Raiche v. Pietroski

Officer Jamie Pietroski suffered a late-night lapse in judgment and forcibly removed a compliant Matthew Raiche from his stopped motorcycle in order to arrest Raiche for, ironically, failure to stop. A jury saw the irony and, after a trial on a number of related civil rights claims, awarded Raiche damages for injuries sustained as a result of Pietroski’s use of excessive force. Pietroski filed post-trial motions (1) for judgment as a matter of law on the ground that he was entitled to qualified immunity because he had acted reasonably, and (2) for a new trial on the ground that the jury’s verdict was not supported by the evidence. The district court denied Pietroski’s motions and entered judgment for Raiche.

Pietroski now appeals the district court’s denial of his post-trial motions and challenges the validity of the jury verdict on the basis that the evidence does not support a finding of excessive force. After careful review of the record, we agree with the district court that the evidence supports a finding that Pietroski acted unreasonably and may not avail himself of qualified immunity’s protection. We affirm.