Shannon v. Koehler - Northern District of Iowa

that although officers “acted correctly given the circumstances with which they were
presented” up until a point, “the use of force by the officers was ‘totally unwarranted’”);
Kladis v. Brezek, 823 F.2d 1014, 1019 (7th Cir. 1987) (affirming district court’s decision
to allow police expert “to testify as to proper level of force to be used by police in various
situations” where expert witness “testified as to his credentials and informed the court that
he frequently instructs police officers in the proper use of force”). Still, expert testimony
in excessive force cases is not always necessary or appropriate:
Although in some instances expert testimony may assist the
jury in determining whether an officer used excessive force,
see Kladis [, 823 F.2d at 1019], expert testimony is by no
means required in all excessive force cases. Since the question
of excessive force is so fact-intensive, the jury will often be
“in as good a position as the experts” to decide whether the
officer’s conduct was “objectively reasonable.” Thompson v.
City of Chicago, 472 F.3d 444, 458 (7th Cir. 2006).
United States v. DiSantis, 565 F.3d 354, 364 (7th Cir. 2009).
I have reviewed Stine’s materials and the parties’ Final Pretrial Order, in which
Shannon indicates that Stine will testify to “police practices and procedures and the
procedures Michael Koehler used on September 13, 2006.” See Final Pretrial Order at 2
(docket no. 115). The parties have not submitted sufficient information for me to
determine whether Stine is qualified under Rule 702 to testify as an expert in this field.
He has extensive experience as a police chief and police trainer, but nearly all of his
experience has occurred in Pennsylvania, though he states his “expertise in these areas has
been accepted in numerous state and federal courts.” See Defendants’ Exhibit 1, Joseph
J. Stine’s Expert Opinion Report at 1 (docket no. 99-2). His opinions regarding Koehler’s
conduct appear to be based mostly on “generally accepted practice and procedure for a
professional police officer,” see Defendants’ Exhibit 1, Joseph J. Stine’s Expert Opinion
61