Decedent died in a police car with an RIPP restraint bending him backwards. That\u2019s a seizure, and the officers here do not get qualified immunity in the excessive force claim. Gonzalez v. City of Phx., 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 426 (9th Cir. Jan. 8, 2026).* From the syllabus, omitting concurrence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
The panel affirmed the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to Phoenix Police Department officers in a suit alleging that after apprehending decedent Timothy Lopez following a foot chase, the officers used excessive force by applying a RIPP hobble restraint that bent Lopez’s body upward into a hogtied position while he lay face down in a police vehicle, during which he became unresponsive, and was later pronounced dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel first held that the officers’ actions of placing and transporting Lopez in a RIPP constituted a seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes. The panel next held that viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, Lopez’s mother, a jury could determine that the officers’ use of force was unreasonable because the RIPP restraint exerted significant pressure on Lopez’s chest, restricting his ability to breathe and unnecessarily creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. Furthermore, the law from this circuit has long established that in a situation in which an arrestee surrenders and is rendered helpless, any reasonable officer would know that a continued use of force or a refusal without cause to alleviate its harmful effects constitutes excessive force. Accordingly, the panel affirmed the district court and remanded for further proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Decedent died in a police car with an RIPP restraint bending him backwards. That\u2019s a seizure, and the officers here do not get qualified immunity in the excessive force claim. Gonzalez v. City of Phx., 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 426 … Continue reading