Mendoza v. City of Peoria Ex Rel. Police Department

MEMORANDUM

In February 2011, Peoria Police Canine Officer Aaron Brewer was deployed to the home of David Dominguez Mendoza to aid in the execution of a search warrant relating to a residential burglary for which Mendoza was a suspect. Mendoza hid in a shed in the backyard while officers cleared the home. In the course of discovering Mendoza and taking him into custody, Brewer ordered his police dog to bite Mendoza, resulting in severe injuries to Mendoza’s left forearm. Mendoza filed this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . action against Brewer, the SWAT supervisor, and the City of Peoria. The district court denied Brewer’s motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds. Over two months later, Brewer filed a motion for reconsideration, which the district court denied. Brewer appeals both decisions. We dismiss in part and affirm in part.

The facts are familiar to the parties and are restated here only as necessary to resolve the legal issues of the appeal.

1. Brewer’s notice of appeal of the district court’s ruling on summary judgment is untimely under Rule 4(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. United States v. Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., 513 F.3d 1085, 1100-01…