DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa Supreme Court says a police officer who shot and killed a man is not necessarily protected under qualified immunity, reopening a previously dismissed wrongful death lawsuit.
The Estate of Brent Boggess sued the City of Waterloo after Waterloo police officer Kenneth Schaaf shot and killed him on November 16, 2021.
Police on patrol early that morning began the chase after an officer radioed that Boggess tried to hit him with his truck.
Police say Boggess led them on a nine-minute chase through a neighborhood. Police blocked him in an alley near his home. Officers got out of their vehicles and spoke with Boggess through the window. Boggess then drove his car into an unoccupied police cruiser. That’s when Waterloo police officer Kenneth Schaaf shot at him six times, killing him.
Five months later, the Black Hawk County Attorney’s Office concluded that the shooting was justified.
Boggess’s widow filed a wrongful death lawsuit a year after the shooting.
A federal judge in Black Hawk County District Court ruled that while Officer Schaaf may have violated Boggess’ right to be free from unreasonable seizure, he is immune from federal prosecution under qualified immunity.
Boggess family appealed the decision, sending it to the Iowa Supreme Court.
The Iowa Supreme Court says the federal court relied on the state’s local and state justifications to rule qualified immunity. However, based on previous cases, Officer Schaaf would not be protected under qualified immunity.
The case returns to state court for redeliberation.
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