United States Ninth Circuit

In a suit by a student who suffered permanent injury when he was shot in the eye by a pepperball projectile fired from the weapon of a U.C. Davis officer when U.C. Davis and City of Davis police attempted to clear an apartment complex of partying students, alleging that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, the District Court's denial of qualified immunity is affirmed, as defendants' actions amounted to an unconstitutional seizure of plaintiff, and the law at the time of the incident should have placed the defendants on notice that the shooting of the pepperballs under the circumstances was an act of excessive force, thus precluding a judgment of qualified immunity.

Appellate Information

• Decided 07/11/2012
• Published 07/11/2012

Judges

• REINHARDT

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel