The city of Topeka asked a federal judge Wednesday to dismiss the claim against Topeka police officer Christopher Janes cited in a federal lawsuit being pursued by Timothy Harris, who suffered a broken jaw last year in an incident involving Janes.
Shelly Starr, the city’s chief of litigation, filed a motion contending Janes is entitled to qualified immunity because his use of force wasn’t an “arbitrary governmental action” and didn’t violate Harris’ constitutional rights.
Qualified immunity shields government officials performing discretionary functions from liability for civil damages if their conduct doesn’t violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.
(Read more: Local – The Topeka Capital-Journal)