Opinion ID: 173047
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Altercation

Text: The parties vehemently dispute the events leading to the present suit. 1 They agree, however, regarding some background details: Arnold and her friend, Lorenzo Castillo, attended a movie at a theater in Provo, Utah. Curtis, a sergeant with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office but in plainclothes at the time, attended the same movie with his wife. While the movie was playing Curtis approached Arnold and Castillo—who had been conversing with each other in their 1 For a more complete recitation of the parties’ narratives, see Arnold, 243 F. App’x at 409–11. -2- seats—and told them to keep quiet. After the movie, when the theater was mostly empty, Castillo confronted Curtis and requested an apology. From here, the parties’ narratives diverge sharply. Arnold testified at trial that Castillo was polite in his request for an apology, but Curtis became aggressive, telling Castillo if he “[w]ant[ed] to play, we’ll play.” Appellee’s Supp. App. at 7. Curtis, on the other hand, testified it was Castillo who became aggressive, clenching his fist and threatening to attack. In any event, it is undisputed that at some point Curtis displayed his police badge and arrested Castillo. Arnold then attempted to intervene. According to Arnold, she pleaded for Curtis to let Castillo go but did not attempt to physically separate the two men. She requested several times that they simply drop the matter and walk away. In response, Curtis grabbed Arnold by the shoulders, turned her around, and threw her down the theater steps. Curtis testified to a very different chain of events. He claimed Arnold became hysterical when he displayed his police badge and placed Castillo under arrest. Seeking to “deescalate” the situation, Curtis attempted to lead Castillo out of the theater. Appellee’s Supp. App. at 55–57 (Trial Tr.). But Arnold became even more agitated, and she lunged at Curtis and grabbed him around the waist. At Curtis’s request, Castillo told Arnold to release her hold on Curtis. But after letting go she lunged at Curtis again. This time, Curtis reached his arm out to -3- prevent Arnold from grabbing him. During this frenzy, Arnold tripped and fell down the theater stairs. At trial, both Arnold and Curtis called several witnesses to testify in support of their versions of the story. Each side’s version contained some inconsistencies.