Opinion ID: 2974275
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Medical Emergency

Text: The three officers who went to the back door all testified that once on the back deck they observed a young man lying on a couch inside the house whose hands and pants were bloody and who appeared to not be breathing. They all testified that they beat on the door and side of the house, shined their flashlights in the young man’s eyes, and shouted, but nothing roused him. Plaintiffs offered testimony that the only window along the back of the house from which the couch could be seen was covered with closed draperies. Therefore, they argue that the officers could not have seen what they claim through the closed draperies and are lying to create a justification for their warrantless entry into the Hardesty home. The district court pointed out that even according to Plaintiffs’ testimony it would have been possible for the officers to see whether a person was lying on the couch through the closed drapes, even though they would not necessarily have been able to tell that the person was a young man or been able to see blood on his hands and pants. The district court then concluded that, in the context of this case, the presence of a person on a couch not responding to lights shining in his eyes and loud shouting and banging was sufficient to give the officers a reasonable belief that a medical emergency existed. The Supreme Court has recognized that the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment does not necessarily apply to police responding to emergency situations. Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392 (1978) (observing that “[n]umerous state and federal cases have recognized that the Fourth Amendment does not bar police officers from making warrantless entries and searches when No. 05-1346 Hardesty, et al. v. Hamburg Township, et al. Page 7 they reasonably believe that a person within is in need of immediate aid”); see also Thacker v. City of Columbus, 328 F.2d 244, 253 (6th Cir. 2003). Such a scenario falls within the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement. See United States v. Williams, 354 F.3d 497, 503 (6th Cir. 2003). The government bears the burden of proving that exigent circumstances such as a medical emergency existed to justify a warrantless search. United States v. Bates, 84 F.3d 790, 794 (6th Cir. 1996). There were three officers who went to the back door of the Hardesty home, Officers Bullock, Sanderson and Garbarcik. Bullock testified that once on the back deck they looked through the sliding glass door and windows to see if they could see anyone inside the house. He stated that he saw a very young man lying on the couch with blood on his hands and pants who appeared to not be breathing. Bullock went on to describe how he and the other officers pounded on the window and shined their lights in the young man’s face to see if he was okay, but received no response. Bullock also testified that they saw empty beer cans and cartons in the house, including one or two cans on the coffee table in front of the individual on the couch. Sanderson gave essentially the same description of what he saw while looking through the window from the back deck and their efforts to rouse the individual seen on the couch. Garbarcik also testified to the same essential elements of what was seen in the house: empty beer cans and a non-responsive individual lying on a couch with some blood on his hand and pants who appeared to not be breathing. Joseph Hardesty testified that earlier in the evening on the night in question he had closed the drapes covering the windows in the back of the house and had not subsequently re-opened them. Sanderson stated that there were no drapes or other window treatments covering the window when he looked inside and saw the person on the couch. Bullock stated that he could see through the window and did not recall any drapes or anything else covering the window. The foregoing testimony demonstrates that there is a genuine issue of fact concerning whether drapes were covering the window from which the couch could be viewed. Defendants do not dispute that there is an issue of fact about the drapes being open or closed. Instead, they argue that this fact is not material because even if the drapes were closed they could still have seen enough through the closed drapes to give them a reasonable belief that there was a medical emergency. Kenneth Hardesty testified that even with the drapes closed “[y]ou would be able to observe if you were within four or five foot of that window a individual on the couch. You would not be able to tell if it was a man or a woman. You would just be able to see a form on the couch.” (JA 225-26.) He went on to state that from that position a person could not really distinguish colors or see fine movements. Therefore, the facts taken in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs are that the drapes were closed, the officers could not see blood on the person lying on the couch, the officers could not determine whether the person lying on the couch was breathing, but the officers could see that there was an individual lying on the couch. Even taking the facts in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, there was a basis for the officers to reasonably believe a medical emergency existed. The reason for their visit to the Hardesty residence was a report that minors were consuming alcohol there that night. Upon arriving at the back door they saw a person lying on a couch who did not respond to loud knocking on the door and window or bright lights shining in his face. Given the known dangers of excessive alcohol consumption pointed out by the district court, under these circumstances the officers could have reasonably believed that the individual on the couch was suffering from alcohol poisoning. That reasonable belief was a sufficient basis for entering the Hardesty residence without a warrant or consent. Since the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant rule applied, the officers did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they entered the Hardesty home. No. 05-1346 Hardesty, et al. v. Hamburg Township, et al. Page 8