Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit November 8, 1990, 313, Docket 90-7497 (Jonas Magnotti v. Walter J. Kuntz, Individually and in His Official Capacity as an Officer in the Police Department of New Haven, Ct)

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, Circuit Judge:

Government officials are personally liable for damages when, acting under color of law, they deprive an individual of “any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution.” 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The “qualified immunity” doctrine has arisen as a judicially-created counterbalance to this threat of civil punishment.