Farrell v. Montoya, 878 F.3d 933 (10th Cir. Dec. 27, 2017).

Farrell argued that Officer Montoya had violated her Fourth Amendment Rights by firing three shots at her minivan as she drove away from a traffic stop. The Tenth Circuit held that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity against a claim of excessive force. Under the Fourth Amendment, a claim for excessive force requires a seizure of the suspect. A seizure can only occur if the suspect submits to police authority, and it must be more than a temporary halt. Because the minivan was fleeing when Montoya fired the shots, no seizure occurred, and a claim for excessive force could not succeed.