Sherry Prunty v. Corey Obregon

Summary

The Eighth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Jonesboro police officer Corey Obregon in the estate's § 1983 action arising from the fatal shooting of Jayden Prunty during a 2022 street encounter. The court held that Obregon did not seize Prunty by ordering him to 'come here,' because a seizure requires physical force or submission to authority, and that once Obregon pushed Prunty to the ground he had reasonable suspicion of unlawful marijuana possession—supported by the odor of marijuana, Prunty's flight and evasive behavior, and the high-crime area—notwithstanding Arkansas's medical-marijuana amendment and the plaintiffs' unsupported claim that the officer lied about the odor. Prunty's flight independently supplied probable cause to arrest for misdemeanor fleeing, and both the takedown and Obregon's firing of two shots into the back of Prunty's head after being shot in the leg were objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment, even assuming Prunty's gun discharged accidentally.