Opinion ID: 4195259
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Facts as Pleaded Support Claims of

Text: Unconstitutional Excessive Force and Common Law Assault As pleaded, the facts relevant to Lee’s use of force are as follows: Hall was in the bathroom of the bar across the street from Cities when there was a knock at the door, to which Hall responded, “Someone’s in here.” Compl. ¶ 21. Then came a louder knock and the statement, “It’s the police.” Id. “Immediately thereafter,” without awaiting a response, Lee and her partner “broke down” the bathroom door, “threw [Hall] up against the bathroom wall,” and handcuffed her. Id. ¶ 22. Lee then “dragged” Hall out of the restaurant. Id. ¶ 24. Outside the restaurant, Lee “continued to tighten the handcuffs on [Hall’s] wrists to the point that [Hall] lost feeling in her thumb and hand and told [Lee] that she was hurting [Hall], but [Lee] still retained a firm grip on [Hall’s] upper right arm, enough to leave a full handprint bruise.” Id. ¶ 26. Lee then “dragged” Hall to a police cruiser and “threw” Hall in the back seat. Id. ¶ 28. claim as well. The complaint spells out that “Defendants Lee and John Doe substantially and meaningfully deprived Plaintiff of her right to be secure in her person under the Fourth Amendment, subjected Plaintiff to objectively excessive and excessive use of force which were unreasonable and constitute[d] an unlawful seizure.” Compl. ¶ 45. 29
We analyze a section 1983 claim of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment under the constitutional “objective reasonableness” standard. Cty. of Los Angeles v. Mendez, 137 S. Ct. 1539, 1546 (2017) (quoting Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 207 (2001)); accord Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989). We assess whether the use of force was reasonable by balancing the “nature and quality of the intrusion on the individual’s Fourth Amendment interests against the importance of the governmental interests alleged to justify the intrusion.” Tolan, 134 S. Ct. at 1865 (quoting Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 8 (1985)). We pay “careful attention to the facts and circumstances of [the] particular case, including the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of the officer or others, and whether [s]he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.” Johnson v. District of Columbia, 528 F.3d 969, 974 (D.C. Cir. 2008) (first alteration in original) (quoting Graham, 490 U.S. at 396). “An officer’s act of violence violates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable seizures if it furthers no governmental interest, such as apprehending a suspect or protecting an officer or the public.” Id. at 976. Because Officer Lee raised a defense of qualified immunity, we analyze the excessive force claim with an additional layer of protection for the officer, asking whether the violated right was clearly established. See Mullenix v. Luna, 136 S. Ct. 305, 308 (2015) (per curiam); Saucier, 533 U.S. at 200-02. The complaint alleges that Officer Lee “threw Plaintiff up against the bathroom wall,” “dragged Plaintiff out of the [bar],” “tighten[ed] the handcuffs on Plaintiff’s wrists to the point that Plaintiff lost feeling in her thumb and hand,” “dragged Plaintiff to an empty parked police cruiser . . . and threw Plaintiff in the 30 back seat.” Compl. ¶¶ 22, 24, 26, 28. It further alleges that Officer Lee thereby injured Hall’s wrist. Id. ¶ 32. The complaint contains no indication that Hall posed any threat to Lee or others, or that Hall had committed a serious crime. On the facts as the complaint describes them, Lee’s force was without justification, and the excessive force claim should not have been dismissed on the pleadings. We vacate the dismissal and remand the claim for further proceedings.
The same allegations that support the claim of excessive force against Lee also require reversal and remand of the district court dismissal of the assault claim. “An assault is an intentional and unlawful attempt or threat, either by words or by acts, to do physical harm to the victim.” Evans-Reid v. District of Columbia, 930 A.2d 930, 937 (D.C. 2007) (internal quotation marks omitted). The district court held that the complaint fails to allege “that the officers made any threats of harm which were objectively unreasonable.” Hall, 73 F. Supp. 3d at 121. We read the complaint to allege a course of conduct that conveyed a threat to Hall, reasonably causing her to fear for her safety. Officers broke down the bathroom door, threw Hall up against a wall, dragged Hall around, and tightened her cuffs when she protested that she was in pain. The officers did so abruptly and without warning, ignored her queries and objections, and refused to identify themselves or explain what was going on. Those allegations are fairly read to claim not only excessive use of force, but also a threatening message of more brutality in store for Hall if she questioned the officers’ actions. 31