Is a police officer entitled to qualified immunity from liability for damages for deprivation of an individual's civil rights?

8 The police officers also argue that they are entitled to a qualified immunity from liability for damages for deprivation of an individual's civil rights. See Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U.S. 555, 561-62, 98 S.Ct. 855, 859-60, 55 L.Ed.2d 24 (1978) (in section 1983 actions for damages defendants are entitled to a qualified immunity from liability based on good faith belief in the propriety of their actions and reasonable grounds for that belief). Qualified or "good faith" immunity is, however, an affirmative defense that must be pleaded by a defendant official. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 815, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 2736-37, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1981). Because answers have not yet been filed in this case, the issue of qualified immunity was not raised or decided below. We decline to reach it for the first time on appeal.