Jon Holland v. Martin Simmerman

Summary

The Eighth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the dismissal of the Holland family's § 1983 and state-law claims arising from Officer Martin Simmerman's fatal shooting of George Holland after an armed standoff. It held that the body-camera videos blatantly contradict the allegation that Holland took no menacing action, so the first volley of shots was objectively reasonable and Simmerman is entitled to qualified immunity on those shots. It nevertheless reversed dismissal of the excessive-force count because the complaint alleges that all fifteen shots and six strikes collectively were excessive, the videos do not depict Holland's conduct during the second and third volleys, and the district court impermissibly narrowed the claim to the first volley; the dependent dismissals of the state-law official-immunity counts and the Monell count were remanded for reconsideration. Judge Kelly concurred in part and dissented in part, concluding the video quality prevents a confident reading of Holland's pistol movements and that the footage does not blatantly contradict the Hollands' allegations as to the first volley.