Opinion ID: 4461213
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: May 2, 2013, Incident

Text: Martinez was at her cousin’s house on the evening of May 2, 2013. When Pennington arrived at the house, he became physically abusive. Pretending to leave, Martinez exited the house and hid outside. After Pennington left, she dialed 911 and took a taxi to the house where she lived with Pennington. Hershberger and Jesus Santillan were dispatched to the home. The officers were onsite when Martinez arrived. Pennington walked over to the taxi and warned her not to say anything to the officers. Martinez told Hershberger that she did not want to speak to Santillan because he was Pennington’s friend. Hershberger then spoke with Martinez outside of Pennington’s immediate presence. According to Martinez, however, Pennington was still within eye and earshot. Hershberger testified that Martinez had told her about Pennington’s physical abuse in Dublin but did not mention that Pennington had been physically abusive that evening. Hershberger tried to probe further, but Martinez asked to go inside, insisting that she was fine. Martinez gave inconsistent 2 In reviewing the district court’s summary judgment, we adopt Martinez’s version of the facts. See Animal Legal Def. Fund v. U.S. Food & Drug Admin., 836 F.3d 987, 989 (9th Cir. 2016) (en banc) (citation omitted). 6 MARTINEZ V. CITY OF CLOVIS testimony about whether she told Hershberger that Pennington had pushed her down the stairs that evening, ultimately clarifying that she had. She claimed that Hershberger asked her to “hold on just a second” and moved away. Pennington stared at Martinez in a manner she perceived as intimidating, so she walked toward him, “because [she] didn’t want him to think that [she] was talking to the officer.” While Martinez was standing in front of Pennington, Hershberger returned. She had a tape recorder and asked Martinez to repeat her statements about what had happened in Dublin. Martinez testified that “[a]t that point [she] was scared because [Hershberger] had said Dublin and she had said it in front of [Pennington], so [Martinez] told her, ‘Nothing, nothing happened.’” Martinez heard Pennington clear his throat, which she contends he does when he is angry, and therefore “acted like [she] didn’t know what . . . she was talking about.” 3 Hershberger had received domestic violence training. She believed that Martinez faced potential risk if she stayed with Pennington that night. She was aware that domestic violence victims “might tend to recant accusations of violence” out of fear of reprisal. 3 Martinez had been drinking that evening. Hershberger testified that Martinez was “highly intoxicated.” However, Martinez testified that she only pretended to be intoxicated because she was afraid of Pennington and did not want him to know that she had told Hershberger about what had happened in Dublin. MARTINEZ V. CITY OF CLOVIS 7 However, she did not arrest Pennington. She did not advise Martinez of her right to make a citizen’s arrest, 4 her right to obtain a restraining order, or the possibility of staying at a shelter. 5 She did not provide Martinez with Clovis’s pamphlet for victims of domestic violence. She contends that this was because Martinez did not indicate that any violence had occurred that evening, and because she was responding to a “check the welfare” call, not a domestic violence call. Instead, she recommended that Martinez be contacted and interviewed again. Hershberger and Pennington had both worked with the Clovis Police Department (“Clovis PD”) for about nine years. Hershberger did not socialize with Pennington and had only a “neutral” opinion of him. Pennington testified that after Martinez went back inside the house, Hershberger spoke with him briefly. As Pennington describes it, she “was asking me, you know, what I was doing dating a girl like Desiree Martinez and what was going on, what was going on 4 Section 836(b) of the California Penal Code states that “[a]ny time a peace officer is called out on a domestic violence call, it shall be mandatory that the officer make a good faith effort to inform the victim of his or her right to make a citizen’s arrest . . . This information shall include advising the victim how to safely execute the arrest.” Cal. Penal Code § 836(b). Similar provisions are included in Section 320.3.4 of the Clovis Manual. 5 Section 320.6 of the Clovis Manual lays out suggested methods of assisting a victim, including “[a]ssist[ing] in arranging to transport the victim to an alternate shelter if the victim expresses a concern for their safety, or the officer determines a need exists,” and “[e]xplain[ing] legal options available to the victim including the private person’s arrest process, [and] temporary restraining and stay-away orders.” Hershberger testified that she asked Martinez if there was somewhere else that she could go, but Martinez insisted on staying and said that she was not scared. 8 MARTINEZ V. CITY OF CLOVIS in my life because I was recently divorced and, you know, that she didn’t think that she was necessarily a good fit for me.” That night, Pennington physically abused Martinez. He called her a “leaky faucet” and asked her what she had told Hershberger and whether she was trying to get him in trouble. The next day, Martinez spoke with a detective over the phone. Pennington had scripted the conversation, and Martinez denied everything that she had said to Hershberger. In May 2013, Martinez contacted members of the Clovis PD again about an incident unrelated to this appeal. To avoid further investigation by the Clovis PD, Martinez and Pennington moved to Sanger at the end of the month.