The Denver-based federal appeals court upheld the dismissal last week of a man’s excessive force claims against the city of Colorado Springs and the officer who tased him, causing him to fall down a sloped surface and break his neck.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit declined to say whether those actions from a police officer would amount to a constitutional violation. Instead, it concluded Jacob Root failed to demonstrate how Officer Robert Comstock was clearly on notice that his use of a Taser under the circumstances would violate Root’s constitutional rights.
Further, the fact that Colorado Springs exonerated many of its own officers for using excessive force against others meant there was no pattern of excessive force for him to sue…