Background
Kevin Dizmang experienced a psychotic breakdown and walked into traffic. A crisis response unit, including Officer Sean Reed and paramedic Nicholas Fischer, responded. Fischer tackled Dizmang and held him down for approximately eighty-one seconds while Reed applied handcuffs. Dizmang became unresponsive and later died in an emergency room. The Estate sued under Section nineteen eighty-three for excessive force and deliberate indifference.
The court’s reasoning
The court elected to affirm on the second prong of the qualified immunity analysis, finding the right was not clearly established. The Estate relied on Weigel v. Broad, but the court found the conduct materially different because Fischer restrained Dizmang only for the time necessary to handcuff him. The court noted that general statements of law cannot clearly establish a right at too high a level of generality. The Estate also failed to defend its failure-to-intervene claim on appeal and abandoned its deliberate-indifference claim.
Thus, Weigel did not place Fischer on notice that his use of force would subject him to constitutional liability.
Estate of Kevin Dizmang v. Reed, et al., No. 25-1118 (10th Cir. July 6, 2026)
What it means going forward
Paramedics and officers acting in crisis situations may retain qualified immunity if their use of force is limited to the time necessary to secure a suspect, even if the suspect dies during restraint.