Opinion ID: 2979871
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Excessive Force Against Neal

Text: Plaintiffs contend that Defendants used excessive force when Melton “threw [Neal] up against his car after he protested the dog jumping on his small child.” On appeal, Hull and Melton argue that they should have been granted qualified immunity on this claim because the video establishes that Melton did not throw Neal against either vehicle during the stop. The district court did not explicitly address this claim. “Fourth Amendment jurisprudence has long recognized that the right to make an arrest or investigatory stop necessarily carries with it the right to use some degree of physical coercion or threat thereof to effect it.” Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989) (citing Terry v. Ohio. 392 U.S. 1, 22-27 (1968)). The determination of whether the force used is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment “requires a careful balancing of the nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests against the countervailing governmental interests at stake. Id. (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). In balancing these interests, the court should pay attention to the facts and circumstances of the particular case, including the following factors: (1) “the severity of the crime at issue,” (2) “whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others,” and (3) “whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Id. The force used by Melton was reasonable. The video confirms that Melton took Neal’s arm and escorted him away from the Cadillac as Hull approached to retrieve Solomon. Under the Graham factors this act was certainly not unreasonable: although Neal in no way resisted Defendants’ directives or even Melton’s use of force, it was not unreasonable for Melton to reduce any threat of harm by using a minimal amount of force to ensure that Neal did not impede Hull’s 7 effort to remove Solomon from the vehicle. Escorting Neal back to the hood of the police cruiser was similarly reasonable. The video does not show Melton using any other force against Neal and certainly does not indicate that Melton threw him against a car. Although Neal continues to assert that he was “grabbed” and “[dragged] over” to the police vehicle “where he slammed up against it,” the video record indicates that this is not the case. See Scott, 550 U.S. at 380-81 (holding that a court should rely on the video record when the plaintiff’s version of the facts blatantly contradicted it). Absent any other assertions of force against Neal, Plaintiffs have failed to allege a constitutional violation. As a result, we dismiss this excessive force claim because it fails as a matter of law to state a constitutional violation and need not decide whether Defendants’ actions merit qualified immunity. See Marvin, 509 F.3d at 244. Moreover, it appears that Plaintiffs abandoned this claim during earlier proceedings. Plaintiffs’ response to Defendants’ concise statement of material facts admits that Melton did not throw Neal against the car or otherwise use any force against him. See R.E. 12, Concise Statement of Material Facts of Defendants, ¶17 (“As evidenced by the patrol car video from the stop, Defendant Melton did not throw him against his car of the patrol car or otherwise use any force against him.”); R.E. 24, Response to Defendants’ Statement of Facts, ¶17 (“Admitted.”). Although both parties address this issue in their briefs, Plaintiffs have already conceded that Melton did not use excessive force against Neal.