Opinion ID: 2809264
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Price’s Fabrication-of-Evidence Claims

Text: Price brings numerous fabrication-of-evidence claims against Lucas, Metcalf, and Faith. First, Price alleges that Lucas’s DEA-6 report and Faith’s search-warrant affidavit falsely claim that Faith and Metcalf observed Price leaving his Glessner Avenue home and then followed him to South Adams Street. In fact, Faith admits that neither he nor Metcalf saw anyone leave Nos. 14-3443/3444 Webb, et al. v. United States, et al. Page 29 Price’s home, nor did they make an attempt to follow anyone. Second, Lucas falsely identified the Caprice that the drug-buy suspect (English) drove to the South Adams Street meeting with Bray as a Lincoln, which was the type of car registered to Price. Third, Lucas falsely reported the suspect’s description, including listing his height at 5’10” in his DEA-6 report when the suspect stood 6’2”. Fourth, Lucas falsely reported and testified that he heard Price say “take two back” on a phone call that Bray placed. The record indicates that Bray only pretended to make that call, and so Lucas could not possibly have heard Price’s voice saying anything. The district court held that all individual Defendants were entitled to qualified immunity with respect to Price’s fabrication-of-evidence claims because there was independent evidence to support probable cause. Price, 2013 WL 1303783, at . But there are genuine issues of material fact as to the existence of probable cause against Price. More importantly, even if independent evidence establishes probable cause against a suspect, it would still be unlawful for law-enforcement officers to fabricate evidence in order to strengthen the case against that suspect. Stemler v. City of Florence, 126 F.3d 856, 872 (6th Cir. 1997) (“A claim of fabrication of evidence does not require a conclusion that the state did not have probable cause to prosecute the claimant.”). Accordingly, it was improper for the district court to grant summary judgment to Lucas, Metcalf, and Faith for fabricating evidence against Price on the basis that there was probable cause to charge Price.