A federal appeals court said Monday it does not have jurisdiction to grant a Topeka police officer immunity after a man sued him for excessive force. The legal team of Officer Christopher Janes requested qualified immunity in a lawsuit that claims he used excessive force when arresting Timothy Harris in January of 2018. The measure gives government officials special protection. The arrest happened when Officer Janes said Harris’s car was parked in the wrong direction on the street and arrested him for an outstanding warrant and for reports of wrongful possession of his girlfriend’s things. After Officer Janes put Harris in handcuffs things turned violent, according to the lawsuit. “According to Harris, Janes threw him down onto the curb and street. Because Harris was handcuffed, he could not break his fall and landed face-first on the curb, leaving “blood in the street,” the lawsuit said, ” Janes sprayed Harris with pepper spray and punched him several times.”
(Read more: KSNT News)
