Ybarra v. City of Chicago

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-police officials’ motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s section 1983 action, alleging that defendants violated 4th Amendment by using excessive force when shooting to death plaintiff’s decedent, during incident in which defendants attempted to arrest decedent after witnessing: (1) occupants in car in which decedent was driving fire gunshots at different car: (2) decedent speed through city streets and eventually crash into four cars before crashing into defendants’ unmarked squad car; and (3) decedent ignoring one defendant’s direction to stop before defendants fired shots into decedent’s car as decedent drove toward defendants in attempt to escape. Defendants’ use of deadly force against decedent did not constitute 4th Amendment violation, where use of deadly force was objectively reasonable means to prevent escape of armed and dangerous suspect, and where decedent’s extremely reckless driving supported defendants’ conclusion that decedent posed grave risk of danger to public located nearby. Moreover, defendants could have reasonably believed that there was still one gun in decedent’s car within decedent’s access at time defendants fired shots at decedent’s car.