No. 22-2749 ___________________________

Clara Cheeks

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jon Belmar, Individually and in his Official Capacity as St. Louis County, Missouri, Chief of Police; Saint Louis County, Missouri; M. Broniec, M.SGT, Trooper of MSHP (Individually); Paul Kempke, SGT., Trooper of MSHP (Individually); B.A. Teague, CPL., Trooper for MSHP; Individually

Defendants

Mark Jakob, Individual capacity; Frank L. Maloy, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Alex Maloy

Defendants - Appellants ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ____________

Submitted: April 13, 2023 Filed: September 1, 2023 ____________ Before BENTON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ GRASZ, Circuit Judge. Clara Cheeks sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on behalf of her son, Mikel Neil, who died in a vehicle accident while fleeing St. Louis County police officers Alex Maloy 1 and Mark Jakob. Cheeks claimed the officers failed to provide medical aid in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and the officers filed a motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The district court 2 denied the motion, concluding there were genuine disputes of material facts that prevented it from holding the officers were entitled to immunity at this stage of the proceedings. We affirm.

I. Background3

On August 10, 2018, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Neil crashed into a tree and died at the scene of the accident. The parties agree that Officers Maloy and Jakob had pursued Neil, who was driving a Hyundai Elantra, for an alleged red-light violation. But the parties dispute what led to the accident. Officers Maloy and Jakob claim Neil simply lost control of his car, veered off the road, and collided with a tree. However, Cheeks maintains that Officer Maloy, who was driving the police vehicle, performed a “PIT” maneuver,4 causing Neil’s car to “go into a spin” and crash into the tree. To support this claim, Cheeks submitted evidence from an

1 This action was initially brought against Alex Maloy, who has since passed away. His father, Frank Maloy, was substituted as the proper party. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(a). 2 The Honorable Sarah E. Pitlyk, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri. 3 We recite the background facts as set forth in the district court’s summary judgment opinion. See Riggs v. Gibbs, 923 F.3d 518, 521 (8th Cir. 2019) (explaining we must accept as true the facts the district court found were adequately supported unless they are blatantly contradicted by the record). Certain additional facts are taken from the record. 4 In a PIT maneuver, a police officer will use his or her vehicle to make intentional contact with the suspect’s fleeing vehicle to force an end to the pursuit. -2- eyewitness who stated under oath that he saw the police vehicle bump Neil’s vehicle, which caused it to crash. The officers deny utilizing a PIT maneuver. Cheeks contends that video recordings capturing the moments prior to the crash and witness testimony demonstrates Officers Maloy and Jakob either observed or should have observed the crash. Even though the officers did not render aid or call for medical assistance, an eyewitness to the accident called 911 within 30 seconds of the crash. Neil died at the scene.