Cibulka v. City of Madison

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-police officials' motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs' section 1983 action, after finding that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, even though plaintiffs asserted that defendants falsely arrested plaintiff-father and used excessive force by handcuffing him, taking him to ground and applying pressure to father's head when attempting to place him in squad car. Record showed that: (1) plaintiffs' daughter had called police to make welfare check on plaintiffs because they were extremely intoxicated and were indicating that they would be driving their car; and (2) defendants had probable cause to arrest plaintiff-father on disorderly conduct and resisting officer charges, where father admitted in deposition that his conduct amounted to active resistance to police directives under circumstances where police used several techniques to try to keep father from hurting himself on street. Moreover, qualified immunity was appropriate because plaintiffs admitted that they could not identify any case law that clearly prohibited level of force used by instant defendants, especially where case law indicated that police are not required to simply walk away and permit possibly intoxicated individual to potentially harm himself and others.