Opinion ID: 3000549
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendant Sergeant Krummick

Text: Gonzalo also sued Sergeant Krummick for excessive force. The district court summarized the facts as related to this claim as follows: “There is evidence from several plaintiffs that after officers pursued Gonzalo as he ‘walked fast’ from the front yard to the back yard, Krummick participated in the scuffle and arrested of Gonzalo (described in part in our discussion of Officer Sirgedas’s motion) by hitting Gonzalo with an asp and kicking him.” District Court Opinion at 69-70. The district court’s earlier description of the arrest noted that Gonzalo “admitted that he struggled with two officers (apparently Vitalo and DeCianni), but he denies that he 8 Again, the uniqueness of this case leaves us without any analogous case law, but the Graham factors nonetheless support our conclusion that Officer Vitalo did not use excessive force in arresting Gonzalo. Alternatively, given the lack of analogous case law, even were we to conclude that Officer Vitalo used excessive force, he would be entitled to qualified immunity on Gonzalo’s claims because it was not clearly established that his conduct was unreasonable. Nos. 05-4278 & 05-4590 Page 19 bit Vitalo and denies that he hit or kicked Vitalo.” District Court Opinion at 38. The district court also noted that Gonzalo admitted that he bit DeCianni. District Court Opinion at 38. As was the case with Officers Sirgedas and Vitalo, under the circumstances facing the officers, striking Gonzalo with an asp and kicking him did not constitute excessive force. Specifically, as noted above, Gonzalo admitted to fleeing to the backyard to avoid being arrested and to resisting arrest and he admits that he struggled with at least two officers and that he bit one of those officers. Gonzalo’s admission to resisting arrest and the setting in which the resistance occurred (an escalating situation in which partygoers outnumbered officers), we conclude it was reasonable for Sergeant Krummick to strike Gonzalo with an asp and kick him so as to try to subdue and arrest him.9 Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s denial of summary judgment to defendant Sergeant Krummick on Gonzalo’s excessive force claim.