Florida Officers Lose Bid for Immunity in Excessive Force Case

Two police officers in Florida aren’t entitled to qualified immunity at this time from civil rights claims of unreasonable search and excessive force, the Eleventh Circuit decided Friday.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to deny Ocean Ridge officers Richard Ermeri and Nubia Plesnik qualified immunity, because a jury could reasonably find that they violated Richard Lucibella’s clearly established constitutional rights during his arrest.

Lucibella was arrested and charged with discharging a firearm while intoxicated, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer. A jury in Florida found him not guilty on all ...