CA7: Detention of a minor based on a report from a friend she was suicidal was reasonable

This minor’s § 1983 suit alleges a Fourth Amendment violation when she was taken to a hospital and subjected to a mental health examination based a report from a school friend that she had attempted to kill herself. The police officer who went to the home where she was staying and detained her until a county sheriff’s deputy arrived did not violate her constitutional rights because information that the minor was suicidal supported his decision to maintain custody for a short time. As to the deputy, who ordered the minor into his police car over her protests and those of her father, took her to the hospital against her will, and signed hospital forms with incorrect information, further development of the record was required to determine if the officer’s actions were objectively reasonable and whether the deputy was entitled to qualified immunity. Bruce v. Guernsey, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 1184 (7th Cir. January 26, 2015).