Background
Douglas Diamond was shot and killed during a welfare check by Clackamas County and City of Sandy law enforcement officers. Diamond’s estate sued the City of Sandy, Clackamas County, and officers Michael Boyes, William Wetherbee, and Sergeant Sean Collinson, alleging violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court denied qualified immunity, finding triable issues of fact regarding excessive force and holding Sergeant Collinson liable under the integral participant doctrine.
The court’s reasoning
The Ninth Circuit reviewed the qualified immunity decision de novo but limited its scope to the second prong of the analysis: whether the law was clearly established. The court found no precedent placing officers on notice that using less-lethal force to disarm an irrational, suicidal individual with a loaded handgun in his pocket violated the Fourth Amendment. The court distinguished this case from prior excessive force precedents where suspects were unarmed, compliant, or posed no immediate threat. Regarding the integral participant doctrine, the court found no evidence that Sergeant Collinson agreed to a common plan involving unconstitutional conduct or acquiesced in it, as the officers reasonably treated the situation as a dangerous encounter.
What it means going forward
The case is remanded to the district court to proceed on excessive force, failure to train, and state law claims against the City of Sandy, County of Clackamas, and Officer Boyes, while the qualified immunity claims against Officers Wetherbee and Collinson are dismissed.