Archuleta v. McShan

EBEL, Circuit Judge.

This appeal concerns the asserted constitutional rights of a three-year-old child who witnessed a police officer’s violent arrest of the child’s father. The child brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that his liberty interest under the Fourteenth Amendment was violated as a result of his witnessing the arrest.1 The district court entered summary judgment in favor of the police officer and his superiors, holding that the officer’s conduct was not directed toward the child and that the child therefore did not have his constitutional rights violated. We affirm.

Facts

In…