Rocky Thomas Traversie v. Matthew Starr

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 18-1342
___________________________
Rocky Thomas Traversie
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellant
v.
Matthew Starr; Matthew Hanisch; Dave Dunteman, police officers at Sioux Falls
Police Department, in their individual and official capacities
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendants - Appellees
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of South Dakota - Sioux Falls
____________
Submitted: November 26, 2018
Filed: December 3, 2018
[Unpublished]
____________
Before KELLY, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.

-- 1 of 2 --

Rocky Traversie appeals the district court’s rulings limiting discovery and the1
grant of summary judgment to three Sioux Falls Police Department officers on his
excessive-force claims. We affirm the judgment of the district court. See 8th Cir.
R. 47B.
We first conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying
Traversie’s discovery requests. See Sheets v. Butera, 389 F.3d 772, 780 (8th Cir.
2004) (explaining that an appellate court’s review of discovery rulings is “very
deferential” and that such rulings will not be reversed “absent a gross abuse of
discretion resulting in fundamental unfairness” (citation omitted)). We also conclude
that the police officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the summary-judgment
record before the district court. See Rohrbough v. Hall, 586 F.3d 582, 585 (8th Cir.
2009) (explaining that a police officer is entitled to qualified immunity on an
excessive-force claim “unless the evidence viewed favorably to [the plaintiff]
supports a finding that [the officer’s] conduct violated a constitutional right, and that
constitutional right was so ‘clearly established’ at the time of the alleged violation
that a reasonable officer would have known that his conduct was unlawful” (citation
omitted)).
______________________________
The Honorable Karen E. Schreier, United States District Judge for the District1
of South Dakota.
-2-

-- 2 of 2 --