Opinion ID: 78270
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Deputy Lister's Alleged Use of Excessive Force

Text: Before analyzing the threshold issue of whether Lister violated Crenshaw's constitutional right to be free from excessive force, it is first necessary to determine the operative facts surrounding the canine incident. Although it is unusual for a case decided at the summary judgment stage, the only facts relevant to the issue on appeal are contained in Crenshaw's complaint, the police reports attached to his complaint, and his summary judgment response. According to the allegations in the complaint, police officers pursued Crenshaw in his vehicle under the belief that he had just committed one, and possibly two, armed robberies. Crenshaw did not relent and, at one point during the pursuit, exited his vehicle and fled by foot into a wooded area. Lister, who never lost sight of Crenshaw, tracked him into this wooded area, at which point Crenshaw laid on the ground and shouted out his location in an attempt to surrender. The canine then located Crenshaw and bit him 31 times in the legs. At no point did Crenshaw resist Lister or the canine. According to Crenshaw's summary judgment response, Lister did not call off the canine until after he had handcuffed Crenshaw. In addition to the allegations in the pleadings, Crenshaw's version of the incident also includes the information contained in the police reports attached to his complaint. This is so because these attachments to the complaint constitute a part of the pleading for all purposes. Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(c). Moreover, as part of Crenshaw's complaint, the police reports add several relevant facts to the operative version of the incident, which, notably, do not conflict with any of Crenshaw's allegations. First, the police reports of Lister and Merritt provide that the incident occurred some time after 5:45 p.m. in late November, suggesting that it was dark outside. [4] Second, these police reports clarify that Crenshaw did not peacefully exit his vehicle and flee into the woods, but rather did so only after crashing his vehicle into a marked patrol car. Third, all three police reports establish that the three officers believed that Crenshaw was armed. In addition to supplementing Crenshaw's general allegations, the police reports also contradict one of Crenshaw's specific allegations, namely that Lister and Merritt never lost sight of Crenshaw in the woods. This allegation is significant because, if true, it would have given some credibility to Crenshaw's attempt to surrender and potentially rendered the use of the canine unnecessary. However, the police reports submitted by Lister and Merritt indicate that the first time they became aware of Crenshaw's precise location was when he shouted out I am over here. Indeed, there would have been no reason for Crenshaw to shout this remark if the officers already knew where he was. In addition, Merritt's report provided that Crenshaw was covered up in thick brush and, in this respect, Crenshaw's speculative allegation about what the officers saw is called into further doubt by the fact that Lister and Merritt both stated that the brush was so thick that they had to crawl on their stomachs just to make their way through the woods. It is the law in this Circuit that when the exhibits contradict the general and conclusory allegations of the pleading, the exhibits govern. Griffin Industries, Inc. v. Irvin, 496 F.3d 1189, 1206 (11th Cir.2007); see Simmons v. Peavy-Welsh Lumber Co., 113 F.2d 812, 813 (5th Cir. 1940) (Where there is a conflict between allegations in a pleading and exhibits thereto, it is well settled that the exhibits control.). [5] Because the officers' police reports attached to the complaint refute Crenshaw's conclusory and speculative allegation about what the officers saw, we do not credit Crenshaw's allegation. This conclusion is further supported by the fact that Crenshaw relied on the police reports in his complaint to support this allegation. See Thompson v. Illinois Dept. of Professional Regulation, 300 F.3d 750, 754 (7th Cir.2002) (The fact remains that where a plaintiff attaches documents and relies upon the documents to form the basis for a claim or part of a claim, dismissal is appropriate if the document negates the claim.). Under Crenshaw's version of the incident, as determined above, Crenshaw has not shown that Lister violated his constitutional right to be free from excessive force. This is so because, under the circumstances, it was objectively reasonable for Lister to use a canine to locate and apprehend Crenshaw. Crenshaw was suspected of having committed one, and perhaps two, armed robberies, which can be characterized as a serious crime. He actively fled from the police  first in his vehicle, and then by foot after crashing his vehicle into a marked patrol car  and attempted to hide in a densely wooded area. And because Crenshaw was suspected of armed robbery and was a fugitive from the police, Lister had every reason to believe that Crenshaw was armed and dangerous. Thus, all three factors identified by the Supreme Court in Graham weigh heavily against Crenshaw. This case is therefore unlike Priester v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 208 F.3d 919 (11th Cir.2000). In that case, we held that a police officer, who allowed his dog to bite the plaintiff for at least two minutes, was not entitled to qualified immunity where the plaintiff was suspected of stealing merely $20 in snacks from a golf shop, immediately submitted to the police, did not attempt to flee or resist arrest, and did not pose a threat of bodily harm to the officers or anyone else. Id. at 927. Thus, in Priester, unlike this case, the three Graham factors all weighed heavily in the plaintiff's favor. See also Galvez, 552 F.3d at 1242-43 (concluding that excessive force was used in slamming a suspect into a concrete structure where he was suspected of having committed misdemeanors, was handcuffed, and offered no physical resistance); Reese v. Herbert, 527 F.3d 1253, 1274 (11th Cir.2008) (concluding that there was excessive force used against the plaintiff where he was suspected of having committed a misdemeanor, did not pose an immediate threat of harm, and was not actively resisting or evading arrest); Lee, 284 F.3d at 1198 (concluding that a police officer used excessive force where the plaintiff had committed a minor crime, did not pose any threat to the officer or others, and was not actively resisting or attempting to flee); Slicker v. Jackson, 215 F.3d 1225, 1233 (11th Cir.2000) (concluding that officers used excessive force where they severely beat a handcuffed individual who neither resisted nor attempted to flee). Instead of analyzing these factors, the district court accepted Crenshaw's primary contention that there was no reason for Lister to use the canine because Crenshaw had shouted out his location in an attempt to surrender. Even assuming, as we must, that Crenshaw was legitimately attempting to surrender, it was objectively reasonable for Lister to question the sincerity of Crenshaw's attempt to do so and use the canine to apprehend him. Lister was not required to risk his own life by revealing his position in an unfamiliar wooded area at night to an armed fugitive who, up to that point, had shown anything but an intention of surrendering. [6] Crenhsaw pointed out below that Lister did not call off the canine until he had handcuffed Crenshaw. However, as just discussed, Lister reasonably believed that Crenshaw was armed and dangerous. Thus, unlike the officer in Priester, Lister would have been placing himself at risk had he called off the canine before ensuring that Crenshaw was fully secured. This is true regardless of whether Crenshaw was actively resisting arrest at that point, as Lister had no reason to trust that Crenshaw would not suddenly attempt to do him harm. [7] While it would have been objectively unreasonable for Lister to allow the canine to continue attacking Crenshaw after he was secured, see Hadley, 526 F.3d at 1330 (Our cases hold that gratuitous use of force when a criminal suspect is not resisting arrest constitutes excessive force.), Crenshaw does not allege that this occurred. Thus, under Crenshaw's version of the facts, there is no indication that Lister's use of the canine involved greater force than necessary or was in any way malicious or sadistic. See id. at 1329. The only other factor potentially cutting in Crenshaw's favor is that he suffered serious, though nowhere near life-threatening, injuries as a result of the canine attack. The district court, however, gave this factor disproportionate weight and, in doing so, ignored the surrounding circumstances of the case. While Crenshaw suffered serious injuries, these injuries were not the result of disproportionate or excessive force, but were rather the result of objectively reasonable actions taken by Lister to apprehend and secure what he reasonably believed to be an armed fugitive. In sum, we conclude that Lister's use of the canine was objectively reasonable under the circumstances and, therefore, did not violate Crenshaw's constitutional right to be free from excessive force. Thus, because there was no constitutional violation, we need not address whether the constitutional right at issue was clearly established.