Garcia v. Posewitz

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendants-police detective and prosecutor’s motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds in plaintiff’s section 1983 action, alleging that defendants subjected him to false arrest on sexual assault of minor charge, where: (1) said charge was eventually dismissed; and (2) defendants withheld certain facts in criminal complaint that, according to plaintiff, would have negated any finding of probable cause to support his arrest. Dist. Ct. could properly find that defendants were entitled to qualified immunity, where no reasonable jury could find that it would be clear to reasonable officer that information omitted from complaint would have negated probable cause to arrest plaintiff. This is so, Ct. of Appeals determined, because 15-year-old victim gave clear account of alleged assault and any inconsistencies between statements by victim and victim’s mother were minor, and because defendants lacked any indication that victim and her mother had any motive to lie. Also, plaintiff failed to cite to any analogous case that clearly established that sort of facts omitted by defendants, such as certain inconsistencies in versions of assault given by victim and her mother and lack of video evidence to corroborate claim of sexual assault, was material to probable cause determination.