Opinion ID: 777338
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Qualified Immunity Claims Against Individual Officer Defendants

Text: 31 Appellant's claims against the individual officers of the Brunswick Police Department must be evaluated under the framework of qualified immunity. According to the doctrine of qualified immunity, government officials performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). Qualified immunity involves a two-step inquiry. First, the court must determine whether, based upon the applicable law, the facts viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs show that a constitutional violation has occurred. If the court finds a constitutional violation, it must then consider whether the violation involved `clearly established constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.' Dickerson v. McClellan, 101 F.3d 1151, 1158 (6th Cir.1996) (quoting Christophel v. Kukulinsky, 61 F.3d 479, 484 (6th Cir.1995)); see also Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 2156, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001). For a right to be clearly established, [t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right. Russo v. City of Cincinnati, 953 F.2d 1036, 1042 (6th Cir.1992) (quoting Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 639, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987)). Although it need not be the case that `the very action in question has been previously held unlawful,... in light of pre-existing law, the unlawfulness must be apparent.' Id. (quoting Anderson, 483 U.S. at 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034). Whether qualified immunity is applicable to an official's actions is a question of law that is reviewed de novo. See Dickerson, 101 F.3d at 1157.
32 Turning first to the Appellant's warrantless entry claim against Officers Puzella and Schnell, we conclude that the district court correctly found that exigent circumstances existed to justify a warrantless entry. A police officer's entry into a home without a warrant is presumptively unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment. O'Brien v. City of Grand Rapids, 23 F.3d 990, 996 (6th Cir.1994). Warrantless entries are permitted, however, where exigent circumstances exist. Hancock v. Dodson, 958 F.2d 1367, 1375 (6th Cir.1992). Exigent circumstances exist where there are `real immediate and serious consequences' that would certainly occur were a police officer to `postpone[] action to get a warrant.' O'Brien, 23 F.3d at 997 (quoting Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 751, 104 S.Ct. 2091, 80 L.Ed.2d 732 (1984)). The relevant inquiry is whether the facts are such that an objectively reasonable officer confronted with the same circumstances could reasonably believe that exigent circumstances existed. Dickerson, 101 F.3d at 1158. Three types of circumstances have traditionally been found to constitute exigent circumstances: (1) when the officers were in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect; (2) when the suspect represented an immediate threat to the arresting officers and public; (3) when immediate police action was necessary to prevent the destruction of vital evidence or thwart the escape of known criminals. Hancock, 958 F.2d at 1375. 33 Although the determination of exigent circumstances is normally a question for the jury, in a case where the underlying facts are essentially undisputed, and where a finder of fact could reach but one conclusion as to the existence of exigent circumstances, the issue may be decided by the trial court as a matter of law. Id. In Hancock, we found that exigent circumstances existed as a matter of law where the police received a call concerning a suicidal and possibly homicidal gunman, shots had been reported fired, and at least one radio communication indicated that the gunman had threatened to kill any police officers who arrived. Id. Similarly, in Dickerson, 101 F.3d at 1160, we concluded that summary judgment based upon exigent circumstances was appropriate where the police made an unannounced forcible entry while responding to a call reporting that a drunken man was screaming and had fired shots in his house. Although it was later determined that the suspect was alone in his house and was screaming into the telephone, we determined that it was reasonable for the police to believe that someone was in the house and was in immediate peril of bodily harm given the presence of a firearm and the suspect's apparent willingness to use his weapon. Id. 34 Similar facts were present here. The district court relied upon facts which showed that at the time of the initial entry: 35 the officers had credible evidence that (1) John Lekan was a mentally disturbed man who was volatile, dangerous and not taking his prescribed medication, (2) he recently began brandishing a shotgun in front of home health care personnel in a threatening manner, (3) he told his brother the night before that his guns were loaded and ready, (4) he inexplicably kept his son home from school that day, and (5) his wife unexpectedly asked to be put into a nursing home that morning. 36 J.A. at 62 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 11). In addition, the undisputed evidence showed that Officers Puzella and Schnell observed Mr. Lekan behaving erratically immediately prior to their decision to enter. 1 He asserted the Fifth Amendment when asked about his wife and sang the Star Spangled Banner. When Officers Puzella and Schnell identified themselves as police officers, he slammed the door. We agree with the district court that [o]ne could reasonably construe this as a sign that Mr. Lekan was hiding something, holding his family hostage, or preventing the police from [stopping] whatever action he had planned. J.A. at 63 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 12). This dramatic reaction, combined with the officers' knowledge that he was armed and volatile and that his wife and child were in the house with him, reveals an undisputed body of evidence from which a reasonable officer could have reasonably concluded that there was an immediate threat to Mr. Lekan's wife and son. 37 The danger to Mr. Lekan's family makes this an even stronger case for exigent circumstances than Hancock, 958 F.2d 1367, where there was no evidence of any potential hostages. 2 The presence of hostages also distinguishes the instant case from those cited by the Appellant in which this court declined to find exigent circumstances. See O'Brien, 23 F.3d at 997-98 (finding absence of exigent circumstances where no hostages were present); United States v. Johnson, 22 F.3d 674, 680 (6th Cir.1994) (holding that no exigent circumstances were present once hostages had been secured and removed from danger). The importance of the potential danger to innocent people in the house is apparent from our opinion in Dickerson, 101 F.3d at 1160, which emphasized the reasonable belief that a hostage could be present in the house — even though this turned out to not be the case — in finding that exigent circumstances existed as a matter of law. In the instant case, the police had actual knowledge that Mr. Lekan's wife and son were inside, and the apparent threat to them was enhanced by the fact that Mrs. Lekan had earlier sought to be taken out of the house and that Mr. Lekan had kept his son home from school. 38 The Appellant emphasizes that the police admitted that exigent circumstances were not present before they arrived at the Lekan home, and that the police never saw a crime being committed and did not hear Mr. Lekan threaten anyone. As the district court correctly observed, however, the fact that exigent circumstances did not exist at some earlier point in time is irrelevant, since our inquiry is limited to whether exigent circumstances existed at the moment the police entered the residence. United States v. Morgan, 743 F.2d 1158, 1162 (6th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1061, 105 S.Ct. 2126, 85 L.Ed.2d 490 (1985). Moreover, this court has never held that the police must witness a crime for exigent circumstances to be present. In Hancock, 958 F.2d at 1375, for example, the defendant officers' information regarding exigent circumstances was limited to reports they received from a radio dispatch. Where, as here, an armed and volatile individual poses an obvious threat to another, we do not believe the Fourth Amendment requires the police to stand idly by until they actually observe a criminal act. Similarly, although the police may not have personally heard any threats, they were aware of Mr. Lekan's threatening behavior. Moreover, the undisputed evidence indicates that Officer Schnell was aware of Mr. Lekan's statement that his guns were loaded and ready. 39 We are also unpersuaded by the Appellant's claim that the defendant officers impermissibly created the exigent circumstances by initially attempting to see Mrs. Lekan without identifying themselves as police officers. The Appellant relies upon United States v. Morgan, 743 F.2d at 1163, in which we observed that [p]olice officials... are not free to create exigent circumstances to justify their warrantless intrusions. The Morgan case, however, is easily distinguished. In Morgan, the police surrounded the home of a person suspected of possessing illegal firearms and flooded the house with lights while summoning the suspect with the blaring call of a bullhorn. Id. at 1161. The suspect exited the house carrying a pistol, which he then set down inside the doorway of the house. The police arrested him and then searched the house, seizing a number of firearms, including the pistol. Id. We held that the warrantless search of the home was not justified by exigent circumstances. We explained that [t]here was no substantiated evidence that Morgan was dangerous or that a grave offense or crime of violence had occurred or was even threatened. Id. at 1163. We emphasized the lack of any demonstrated need for immediate action, noting that the police had sufficient time to meet at a local coffee shop and assess[] the situation, before deciding to surround the house. Id. at 1162. Under these circumstances, we found that the mere possibility that the suspect would react with hostility to the dramatic actions of the police could not, by itself, create sufficient exigent circumstances to justify a warrantless search. Id. at 1163. In the instant case, by contrast, Officers Puzella and Schnell did have reason to believe that there was a danger of violence. Although this threat may have risen to the level of exigent circumstances only after the officers identified themselves to Mr. Lekan, the risk to Mrs. Lekan and her son was not created solely by the officers' conduct, as in Morgan. Moreover, this risk to Mrs. Lekan and her son reasonably justified the belief that there was a need to investigate the situation relatively quickly. This fact distinguishes the instant case from many created-exigency cases, which have reasoned that the police cannot claim there was insufficient time to seek a warrant if the evidence shows that the police controlled the timing of the encounter giving rise to the search. See United States v. Campbell, 261 F.3d 628, 633-34 (6th Cir.2001) (noting that in cases from the Eighth Circuit holding controlled deliveries to be exigent circumstances created by the police, the police had the opportunity to obtain a search warrant prior to executing the controlled delivery at that dwelling, but chose not to do so.); U.S. v. Cresta, 825 F.2d 538, 553 (1st Cir.1987) (Thus, the agents could not have controlled the time at which the fake delivery took place, which is a necessary element to a finding that the government deliberately created the exigent circumstances.), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1042, 108 S.Ct. 2033, 100 L.Ed.2d 618 (1988). 40 Moreover, the created-exigency cases have typically required some showing of deliberate conduct on the part of the police evincing an effort intentionally to evade the warrant requirement. See Campbell, 261 F.3d at 633 (This Court has struck down warrantless entries by the police in situations where deliberate conduct on the part of police officers has created the claimed exigent circumstances.); United States v. VonWillie, 59 F.3d 922, 926 (9th Cir.1995) (This is not a case where the government purposely tried to circumvent the requirements of [the knock and announce statute].). The Appellant has presented no evidence to indicate that Officers Schnell and Puzella made a deliberate effort to incite Mr. Lekan, so as to create a threat to Mrs. Lekan and her son that could justify a warrantless search. Instead, the undisputed evidence indicates that the officers had reasonable grounds to be concerned for the safety of Mrs. Lekan and her son, but did not possess probable cause sufficient to obtain a warrant. Under these circumstances, it was reasonable to go to the Lekan home and attempt to learn more through consensual questioning of Mr. Lekan. United States v. Jones, 239 F.3d 716, 720 (5th Cir.) (Federal courts have recognized the `knock and talk' strategy as a reasonable investigative tool when officers seek to gain an occupant's consent to search or when officers reasonably suspect criminal activity.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 122 S.Ct. 142, 151 L.Ed.2d 94 (2001). When an officer observes facts giving rise to exigent circumstances in the course of such a consensual encounter, it usually cannot be said that the officer impermissibly created the exigent circumstances. Id. Although Officers Schnell and Puzella's strategic decision not to identify themselves immediately may have been ill-advised, and may even have contributed to Mr. Lekan's agitation, this conduct did not give rise to a claim that the police impermissibly created the exigency. 3 41 Even if genuine issues of material fact did exist as to whether a reasonable officer would have perceived an immediate threat to the Lekans, we would still find summary judgment to be appropriate on the basis of the clearly established prong of the qualified immunity test. As the above discussion indicates, we can find no controlling authority where a court has held similar conduct to be unconstitutional under facts not distinguishable in a fair way from the facts presented in the case at hand. Saucier, 121 S.Ct. at 2157. In Russo, 953 F.2d at 1043-44, we held that the defendant police officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the plaintiff's warrantless entry claims, where the undisputed facts showed that the suspect was mentally disturbed, the suspect possessed two knives, a radio call had described the suspect as suicidal, and the suspect had turned out the lights and gone silent immediately before the officers' decision to enter. We explained that, even if the officers' actions were unreasonable, we were not aware of a single case indicating that an officer's attempt to rescue what that officer believes to be a suicidal person does not constitute exigent circumstances. Id. at 1044. We are not aware of any such case that has issued since Russo. Certainly, then, a reasonable officer could not anticipate that a court might decide exigent circumstances were absent where the danger of suicide was compounded by an apparent threat to the suspect's family. Therefore, summary judgment for the officers on the grounds of qualified immunity is appropriate regarding the warrantless entry claim.
42 The district court rejected the Appellant's Fourth Amendment excessive force claim on the grounds that there was not a seizure of either Mr. Lekan or his family. J.A. at 65-66 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 14-15). As the court noted, the Fourth Amendment protects against only unreasonable seizures, it is not a guarantee against unreasonable or outrageous official conduct generally. See Galas v. McKee, 801 F.2d 200, 202 (6th Cir.1986). Therefore, to assert a successful Fourth Amendment claim, the plaintiffs must first show that there was a seizure. See id. The district court concluded that none of the Lekans were seized by the police. We determine that the district court erred insofar as it found that Mr. Lekan was not seized during the standoff, although we agree with the district court's conclusion that Mrs. Lekan and her son were not seized. Nevertheless, we conclude that the Appellant has not demonstrated a genuine issue of material fact as to whether excessive force was used against Mr. Lekan. 43 A Fourth Amendment seizure occurs when a police officer restrains the liberty of a citizen in such a way that a reasonable citizen would reasonably believe under the circumstances that he or she was not free to leave. Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567, 573, 108 S.Ct. 1975, 100 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988). A violation of the Fourth Amendment requires the intentional acquisition of physical control of a person by a state official. Brower v. County of Inyo, 489 U.S. 593, 596, 109 S.Ct. 1378, 103 L.Ed.2d 628 (1989). A seizure does not occur, moreover, until the subject is successfully detained by physical force or a show of authority. California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 111 S.Ct. 1547, 113 L.Ed.2d 690 (1991) (holding that boy was not seized while fleeing from pursuing police officer until officer tackled him, bringing boy under physical control); Galas, 801 F.2d at 202 (Clearly, during the initial stages of the pursuit when the minor plaintiff decided to flee rather than to obey the defendant officer's directive to stop, the minor plaintiff was not restrained.). 44 The district court concluded that Mr. Lekan was not seized, because by barricading himself in his home he never submitted to official authority. This conclusion was in error. There can be little question under the circumstances that Mr. Lekan was not free to leave. The district court considered Mr. Lekan's case to be more closely analogous to that of a fleeing suspect, who is not under the control of official authorities. We believe, however, that Mr. Lekan's case more closely resembles the facts in Brower, 489 U.S. at 598, 109 S.Ct. 1378. In that case, the decedent never voluntarily submitted to official authority, but was restrained nonetheless when he collided with a police roadblock set up for the purpose of stopping him. The Court found that this act of restraint constituted a seizure for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment. Id. Similarly, in this case, although Mr. Lekan was never in police custody, the police surrounded the house and paraded an armored vehicle in front of the Lekans' house. These actions qualify as an intentional application of physical force and show of authority made with the intent of acquiring physical control. Moreover, this assertion of force and authority succeeded in restraining Mr. Lekan's liberty to leave his home. Unlike the fleeing suspects in Hodari D. and Galas, Mr. Lekan was not on the loose. By way of illustration, Mr. Lekan clearly would have been seized for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment had the police nailed shut the doors and windows of his house with him inside. The actions of the police in the instant case were no less effective in restraining Mr. Lekan's movements and, therefore, should be considered a seizure. Cf. Fisher v. City of Memphis, 234 F.3d 312, 318 (6th Cir.2000) (holding that intentional application of force which immobilized automobile effectively seized all passengers). This conclusion is consistent with decisions in other circuits, which have found that police efforts to force a barricaded individual out of a home are properly treated as seizures, subject to the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement. In re City of Philadelphia Litig., 49 F.3d 945, 974 (3rd Cir.) (Scirica, J., concurring and dissenting) (holding that use of incendiary devices against house was seizure, as it was use of force with the aim of gaining entry into the house or forcing the occupants out), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 863, 116 S.Ct. 176, 133 L.Ed.2d 116 (1995); Ginter v. Stallcup, 869 F.2d 384, 388 (8th Cir.1989) (holding that setting building on fire to smoke out barricaded suspect was subject to Fourth Amendment reasonableness test to determine whether destruction of property was warranted). Because we conclude that Mr. Lekan was seized for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment, we therefore analyze the police's actions toward him solely under the objective reasonableness test of the Fourth Amendment. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394-95, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) (holding that where an excessive force claim arises in the context of an arrest or investigatory stop, it should be analyzed solely under Fourth Amendment, and not Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause). 45 We conclude that the district court was correct, however, in finding that the police did not seize Mrs. Lekan or J.T. Lekan. There was no reason for either of them to believe that the police were preventing them from leaving the house. In fact, it was the clear objective of the police to remove them from the house and remove them from the control of Mr. Lekan. Their movement was restrained by Mr. Lekan (or in Mrs. Lekan's case, her own physical condition), not by the police. 4 The fact that the police exercised control over the environment in the Lekans' house does not demonstrate that Mrs. Lekan and her son were seized. The distinguishing feature of a seizure is the restraint of the subject's liberty — specifically, his or her freedom to walk away. Control over one's environment does not establish a seizure unless that control somehow restricts the subject's physical liberty. There are no facts alleged that would suggest this was the case for Mrs. Lekan or her son. 46 Even though we conclude that the district court erred in finding that Mr. Lekan was not seized, the Appellant has nonetheless failed to show that the officers' use of force was unreasonable. The determination of whether force used to effect a seizure was unreasonable requires careful attention to the facts and circumstances of each particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865. The test is objective; it asks whether a reasonable officer would conclude that the level of force used was appropriate. See id. at 396-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865. 47 Under this standard, we hold that summary judgment for the defendants was appropriate. The police used deadly force only during the tactical assault on the Lekans' home. At this point, however, it is undisputed that Mr. Lekan was firing on the officers, and he therefore posed an immediate threat to the officers. Although the facts viewed most favorably to the plaintiffs reveal that Mr. Lekan was not an immediate threat when the officers were not attempting a forcible entry, neither was there any use of deadly force at these times. Moreover, it is undisputed that Mr. Lekan was actively resisting arrest; indeed, he demonstrated that he would fire on any officers who entered the house. Under these circumstances, we can only conclude that the use of the battering ram and the incendiary devices, which were directed against Mr. Lekan's home but not his person, were objectively reasonable as applied to Mr. Lekan. At least one court has found far greater destruction of property to be reasonable at the summary judgment stage in the context of an armed and barricaded individual. Ginter, 869 F.2d at 389 (holding that plaintiffs failed to create a jury question as to whether burning down house where heavily armed fugitive was barricaded was unreasonable use of force). In light of Mr. Lekan's willingness to use deadly force against the police in resisting arrest, the use of non-deadly force such as tear gas and psychological tactics, while perhaps ill-considered, was not excessive under any version of the facts before us. Indeed, the Appellant has presented no evidence to indicate that Mr. Lekan was physically harmed in any way by the force exerted by the police. 48 Even if a constitutional injury had occurred, the law is not sufficiently clearly established on this question to overcome qualified immunity. See Russo, 953 F.2d at 1044-45; In re City of Philadelphia Litig., 49 F.3d at 972 (granting qualified immunity to police where fire used to smoke out barricaded group after gun battle, because it could not conclude that in the light of pre-existing law the unlawfulness of either dropping the explosive or letting the fire burn should have been apparent (quotation omitted)). In Russo, 953 F.2d at 1044-45, we held that the defendant police officers were entitled to qualified immunity as to the claim that they used unreasonable force in firing multiple times with a non-lethal Taser gun upon a mentally disturbed suspect wielding two knives. We noted that although the plaintiffs' allegations may raise a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the use of the Taser was reasonable, we could not conclude that the defendant's use of non-lethal force to subdue a potentially homicidal individual transgressed clearly established law. Id. In reaching this conclusion, we emphasized that the defendant deployed the Taser in an effort to obviate the need for lethal force. Id. at 1044. Similarly, here the defendants did not employ lethal force, except during those occasions when Mr. Lekan fired directly upon them. We are aware of no controlling precedent since Russo holding that the use of non-lethal force against an armed and volatile suspect constitutes excessive force. We therefore conclude that the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity on the Appellant's excessive force claim.
49 We also conclude that the district court correctly determined that the conduct of the police during the two-day standoff did not violate the substantive due process rights of Beverly Lekan or her son. As the Supreme Court has explained, `[t]he touchstone of due process is protection of the individual against arbitrary action of government,' whether the fault lies in a denial of fundamental procedural fairness, or in the exercise of power without any reasonable justification.... County of Sacramento v. Lewis, 523 U.S. 833, 845-46, 118 S.Ct. 1708, 140 L.Ed.2d 1043 (1998) (quoting Wolff v. McDonnell, 418 U.S. 539, 558, 94 S.Ct. 2963, 41 L.Ed.2d 935 (1974) (citations omitted)). The Appellant's claim is one of substantive, not procedural, due process. That is, the Appellant argues that Mrs. Lekan and her son were deprived of life and liberty as a result of the arbitrary exercise of government power — namely, the actions of the police in unnecessarily escalating the confrontation with Mr. Lekan. 50 The Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment is phrased as a limitation on the State's power to act, not as a guarantee of certain minimal levels of safety and security. DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep't of Social Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 195, 109 S.Ct. 998, 103 L.Ed.2d 249 (1987). The purpose of the Due Process Clause was to protect the people from the State, not to ensure that the State protected them from each other. Id. at 196, 109 S.Ct. 998. In general, therefore, the Due Process Clause does not impose liability on the State for injuries inflicted by private acts of violence. There are, however, exceptions to this general rule. First, state officials may be subject to constitutional liability if they fail to provide protection for individuals in state custody. The rationale for this principle is simple enough: when the State by the affirmative exercise of its power so restrains an individual's liberty that it renders him unable to care for himself, and at the same time fails to provide for his basic human needs — e.g., food, clothing, shelter, medical care, and reasonable safety — it transgresses the substantive limits on state action set by the Eighth Amendment and the Due Process Clause. Id. at 200, 109 S.Ct. 998. 51 Even in noncustodial settings, however, state officials may violate the Due Process Clause when their affirmative actions directly increase the vulnerability of citizens to danger or otherwise place citizens in harm's way. See DeShaney, 489 U.S. at 201, 109 S.Ct. 998 (While the State may have been aware of the dangers that Joshua faced in the free world, it played no part in their creation, nor did it do anything to render him any more vulnerable to them.); Gazette v. City of Pontiac, 41 F.3d 1061, 1065 (6th Cir.1994) ([A] duty to protect can arise in a noncustodial setting if the state does anything to render an individual more vulnerable to danger.); Butera v. District of Columbia, 235 F.3d 637, 648-49 (D.C.Cir.2001) (All circuit courts of appeals ... have by now relied on this passage in DeShaney to acknowledge that there may be possible constitutional liability ... where the state creates a dangerous situation or renders citizens more vulnerable to danger. (quotation omitted)); Bowers v. DeVito, 686 F.2d 616, 618 (7th Cir.1982) (If the state puts a man in a position of danger from private persons and then fails to protect him, it will not be heard to say that its role was merely passive; it is as much an active tortfeasor as if it had thrown him into a snake pit.). The Appellant's claim is based upon such a state-created danger theory. That is, the Appellant contends that the conduct of the Brunswick police in escalating the confrontation with Mr. Lekan substantially increased the danger that he would act violently toward his wife and son. 52 In order to establish a constitutional violation, however, it is not enough to show a causal connection between state action and an act of private violence. [T]he due process guarantee does not entail a body of constitutional law imposing liability whenever someone cloaked with state authority causes harm. Lewis, 523 U.S. at 848, 118 S.Ct. 1708. The Appellant must demonstrate that the state acted with the requisite culpability to establish a substantive due process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment. As the Supreme Court has explained, this requires that the § 1983 plaintiff show that the challenged action was so egregious that it can be said to be arbitrary in the constitutional sense. Id. at 846, 118 S.Ct. 1708 (quotation omitted). The Supreme Court, in elaborating upon this standard, has repeatedly instructed that the Fourteenth Amendment protects only against abuse of executive power which shocks the conscience. Id. 53 To be sure, the shocks the conscience standard is no calibrated yard stick. Id. at 847, 118 S.Ct. 1708. At a minimum, the standard requires a showing beyond mere negligence. Daniels v. Williams, 474 U.S. 327, 332, 106 S.Ct. 662, 88 L.Ed.2d 662 (1986). Far from an abuse of power, lack of due care ... suggests no more than a failure to measure up to the conduct of a reasonable person. Id. At the other end of the spectrum, it is generally agreed that Fourteenth Amendment liability will attach to conduct intended to injure in some way unjustifiable by any governmental interest. Lewis, 523 U.S. at 849, 118 S.Ct. 1708 (emphasis added). Whether the point of the conscience shocking is reached when injuries are produced with culpability falling within the middle range, following from something more than negligence but less than intentional conduct, such as recklessness or `gross negligence' is a matter for closer calls. Id. (quotation and citation omitted). 54 Whether conduct falling within this middle range reaches the level of conscience shocking depends upon the facts and circumstances of the individual case. As the Supreme Court recently explained, conduct that shocks in one environment may not be so patently egregious in another, and our concern with preserving the constitutional proportions of substantive due process demands an exact analysis of circumstances before any abuse of power is condemned as conscience shocking. Id. at 850, 118 S.Ct. 1708. For example, in the context of pretrial detention, the fault requirement for a due process violation may be satisfied by showing that state officials were deliberately indifferent to the basic medical needs of detainees. Id.; see also Heflin v. Stewart County, 958 F.2d 709, 716 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 998, 113 S.Ct. 598, 121 L.Ed.2d 535 (1992). By contrast, in Lewis, 523 U.S. at 854, 118 S.Ct. 1708, the Supreme Court held that even deliberate indifference is insufficient to demonstrate a Fourteenth Amendment violation on the basis of police conduct during a high speed vehicle chase. 55 [T]he critical question in determining the appropriate standard of culpability is whether the circumstances allowed the state actors time to fully consider the potential consequences of their conduct. Moreland v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep't, 159 F.3d 365, 373 (9th Cir.1998) (reviewing circuits' treatment of Lewis decision). As the Lewis Court explained, the deliberate indifference standard is sensibly employed only when actual deliberation is practical. Id. at 851, 118 S.Ct. 1708. The Court noted, for example, that liability for deliberate indifference to inmate welfare rests upon the luxury enjoyed by prison officials of having time to make unhurried judgments, upon the chance for repeated reflection, largely uncomplicated by the pulls of competing obligations. Id. at 853, 118 S.Ct. 1708. The Court further explained, however, that when unforseen circumstances demand an officer's instant judgment, even precipitate recklessness fails to inch close enough to harmful purpose to spark the shock that implicates `the large concerns of the governors and the governed.' Id. (quoting Daniels, 474 U.S. at 332, 106 S.Ct. 662). In such situations, which include high speed vehicle chases, a Fourteenth Amendment violation occurs only when the police act with malice and an intent to harm. Id. at 854, 118 S.Ct. 1708. 56 Applying this framework, we agree with the district court that this case falls within the `middle-range' between custodial settings and high-speed chases, and likewise conclude that, on balance, the more appropriate standard of review is `deliberate indifference.' 5 J.A. at 69-70 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 18-19). Although the Brunswick police officers conducting the standoff undoubtedly faced competing obligations and intense pressures in making their decisions, the facts viewed most favorably to the plaintiffs reveal that this was a situation where actual deliberation was practical. The police waited five hours to initiate the first tactical solution, which strongly suggests that split-second decision making was not required. Many more hours passed before the decision was made to deploy the armored vehicle. Indeed, in his deposition, Chief Beyer indicated that the decision to initiate a tactical assault was made after consulting two mental health professionals and requesting input from the officers on the scene. Beyer also indicated that he discussed the pros and cons of using tear gas. Clearly, this testimony demonstrates not only that deliberation was practical, but that some effort at deliberation was in fact made. This conclusion is supported by Callis's report, which noted that there was no need for immediate action and concluded that [o]ne of the strongest points on the side of the authorities was `time.' J.A. at 642 (Callis Rep. at 6). 57 The time for deliberation available to Chief Beyer in deciding how to respond to Mr. Lekan's actions distinguishes this case from those cases in which actual malice and an intent to harm was required. In Lewis, for example, the entire course of events lasted a mere seventy-five seconds. 523 U.S. at 837, 118 S.Ct. 1708. When the officers observed the victim's motorcycle approaching at high speed, they were forced to make an instantaneous decision to give chase. Id. at 853, 118 S.Ct. 1708. Likewise, in Claybrook v. Birchwell, 199 F.3d 350 (6th Cir.2000), we held that a bystander injured during a police shootout must show that the police acted `maliciously and sadistically for the very purpose of causing harm' in order to maintain a due process claim. Id. at 359 (quoting Lewis, 523 U.S. at 853, 118 S.Ct. 1708). We explained that this standard was appropriate because the police had no opportunity to ponder or debate their reaction to the dangerous actions of the armed man when he approached them menacingly with a weapon and then opened fire. Id. at 360; see also Moreland, 159 F.3d at 373 (holding that intent to harm standard applied when police encountered a gunfight in progress in a parking lot where 50 to 100 innocent people were caught in the crossfire). Unlike the defendants in Claybrook, however, Chief Beyer and his officers were not exchanging gunfire with Lekan at the time that the fateful decisions of that day were made. 58 Other courts have found that an intent to harm is required where the police fire upon an escaping suspect and inadvertently injure hostages in the process. Childress v. City of Arapaho, 210 F.3d 1154, 1157 (10th Cir.2000) (holding intent to harm required where police fired upon hijacked van containing hostages in attempt to stop van as it drove through series of police roadblocks); Lee v. Williams, 138 F.Supp.2d 748, 761 (E.D.Va.2001) (intent to harm applied where armed suspects took a hostage and were attempting to escape in the hostage's van). In the instant case, however, Mr. Lekan was contained in his house and surrounded by a vastly superior police presence. The police were never forced to make a hasty decision to use force in order to prevent his escape into the community. Although Mr. Lekan did pose a danger to his family, the Appellant's version of the facts suggests that the danger was not immediate as long as Mr. Lekan was not provoked. 6 59 To hold otherwise would effectively give the police free licence to take any risk with the lives of hostages in an armed standoff situation, as long as they did not act maliciously and sadistically with the intent to cause harm. The district court noted this same concern, explaining that it did not believe that, because Mr. Lekan was armed and dangerous, the defendants could attempt to restore order by any means whatsoever so long as they did not intend to hurt the Lekans. J.A. at 69 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 19). 60 Nevertheless, even under the more exacting deliberate indifference standard, we conclude that the Appellant has not shown a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the conduct of the police rose to the level of the conscience shocking under the particular circumstances presented. Deliberate indifference has been equated with subjective recklessness, and requires the § 1983 plaintiff to show that the state official knows of and disregards an excessive risk to [the victim's] health or safety. 7 Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 837, 114 S.Ct. 1970, 128 L.Ed.2d 811 (1994); see also Stemler v. City of Florence, 126 F.3d 856, 865, 870 (6th Cir.1997) (applying Farmer 's deliberate indifference standard to Fourteenth Amendment claim in non-institutional setting), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1118, 118 S.Ct. 1796, 140 L.Ed.2d 936 (1998). Thus, the official must both be aware of facts from which the inference could be drawn that a substantial risk of serious harm exists, and he must also draw the inference. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 837, 114 S.Ct. 1970. Having drawn the inference, the official must act or fail to act in a manner demonstrating reckless or callous indifference toward the individual's rights. Landol-Rivera v. Cruz Cosme, 906 F.2d 791, 797 (1st Cir.1990). 61 From the record, there is little doubt that Chief Beyer drew the inference that aggressive tactics might provoke Mr. Lekan to respond in a dangerous manner toward his wife and child. In his deposition, Chief Beyer quite frankly explained that [t]hat possibility [of a violent reaction] existed throughout the entire crisis situation, so we were concerned that that was in fact what would happen. J.A. at 393 (Beyer Dep. at 198). Chief Beyer also indicated that he considered the possibility of a murder-suicide reaction when evaluating the advisability of initiating an assault with the armored vehicle, but he hoped that Mr. Lekan would take his aggressive action out on the police. J.A. at 396-97 (Beyer Dep. at 206-07). 62 It seems clear from the record, however, that Chief Beyer also knew that further delay and inaction also posed substantial risks. The Callis report, for example, concluded that although, on balance, a strategy of stalling for time generally is the best to reduce risks to hostages, stalling has its own drawbacks and risks. The undisputed facts suggest that these risks and drawbacks factored into Chief Beyer's decisions to initiate a tactical assault and deploy the armored vehicle. Prior to ordering the first assault, Chief Beyer consulted a mental health professional on the scene who informed him that the threat level was high. Chief Beyer further explained that he perceived that his officers were tiring and potentially losing their edge, which could have made it more difficult to conduct successfully a tactical operation later. In addition, Chief Beyer had some reason for confidence that a tactical assault could succeed, based upon his knowledge of the past success of the City's emergency team. Moreover, it seems from the record that everyone agreed at the time that there was little, if any, prospect for successful resolution to the crisis through negotiation. Mr. Lekan made no demands and was not communicating coherently with the negotiator. Given the grim prospect for negotiations, it was reasonable for Chief Beyer to conclude that a tactical solution would be required eventually. 63 Viewed against this backdrop, we do not think it would be appropriate to say that Chief Beyer acted with callous indifference to the risk of injury to Mrs. Lekan or her son. Instead, it appears that Chief Beyer made a decision that required a balancing of the risks presented by aggressive action against the risks presented by further delay. This is not a situation where the police deliberately refused to take obvious steps that would decrease the risk or abandoned the Lekans in a dangerous environment. See Leffall v. Dallas Indep. Sch. Dist., 28 F.3d 521, 531 (5th Cir.1994). Instead, the Appellant challenges Chief Beyer's choice among necessarily risky alternative tactics in undertaking an effort to rescue Mrs. Lekan and her son from danger. Merely demonstrating that Chief Beyer incorrectly assessed the competing risks may demonstrate negligence on Chief Beyer's part, but it is not enough to show a callous disregard for the safety of Mrs. Lekan and her son. Id. 64 Cases from other circuits dealing with unsuccessful police rescue efforts are instructive. See, e.g., Salas v. Carpenter, 980 F.2d 299, 308 (5th Cir.1992); Andrews v. Wilkins, 934 F.2d 1267, 1271 (1st Cir.1991). In Salas, 980 F.2d at 302-03, the Fifth Circuit addressed a substantive due process claim asserted on behalf of a woman who was killed by her husband after a day-long standoff with the police at the courthouse where the victim worked. City police, equipped with a hostage negotiating team and a SWAT team, were the first to respond after the husband stormed his wife's office and took her hostage. Before the city police could deploy, however, the county sheriff ordered them to leave, asserting his exclusive jurisdiction over courthouse security. Id. at 302. The sheriff's department did not possess the same experience, capabilities, or equipment for dealing with hostage situations that were possessed by the city police. After unsuccessful efforts to negotiate a resolution, the gunman killed his wife and then himself. The Fifth Circuit concluded that the actions of the sheriff did not rise to the level of conscience-shocking behavior. Id. at 309. The Court reasoned that the officers did not cut off all avenues of rescue ... without providing an alternative. Id. at 308. Rather, the officers controlled the conduct of a police rescue, considering factors such as the safety of those involved. Id. The mere fact that the sheriff's department did not possess the best available equipment did not render the decision to handle the standoff conscience shocking. Id. at 310. 65 In Andrews, 934 F.2d at 1269, the D.C. Circuit addressed a Fourteenth Amendment claim asserted on behalf of a suspect who drowned while attempting to evade the police. The suspect dove into a channel after being confronted by a police officer. When the suspect began to drown, the officer hailed a private boat to assist the man. Seeing that the suspect was unconscious, a woman on the boat told the officer she needed to dive in to save him, and informed the officer that she had been trained to execute such a rescue. Id. The officer directed her not to go into the water, because the drowning man was an escaped prisoner and could be dangerous. Id. The court concluded that the officer's action of interfering with the private citizen's rescue effort did not demonstrate a reckless disregard for the suspect's safety. Id. at 1271. The court explained that it is not a constitutional violation for a state officer to attempt an ineffectual rescue, and therefore mere negligence on the part of the officers in the conduct of the rescue did not state a Fourteenth Amendment violation. Id. at 1270. Moreover, the court explained the police were entitled, if not obliged, to prevent [the private citizen on the boat] from endangering her life in the course of a police rescue effort. Id. at 1271. 66 Finally, in Kepner v. Houstoun, 164 F.Supp.2d 494 (E.D.Pa.2001), the court addressed a factual situation closely analogous to the instant case. In Kepner, an armed individual who was also a diagnosed schizophrenic took his former employer and another person hostage and barricaded himself in the employer's office. A two-day standoff ensued. The police ultimately decided to undertake a tactical assault, after the hostage-taker's demands became increasingly erratic. As the police stormed the office, the hostage-taker shot and killed one of the hostages. Id. at 497. The court found that the conduct of the police in undertaking a tactical assault did not shock the conscience under either the intent to harm or the deliberate indifference standard. Id. at 500. As the court explained: 67 While their action surely had grave risks, taking no action also had grave risks. It is important to remember that Czajkowski, with serious mental problems, had previously shot Jordan and was making demands that were becoming increasingly bizarre. In hindsight, maybe the state police were negligent and should have taken a different path, but negligence is not the applicable constitutional standard. 68 Id. 69 Viewing the instant facts in light of the foregoing cases, we conclude that the Appellant has not shown sufficient facts to support a claim of deliberate indifference. Here, the police attempted to rescue Mrs. Lekan and her son from a threat of private violence. It is undisputed that there was no clear way out of danger, and any course pursued by the police entailed significant risks. The Appellant, at best, has shown that Chief Beyer should have obtained more information from the mental health professionals on the scene and may have made an incorrect assessment of the risks as a result. Deliberate indifference, however, requires that the police act in conscious disregard of a known risk of serious injury. In cases such as this one in which officers must choose among risks, a plaintiff must show that the police knowingly and unreasonably opted for a course of conduct that entailed a substantially greater total risk than the available alternatives. Farmer, 511 U.S. at 846, 114 S.Ct. 1970. Although, in hindsight, we may agree that the decisions made were ill-advised, and may also agree that Chief Beyer was negligent in failing to better inform himself before making the decision, this would not lead to the conclusion that he callously disregarded the risk of injury to the Lekan family. 70 Appellant's allegation that better equipment, such as thermal imaging technology, which could have improved the chances for a successful assault, would have been available to Chief Beyer if he had waited longer to order the assault is similarly unavailing. A state official's decision to initiate a rescue with suboptimal equipment sounds in negligence, not deliberate recklessness. See Salas, 980 F.2d at 309-310. Indeed, in the instant case, the Appellant has not contradicted Chief Beyer's deposition testimony that he had no way of knowing that thermal imaging equipment would later become available. Therefore, his decision to act without the benefit of such equipment cannot be said to be deliberate. 71 There can be little doubt that the facts of the instant case show that the actions of the police were, in many instances, ill-advised and poorly executed. Like the district court, we are not convinced that it was necessary or prudent to undertake a tactical assault only five hours into the standoff with Mr. Lekan, particularly since he had by all accounts retreated from the confrontation and did not appear to be posing an immediate threat to his family or the police. The experts in this case seem to agree with the district court that [a]rmed tactical solutions are radical strategies used only as a last resort in hostage situations, and that [u]se of it here was premature. J.A. at 70 (Dist. Ct. Op. at 19 n. 12). Moreover, the assault itself was poorly planned, and it appears that the police lacked the personnel and equipment to carry it out successfully. The decision to deploy an armored vehicle seems particularly imprudent when confronting a paranoid schizophrenic, even if the vehicle previously had been used successfully in dealing with individuals who were not mentally ill. Troubled as we are by the conduct of the police in this standoff, however, imprudence and poor execution do not rise to the level of constitutionally arbitrary abuses of power. We therefore conclude that the district court correctly granted summary judgment to the defendants as to the Appellant's Fourteenth Amendment claim.