ATF Agent Burk Lawsuit: Qualified Immunity and $1.8M Payout

ATF Special Agent James Burk’s lawsuit against the City of Columbus and two of its police officers ended with a federal jury awarding him more than $1.6 million in November 2024 for excessive force and unlawful detention, followed by an $1.8 million settlement approved by the Columbus City Council in February 2025. The case grew out of a July 2020 encounter in which Officers Joseph Fihe and Kevin Winchell held Burk at gunpoint, tased him, handcuffed him, and detained him in a cruiser after responding to a 911 call about a suspected police impersonator, only to discover he was a federal agent doing his job.

The July 2020 Encounter

Burk went to a home on Edgebrook Drive on the northwest side of Columbus on July 7, 2020, to retrieve a firearm from a resident flagged through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System as prohibited from purchasing one. He was not in uniform, wore no identifying badge on the outside of his clothing, and had not notified Columbus police that he would be working in their area.¹

The resident, Sarah Al Maliki, did not believe Burk was a federal agent and called 911 at about 1:54 p.m. Columbus dispatched Fihe and Winchell for a possible burglary and impersonation of a police officer. The computer-assisted dispatch notes available to the officers en route included that the man at the scene had identified himself as with the ATF, given his name as “Jim Burk,” and provided a badge number.¹

Fihe arrived around 2:03 p.m. Within roughly six seconds of addressing Burk, he drew his weapon and held Burk at gunpoint. Burk told the officer he was “a federal fucking agent” and continued identifying himself throughout the encounter. Fihe ordered him to the ground and called a “10-3,” a signal that an officer is in trouble. Winchell arrived about two minutes later and also drew on Burk, who then got on the ground.¹

Face down on the ground, Burk told the officers his identification was in his left pocket and asked them to check it. They moved to handcuff him instead. At 2:06 p.m., Fihe deployed a Taser on Burk as Winchell secured the second cuff. Only after Burk was restrained did the officers retrieve his badge and credentials, confirming his identity at about 2:07 p.m. They then forced him into the back of a cruiser, where he remained for roughly an hour before being released without charges.²³

Fihe later testified that dispatch had described a badge with “no name or number on it at all, just a simple badge,” which he said sounded like something from a “gumball machine.” He believed he was responding to a violent felony impersonation and testified that even after physically examining the credentials he was “not convinced” they were real, describing Burk’s equipment as part of what he interpreted as an “increasingly sophisticated impersonation effort.” He also cited Burk’s demeanor, saying it was “not the way police conduct themselves.”¹⁴

The Claims Burk Filed

Burk and his wife, Summer Hilfers, filed suit on December 4, 2020, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, before Judge James L. Graham. The defendants were the City of Columbus, Officer Fihe, and Officer Winchell. The complaint raised five counts:⁵

Excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Fourth Amendment).
A Monell claim against the City of Columbus alleging its policies and customs caused the constitutional violations.
Malicious, willful, wanton, and reckless misconduct.
Intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Loss of consortium, brought by Hilfers based on the injuries her husband sustained.

The suit also alleged Fihe and Winchell had shared body camera footage of the encounter “broadly within the Columbus Police Department and others outside CPD” to “ridicule and embarrass” Burk.³

Qualified Immunity Rejected

The officers moved for summary judgment in August 2023, arguing they were entitled to qualified immunity, the doctrine that shields government officials from civil liability unless they violated a “clearly established” right. In a February 2024 opinion, Judge Graham granted the motion only on the Monell claim against the city, which the plaintiffs had effectively dropped. He denied it on every other count.¹

The court evaluated each use of force separately: the initial gunpoint detention, the Taser, and the continued detention after credentials were verified. On the initial gunpoint detention, the court found that a jury could reasonably conclude the officers’ conduct was not objectively reasonable given the information they already had from dispatch, and that it violated a clearly established constitutional right. That ruling cleared the way for trial.¹

The Jury Verdict

Trial began around November 12, 2024, and lasted about two weeks. The jury sided with Burk on four of the nine counts submitted, finding that Fihe and Winchell used excessive force and unlawfully detained him. It did not find the officers liable for the specific act of tasing him or for handcuffing him.⁶³

The total award was $1,610,000, which included $10,000 in punitive damages against Fihe. The jury also found that the officers’ actions caused Burk to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder, mental anguish, and pain and suffering, and that Hilfers suffered a loss of consortium.⁷

The $1.8 Million Settlement

After the verdict, the city filed post-trial motions including a request for a new trial, and Burk’s side filed for attorneys’ fees. On February 10, 2025, while those motions and an appeal were pending, the Columbus City Council approved a settlement of $1.8 million to cover the jury award plus interest and attorneys’ fees. The settlement was conditioned on dismissal of all post-trial motions and the case, along with a release of all claims by the plaintiffs. Mayor Andrew Ginther signed the authorizing ordinance on February 12, 2025.⁸⁷

The city’s solicitor general called the settlement a “more affordable option than continuing the appeals process.”⁸

What the City Said

Columbus officials disagreed with the jury. George Speaks, deputy director of the Columbus Department of Public Safety, told the city council: “Our officers simply were not at fault in this case. I believe if we tried this case 10 times before 10 different juries, quite frankly, I believe we’d win eight or nine times.” He acknowledged that he and the city attorneys had “lost a lot of sleep over this jury verdict.” Burk’s attorney, Abby Chin, countered that the city could have settled for “much less” earlier in what had been a four-year litigation.⁶⁸

Aftermath for Burk and the Officers

The incident ended Burk’s field career. After July 2020, the ATF moved him from investigative work to a purely administrative and support role because he could not continue functioning in the field.⁴ Speaks said the ATF was in the process of terminating Burk after the incident, but Burk reached a separate settlement with the agency and took disability retirement.⁸

Fihe and Winchell, both with the Columbus Division of Police since 2001, remained employed by the department as of the November 2024 trial. Available reporting contains no indication that either officer faced internal discipline, termination, or criminal charges as a result of the encounter.³

1
GovInfo. Burk v. City of Columbus, No. 2:20-cv-6256 — Opinion and Order
2
WOSU. Body Camera Footage Shows Columbus Police Officers Pointing Guns, Tazing ATF Agent
3
NBC4i. ATF Agent Wins $1.6 Million in Lawsuit Against Columbus Police Over 2020 Arrest
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Yahoo News. ATF Agent Wins $1.6 Million in Lawsuit Against Columbus Police Over 2020 Arrest
5
NBC4i. Burk v. City of Columbus — Complaint
6
Columbus Dispatch. Columbus Settles With Ex-ATF Agent Detained, Tased by City Police
7
Columbus Legistar. Ordinance 0323-2025 — Burk v. City of Columbus Settlement
8
NBC4i. Columbus Settles With ATF Agent for $1.8 Million