Brian Flatoff leaves Winnebago County Court after being sentenced to life in prison, May 16, 2018. PC: Fox 11 Online
NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A federal appeals court Monday upheld a decision dismissing a lawsuit against the City of Neenah related to the 2015 standoff at Eagle Nation Cycles.
Brian Flatoff took multiple people hostage at the store, upset about his motorcycle. During the standoff, police officers shot and killed Michael Funk. The officers were not charged, and a federal lawsuit by Funk’s estate was dismissed.
Ethan Moderson, Ryan Moderson, Michael Peterson, Stephen Erato, and George Fuerte filed suit against the City of Neenah, Sgt. Angela Eichmann, Lt. Shaun O’Bre, Lt. Tyron Thompson, Officer Jonathan Kuffel, Officer Marly Heiting and several others. The suit claimed hostages were treated as if they were criminals, not crime victims, and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
A federal judge dismissed that suit in September 2023, prompting an appeal to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
In a 12-page decision filed Monday, the court sided with the city and the officers.
Click here to view the PDF file.
In terms of the claims about the need to handcuff people, or if they were actual arrests, the court said “In the end, it does not matter whether the record supports these conclusions because the skeletal arguments on which Plaintiffs rely are insufficient to support their Fourth Amendment claims. We affirm the grant of summary judgment to Defendants on Plaintiffs’ Fourth Amendment claims. Because no constitutional violation occurred, we need not reach Plaintiffs’ argument that they are entitled to punitive damages,” the ruling states.
The court affirmed the district court judge’s ruling on qualified immunity for the officers.
“Plaintiffs argue that the district court erred in granting qualified immunity to the officers. Because we conclude that Plaintiffs’ claims are without merit, we do not reach the question of qualified immunity,” the ruling states.
The decision could be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.
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