Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Commentary : In Their Opinion : Lawyer & Attorney Michael E. Rigney : Kelley Drye & Warren Law Firm

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SALLENGER v. CITY OF SPRINGFIELD (December 17, 2010)

In early 2002, Andrew Sallenger was living with his mother, his sister, and his sister's four children at his mother's house in Springfield, Illinois. Sallenger suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. In the middle of the night on April 30, Sallenger experienced a psychotic episode. He was screaming, breaking things, and running around the house naked. His sister called 911. She warned the police of his condition and his strength (6 feet tall, 262 pounds). Three officers responded and eventually, although not without great difficulty, were able to subdue him. They used a hobble, a device that limits movement by strapping one's lower legs to one's hands. A few minutes after the officers subdued Sallenger with a hobble, he stopped breathing. The officers removed the hobble and administered CPR, without success. Sallenger’s Estate brought several claims against the officers and the City, including a § 1983 claim alleging a Fourth Amendment violation for failing to adequately respond to Sallenger’s medical needs and a Monell claim against the City for failure to train in the use of the hobble. They also brought excessive force claims against the three officers. Those claims were tried to a jury and resolved in the officers' favor. Judge Scott (C.D. Ill.) granted summary judgment against the Estate on the medical needs and Monell claims. The Estate appeals.

In their opinion, Seventh Circuit Judges Posner, Rovner, and Sykes affirmed. The Court applied an objective reasonableness standard to the medical needs claim and considered four criteria: the need for medical attention, the severity of the need, the nature of the required treatment, and any police interests. The Estate's case rests on the timing of two police calls and the inferences that can be drawn from them. One call came in at 2:15 a.m. In that call, one of the officers reported that Sallenger was unconscious. The second call, which came in at 2:22 a.m., was from a police lieutenant reporting that he was at the scene. Combined with the fact that the lieutenant was present when efforts to resuscitate began, the Estate argues that it is entitled to an inference that the officers waited seven minutes after knowing Sallenger was unconscious before they tried to resuscitate him. The Court rejected this inference. All inferences must be drawn in the Estate’s favor on summary judgment, but those inferences must be reasonable. Here, the officers and Sallenger's sister all testified that resuscitation efforts began as soon as they knew that he was unconscious. The lieutenant also testified that his call did not necessarily take place immediately upon his arrival. In light of that testimony, and without more support, the inference requested by the Estate is unreasonable. The Court also agreed with the district court's summary judgment ruling on the Monell claim. A municipality cannot be liable unless there is an underlying constitutional violation by an employee. Here, a jury found that none of the officers was liable for a constitutional violation on the excessive force claim and the Court affirmed summary judgment for the officers on the medical needs claim. Therefore, there can be no municipal liability.