A police officer was shielded by qualified immunity from a claim that he violated residents’ civil rights when he entered into a home uninvited to check on the welfare of an adult suffering from dementia, a federal judge ruled March 31.
Western District of New York Judge Frank Geraci Jr. said the basic parameters of the conduct of Orchard Park Police Department Lt. Joseph Buccilli was permissible for officers responding, as Buccilli was, to a possible crisis where others’ lives or health could be at stake based on a 911 call.
