or symbols.

Affirming denial of summary judgment to officers who arrested and detained plaintiff’s decedent and failed to provide him with any medical attention despite patently visible blood and contusions and the detainee’s repeated complaints of head injuries, demonstrating their indifference by harassing and openly laughing at him.

Where plaintiff was indicted by grand jury before arrest, independent-intermediary doctrine protected officer from false arrest claim, absent evidence that officer provided false information or made material omissions.

Arrestee’s equal protection claim failed where he did not allege either that he was treated differently that persons similarly situated to him or that officer acted with discriminatory intent.

Court unjustifiably overrules district court, which found that issues of fact precluded summary judgment, and affords qualified immunity to officers for (1) take down of unarmed plaintiff who had been pulled over for non-violent traffic offense, based on “slight movement” and “tension” in plaintiff’s arm, which would have been insufficient but for so-called aggravating factors that plaintiff continued driving for a couple of minutes after officer engaged lights and siren, incident occurred in “high-crime area,” plaintiff was taller than officers, plaintiff expressed anger and frustration, s

Use of deadly force against suspect who repeatedly ignored commands such as to show her hands, place hands on hood of vehicle, or get down, and who then reached her hand behind her back toward waistband, which officer perceived to be a reach for a weapon, did not violate clearly established rights.

Fact disputes precluded summary judgment as to whether decedent was resisting or posed threat of serious physical injury so as to warrant prone maximal-restraint position; despite Scott v. Harris, 5th Circuit treats deadly force as a “special subset of excessive force claims”; prone maximal-restraint position poses substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury and thus is deadly force; unnecessarily placing person in prone maximal-restraint position is a violation of clearly established rights foreclosing qualified immunity.

Licensed clinical social worker, employee of private organization that contracted with jails and prisons to provide health services, was categorically not entitled to claim qualified immunity.

Firing tasers at man threatening to kill himself and burn down house with other people present, as he stood in bedroom that smelled of gas, holding gas can, poured gas over himself, and held an object in his hand that appeared to be a lighter, causing him to burst into flames causing his death, did not constitute excessive force, despite officer’s warning that use of taser would light man on fire.