CA8: Including false information and excluding important exculpatory information in an affidavit for arrest denies the officer qualified immunity

Including false information and excluding important exculpatory information in an affidavit for arrest denies the officer qualified immunity. Williams v. City of Alexander, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 23023 (8th Cir. December 8, 2014), summary from the court:

A reasonable jury could find that defendant violated plaintiff’s rights when he caused plaintiff to be arrested for theft of city property because there was no probable cause to believe plaintiff had deprived the city of its property in connection with a payroll check incident. A reasonable jury could find that plaintiff’s constitutional rights were violated when he was arrested for theft based on cashing a duplicate payroll check. Thus, defendant was not entitled to qualified immunity as a reasonable official would understand that including false information in and omitting relevant information from an arrest warrant affidavit in an attempt to punish plaintiff for supporting defendant’s political opponent would constitute a violation of clearly established constitutional rights. The district court’s denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity is affirmed.