Supreme Court of California

The Court of Appeals reversal of the trial court's barring of the defendant's civil claims in an action under section 1983 and common law battery in a situation where the handcuffed plaintiff was resisting officers and was accidentally shot when an officer mistakenly pulled out and fired his pistol instead of his Taser gun is affirmed in part and reversed in part where: 1) defendant's 1983 claim is barred to the extent it alleges that the defendant lacked justification to arrest him or to respond with reasonable force to his resistance; and 2) the analysis for common law battery is similar to the 1983 claim to the extent that plaintiff does not deny that he resisted the officers he poses no challenge to his conviction and his cause of action against the defendant for use of deadly force is not barred.

Appellate Information

• Decided 05/19/2008
• Published 05/19/2008

Judges

• BAXTER, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• The Cochran Firm and Brian T. Dunn, Los Angeles, for Plaintiff and Appellant.


• For Appellees:
  
• Samuel L. Jackson and Eileen M. Teichert, City Attorneys, and Matthew D. Ruyak, Deputy City Attorney, for Defendants and Respondents., Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller, Johnsen & Uhrhammer and Christopher W. Miller, Sacramento, for The Peace Officers Research Association of California Legal Defense Fund as Amicus Curie on behalf of Defendants and Respondents., Meyers, Nave, Riback, Silver & Wilson and Alan M. Cohen, Oakland, for League of California Cities as Amicus Curie on behalf of Defendants and Respondents.