Opinion ID: 785861
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Police Officers-Excessive Force

Text: 67 The Rivas family asserts that the police used excessive force against Mr. Rivas during their encounter with him and thereby violated his constitutionally protected right. The Supreme Court has held that all claims of excessive force by police officers, in the context of an arrest, investigatory stop, or other seizure, should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). A claim for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment requires a plaintiff to show that a seizure occurred and that it was unreasonable. Curley v. Klem, 298 F.3d 271, 279 (3d Cir.2002). A seizure occurs [w]henever an officer restrains the freedom of a person to walk away. Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 7, 105 S.Ct. 1694, 85 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). Because it is undisputed that a seizure occurred in this case, the only question is whether it was unreasonable. 68 An excessive force claim must be evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight and must embody the allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments-in circumstances that are often tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving-about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865. The inquiry turns on objective reasonableness, meaning that the standard is whether the police officer's actions [were] `objectively reasonable' in light of the facts and circumstances facing the officer, regardless of the officer's intent or motivation. Id. at 397, 109 S.Ct. 1865. 69 Factors to consider in making a determination of reasonableness include 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 actively is resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865. Additional factors include the possibility that the persons subject to the police action are themselves violent or dangerous, the duration of the action, whether the action takes place in the context of effecting an arrest, the possibility that the suspect may be armed, and the number of persons with whom the police officers must contend at one time. Sharrar v. Felsing, 128 F.3d 810, 822 (3d Cir.1997). The reasonableness of the use of force is normally an issue for the jury. See Abraham v. Raso, 183 F.3d 279, 290 (3d Cir.1999). 70 While some courts freeze the time frame and consider only the facts and circumstances at the precise moment that excessive force is applied, other courts, including this one, have considered all of the relevant facts and circumstances leading up to the time that the officers allegedly used excessive force. See, e.g., Abraham, 183 F.3d at 291.
71 The Rivas family emphasizes that Mr. Rivas committed no crime and presented no threat to anyone when Officers Slater, Callaghan and Capuana arrived at the Rivas household. The family claims the police officers were informed of Mr. Rivas's medical condition upon entering the apartment and should have allowed Mr. Rivas to remain in the bathroom until the paramedics, who were in transit, arrived. Instead, the officers ordered Mr. Rivas to leave the bathroom. The family claims Mr. Rivas had a second seizure as he walked down the hallway and the police officers responded by throwing him to the ground. Officer Capuana's testimony could support the theory that Mr. Rivas had a second seizure as he passed through the kitchen. 72 The Rivas family emphasizes that the force escalated after Mr. Rivas was on the living room floor. Officer Callaghan allegedly sat on Mr. Rivas's back while the other two officers restrained his legs and attempted to place handcuffs on Mr. Rivas. The family contends the officers repeatedly pushed Mr. Rivas's face into the floor, which made it difficult for him to breathe. According to testimony given by the EMTs, Officer Callaghan jammed a flashlight into Mr. Rivas's mouth at one point during the struggle and later struck him in the head with the same flashlight. 11 73 The police officers contend that the level of force they employed was necessary because Mr. Rivas bit them and tried to grab Officer Callaghan's weapon. We must, however, at the summary judgment stage consider only those facts alleged by [the plaintiff], taken in the light most favorable to him. Curley, 298 F.3d at 280. As the District Court pointed out, Mrs. Rivas argues that her husband could not have reached for anything since he appeared to be in the middle of another seizure and his face was pushed into the floor. We explained in Bennett v. Murphy, 274 F.3d 133, 137 (3d Cir.2002), that a police officer who is accused of having used excessive force is not precluded from arguing that he reasonably perceived the facts to be different from those alleged by the plaintiff, but that  contention ... must be considered at trial.  Id. at 137 (emphasis added). As such, we must assume at the summary judgment stage that Mr. Rivas, who was laying face down on the floor, was simply flailing his arms due to his seizure. 74 When viewed in the light most favorable to the Rivas family, these facts are sufficient to support the claim that Officers Callaghan, Slater and Capuana may have used excessive force to quiet Mr. Rivas. See Curley, 298 F.3d at 280 (finding unreasonable seizure where police officer mistakenly shot port authority officer). Once the officers ordered Mr. Rivas out of the bathroom, they effected a legal seizure by restraining his freedom of movement. Assuming that Mr. Rivas began to have a medical seizure as he and the officers walked through the kitchen (although his condition may not have been recognized by the officers), it was for the jury to decide if the ensuing takedown and force applied by the officers was objectively reasonable.
75 The Rivas family alleges that Officers Farallo and O'Donnell used excessive force on Mr. Rivas after he fell out of the stretcher on the way down the stairs. Specifically, the Rivas family alleges that, [w]hile Rivas was on the porch, face down, bound hand and foot, having sustained a head injury, bleeding from the nose and mouth, and having been unconscious just minutes before his fall, Farallo and O'Donnell, along with Officer Longo, collectively pressed down on his back with the weight of their bodies until he again lost consciousness, became cyanotic, and died of asphyxiation. 76 O'Donnell testified that, following Mr. Rivas's fall from the stretcher, he helped carry Mr. Rivas from the stairs to the porch landing, where Mr. Rivas was once again placed face down. Mr. Rivas's hands were handcuffed behind his back and there is evidence suggesting that Mr. Rivas's ankles were still bound by cloth restraints, which had been applied by Garcia before Mr. Rivas was removed from the living room. 77 Officer O'Donnell, who helped carry Mr. Rivas down the stairs, must have known that Mr. Rivas had just fallen out of the stretcher head first and had lost control of his bowels and had vomited, clear signs that he was not well. There was also testimony that a pool of blood had formed around Mr. Rivas's head on the porch. 78 A reasonable jury could find from these facts that Mr. Rivas did not present a threat to anyone's safety as he lay in a prone position on the enclosed porch, hands and ankles secured behind his back. Yet there is testimony in the record that, in order to restrain Mr. Rivas and subdue him, Officers Farallo and O'Donnell, along with Officer Longo, collectively pressed down on Mr. Rivas's back with all of their weight until he became still and unconscious. It was immediately following these acts that the paramedics noticed Mr. Rivas was cyanotic and had stopped breathing. Assuming that Mr. Rivas was handcuffed and had his ankles tied at that time, a reasonable jury could find that the continued use of force against Mr. Rivas was excessive. See, e.g., Clash v. Beatty, 77 F.3d 1045 (7th Cir.1996).