Opinion ID: 791389
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Underlying Facts and State Court Proceedings

Text: 3 The following material facts are not in dispute. On March 20, 2001, Defendants Sherman and Vaughn, both Akron police officers, were called to investigate a domestic disturbance call at 1115 Peerless Avenue. The alleged victim informed the officers that the alleged perpetrator, her boyfriend, Carl Bromback, was at 1125 Peerless Avenue, a neighboring house. Sherman and Vaughn went to 1125, which was the home of Plaintiff Cummings, to investigate. Sherman opened the outside screen door, and knocked on the inside entry door. Cummings came to a window from inside the home, and asked the officers what they wanted; Sherman requested that Cummings come to the front door. Cummings came to the front door and partially opened it, and spoke briefly with the officers. During their conversation, Sherman placed one of his feet inside Cummings' doorway, while Vaughn stood directly behind him. Sherman asked Cummings whether Bromback was inside the residence, to which Cummings responded that he was not. Cummings also denied Sherman's request to come inside the house. 4 While the officers were speaking with Cummings, Sherman detected the odor of marijuana emanating from inside Cummings' house. After inquiring about Bromback, Sherman asked Cummings what about the weed?, and Cummings immediately attempted to close his front door. Sherman's foot, however, was still inside the doorway, and Cummings was unable to shut the door. At that point, Sherman and Vaughn both pushed the door open, and entered Cummings' home. 5 After Sherman and Vaughn gained entry into Cummings' house, a struggle ensued. The officers attempted to arrest Cummings, but he resisted, running out onto his front porch. During the struggle, Sherman and Vaughn struck Cummings with their fists and batons, and sprayed him with pepper spray. A third officer arrived on the scene, and used a Taser gun on Cummings, Cummings was finally subdued, handcuffed, and taken into police custody. After securing Cummings, the officers re-entered his home and seized marijuana and firearms. 6 Cummings was charged in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas with two counts of assaulting a police officer, both felonies, as well as resisting arrest, illegal cultivation of marijuana, possession of marijuana, and obstructing official business. Cummings pleaded not guilty to all charges, and filed a motion to suppress evidence. The trial court granted Cummings' motion to suppress, and the Ohio Court of Appeals affirmed. See State v. Cummings, No. 20609, 2002 WL 57979 (Ohio Ct.App. Jan. 16, 2002). Before the Ohio Court of Appeals, the State argued that Sherman and Vaughn were justified in entering Cummings' home either because he consented, or because there were exigent circumstances due to the officers' hot pursuit of a fleeing felon. Id. at -6. The State's hot pursuit theory rested on the argument that at the point when Cummings shut the door on Sherman's foot, he committed a felony assault, and the officers were justified in entering Cummings' house to arrest him. Id. at . The state did not contend at any point in the proceedings that any exigent circumstances except `hot pursuit' justified the officers' warrantless entry of Cummings' home. Id. at , n. 2. The Ohio Court of Appeals rejected both the State's consent argument and its exigent circumstances due to hot pursuit theory, concluding that the officers' entry into Cummings' home was unlawful, and therefore any evidence obtained as a result of that entry was properly suppressed. Id. at . 7 On remand back to the trial court after the Ohio Court of Appeals' rejection of the State's suppression arguments, Cummings pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault on Officer Vaughn, and all other charges against him were dropped. 1 He was sentenced to thirty days in jail on the assault charge, with credit for time served. 8