Opinion ID: 793418
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Lawful Arrest

Text: 54 Assuming for the sake of argument that Rick Cortez was subjected to an otherwise lawful arrest—that is, an arrest supported by probable cause—Plaintiffs' claim that Defendants used excessive force against Rick Cortez should not survive Defendants' summary judgment motion because Plaintiffs have not demonstrated that Defendants' use of force against Rick Cortez could be considered excessive in the context of a lawful arrest. 55 Rick Cortez was suspected of committing a violent felony, a severe crime. Cf. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865. As we discuss more fully below, Rick Cortez does not appear to have posed an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, or to have been attempting to resist or evade arrest, cf. id., but the force used by Defendants nonetheless was not excessive if the underlying arrest was supported by probable cause. After all, when arresting a person suspected of committing a violent felony, law enforcement officers generally may (1) grab the arrestee by the arm; (2) handcuff him or her; and (3) place him or her in the back seat of a locked squad car—all without the force used being excessive, whether the actions are undertaken at night or during the day. Cf. Soares v. State of Conn., 8 F.3d 917, 921 (2d Cir.1993) ([H]andcuffing will be the reasonable course in many, if not most arrest situations.. . .); Rodriguez v. Farrell, 280 F.3d 1341, 1351 (11th Cir.2002) (The evidence, in the light most favorable to plaintiff, shows that [the officer] grabbed plaintiff's arm, twisted it around plaintiff's back, jerking it up high to the shoulder and then handcuffed plaintiff. . . . Plaintiff was placed in the rear of [the officer]'s patrol car, kept handcuffed behind his back and transported to the police station. The handcuffs were removed minutes after arrival at the police department. The handcuffing technique used by [the officer] is a relatively common and ordinarily accepted non-excessive way to detain an arrestee.). 15 56 Moreover, the precise manner in which Defendants undertook these actions does not support Plaintiffs' claim that Defendants used excessive force against Rick Cortez. Plaintiffs do not criticize the manner in which Defendants grabbed Rick Cortez's arm or the manner in which Defendants placed Rick Cortez in the back of the squad car. Cf. Thornton, 132 F.3d at 1398 (addressing excessive force claim based on officers' grabbing the plaintiff on his arms and around his neck, throwing the plaintiff to the floor, handcuffing him, picking him up by his arms, and dragging him outside to throw him into a police car). 57 Plaintiffs allege that Defendants used excessive force in applying handcuffs too tightly to Rick Cortez. The record, however, presents little evidence of any damage to Rick Cortez's wrists. The only evidence of damages in the record is his affidavit that the handcuffing left red marks that were visible for days afterward. (Aplt.App. at 88.) This is insufficient, as a matter of law, to allege excessive force if the use of handcuffs is otherwise justified. Cf. Hannula v. Lakewood, 907 F.2d 129, 132 (10th Cir. 1990) (upholding—under a substantive due process standard, rather than a Fourth Amendment reasonableness standard— a grant of qualified immunity to officers accused of fastening handcuffs too tightly on a plaintiff when there was no evidence of contusions, lacerations or damage to the bones or nerves of her wrists . . . . [and][t]he evidence establishe[d] nothing more than that the handcuffing caused her pain). But cf. Lambert v. City of Dumas, 187 F.3d 931 (8th Cir.1999). 16 58 Indeed, neither the fact that Defendants took certain actions, nor the manner in which Defendants took those actions, appears problematic in connection with an otherwise lawful arrest. Therefore, if Rick Cortez was lawfully arrested, Plaintiffs' claim that Defendants used excessive force against Rick Cortez should not survive Defendants' summary judgment motion because, even taking Plaintiffs' allegations as true and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, Plaintiffs have not established that Defendants' use of force against Rick Cortez violated Rick Cortez's Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment right to be free from the use of excessive force. In other words, the Defendants would be entitled to qualified immunity on Rick Cortez's excessive force claim.