Opinion ID: 152878
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Evidence of McAllister's Diabetic State

Text: Price next argues that the district court should not have considered McAllister's medical condition, because Price did not know McAllister was a diabetic at the time he removed McAllister from his car, and that even if he had known of it or should have discovered it earlier, McAllister's diabetic condition does not change what constitutes a reasonable amount of force. It is true that we have previously held that a reasonable officer cannot be expected to accommodate an injury that is not apparent to him. See Estate of Phillips v. City of Milwaukee, 123 F.3d 586, 594 (7th Cir.1997) (holding that officers did not use unreasonable force when the plaintiff was injured after the officers placed him on the floor in a prone position, because the medical conditions that exacerbated this use of force and resulted in the plaintiff's death were not observable to the untrained eye). We have also previously held that officers properly used force to remove a diabetic driver from a car following a collision. See Smith v. Ball State Univ., 295 F.3d 763, 769 (7th Cir.2002). It does not follow, however, that McAllister's diabetic condition is irrelevant. If Price's belief that McAllister was intoxicated was unreasonable, then McAllister's diabetic condition is relevant to the question of whether Price used a reasonable amount of force against him. McAllister argues that his diabetic condition made him unable to flee or resist arrest and also shows that he did not pose an immediate threat to the officer or public safety in general. These are two of the three factors that Graham directs courts to consider when evaluating the use of force by an officer. 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865. Of course, this is not the only possible interpretation of the evidence; if Price reasonably thought McAllister was intoxicated, McAllister's unresponsiveness may have created a safety threat by adding the element of unpredictability. See Smith, 295 F.3d at 769. Similarly, if Price reasonably thought McAllister posed a danger as an intoxicated driver, he would have been justified in using force to remove McAllister from the vehicle. Id. at 770. But nothing in Smith suggests that McAllister's diabetic condition is wholly irrelevant if Price should have been aware of it. There was no evidence in Smith that the officers had formed an unreasonable belief as to whether the plaintiff was intoxicated, and we even then held only that the minimal force used to remove the plaintiff from his vehicle and detain him was justified by the circumstances. Id. at 771. While we are hesitant to second-guess the snap judgments made by law enforcement personnel, McAllister has come forward with enough evidence so that a jury could infer that Price's mistaken belief that McAllister was intoxicated was unreasonable. It was clear to Price, as it was to the other witnesses, that McAllister was impaired in some way during and after the accident. Thus, this is not a case like Estate of Phillips, where the plaintiff's medical condition was completely hidden. Multiple eyewitness observed McAllister to be convulsing or twitching, and at least one concluded that McAllister was not intoxicated. Price was trained to ask if someone who appears unwell is diabetic, but did not do so before applying the challenged force. McAllister was wearing a medical alert necklacesomething that Price was trained to look forbut Price made no attempt to check for it until this course of action was suggested by a witness. Finally, Price was trained to recognize people under the influence of alcohol and drugs; yet if we draw all reasonable inferences in favor of McAllister, Price did not follow that training and leapt to the conclusion that McAllister was intoxicated. For these reasons, the district court did not err in finding a genuine issue of material fact regarding McAllister's diabetic condition.