Opinion ID: 6318081
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Duration of the Encounter

Text: “The fact that a situation ‘unfolds quickly’ is not alone sufficient to justify the application of deadly force, but it is a factor that weighs in favor of a finding of reasonableness when it accompanies a credible threat to the safety of an officer or the public.” Mitchell, 864 F.3d at 423 (citing Mullins, 805 F.3d at 766–67). The record in this case does not clearly show how long Johns was on the scene before he shot Palma. Dispatch records indicate that only two-and-a-half minutes passed between the time Johns arrived at the Palma house, a few seconds before 3:37 P.M., and the time he reported shooting Palma just after 3:39 P.M. However, Johns admitted that the arrival time recorded by dispatch “is often delayed,” (Johns Dep., R. 50-1, Page ID #832), meaning the dispatcher’s timeline could be wrong. In contrast, Salvatore indicated that the incident lasted much longer because Palma was on the ground for several minutes after Johns tased Palma. And Melissa said the entire encounter lasted eight to ten minutes. If the incident lasted eight to ten minutes, then the amount of time Johns had to react to Palma would not justify his use of lethal force. See Untalan, 430 F.3d at 316 (indicating that deadly force is less reasonable when officers have ten minutes to assess and react to a situation). Admittedly, officers often face rapidly evolving situations where they must make “split-second judgment[s].” Graham, 490 U.S. at 396. However, nothing in the record indicates that Johns had to make a split-second decision in response to rapidly changing circumstances. If Palma steadily approached Johns at a normal walking speed—and Johns continued to back away—for eight to ten minutes, then there was no immediate threat. See Kirby v. Duva, 530 F.3d 475, 482– 83 (6th Cir. 2008). Whether Johns shot Palma several minutes after he called for backup or only eighteen seconds later, the alleged threat that Palma presented remained the same.3 If Johns had 3 To be clear, even if Johns shot Palma eighteen seconds after he called for backup, that short amount of time would not automatically justify his use of force as a split-second judgment. Lethal force may have been justified only if the encounter lasted eighteen seconds and if the undisputed facts suggested that Palma’s behavior constituted a threat at that time. No. 21-3315 Palma, et al. v. Johns, et al. Page 21 eight to ten minutes to assess and respond to a situation that never rapidly escalated, the use of lethal force would be unreasonable. See id. at 483.