Opinion ID: 6337343
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Immediate threat

Text: The second factor weighs against the officers because Mr. Wilkins did not pose an immediate threat after the takedown. He was facedown on his stomach, handcuffs secured his arms, officers were on him, Officer Emberton held his legs, and he did not resist. Aplt. App., Vol. I at 102, 167; Aplt. App., Vol. II at 261, 338, 340; Rangel BodyCam Footage, pt. 1 at 4:27. During the nearly 30 seconds preceding the pepper spray, Mr. Wilkins said “please, man,” “you’re breaking my f--- ing wrists,” and “I’m not doing nothing to you.” Rangel BodyCam Footage, pt. 1 at 4:08-4:35. He did not present an immediate threat when Officer Mortensen sprayed him with pepper spray. See Emmett, 973 F.3d at 1136 (after tackling suspect, officer “had effectively neutralized any safety concerns”); see also Vette v. K-9 Unit Deputy Sanders, 989 F.3d 1154, 1170 (10th Cir. 2021) (no immediate threat because suspect was under the officers’ control). Officer Mortensen testified that “[t]here was a possibility [Mr. Wilkins] could hurt [the officers] with a weapon” before he was fully searched. Aplt. App., Vol. I at 146-47; see also id. at 167 (Officer Emberton testifying that there is a safety risk before an officer completes a search because “there could be a weapon” and Mr. Wilkins “was a risk . . . since he had not been fully searched”). Even so, it was not 13 Appellate Case: 21-5052 Document: 010110678927 Date Filed: 05/03/2022 Page: 14 reasonable to pepper spray Mr. Wilkins “solely on the basis of that suspicion.” Dixon, 922 F.2d at 1463. And nothing in the record shows the officers believed or had reason to believe that Mr. Wilkins had a weapon or even that they asked if he was armed. No gun was reported or seen, Mr. Wilkins was not suspected of committing a crime involving a weapon, his hands were handcuffed behind his back, and he did not threaten harm. Officer Mortensen’s detailed incident report, completed within hours of the incident, does not indicate that any officer believed Mr. Wilkins was armed. Aplt. App., Vol. I at 170. Our precedent confirms there was no immediate threat under the circumstances. In Davis v. Clifford, 825 F.3d 1131 (10th Cir. 2016), we concluded the suspect did not pose an immediate threat because there was “no evidence that [she] had access to a weapon or that she threatened harm to herself or others.” Id. at 1135. We said the second Graham factor showed the officers used excessive force by pulling the suspect through her broken car window after she refused to exit her vehicle following a traffic stop. Id. In Walker v. City of Orem, 451 F.3d 1139 (10th Cir. 2006), we determined the suspect did not pose an immediate threat because, though he held a small knife, he “made no threats[,] was not advancing on anyone,” and “had not affirmatively led anyone to believe that he had a firearm.” Id. at 1159-60. We said that, based on the angle of the suspect’s hands and the lighting at the scene, the officer unreasonably believed that the suspect was pointing a gun at him. Id. 14 Appellate Case: 21-5052 Document: 010110678927 Date Filed: 05/03/2022 Page: 15 Even assuming the officers reasonably believed Mr. Wilkins was armed, they neutralized any immediate threat by taking him to the ground, gaining control over him, and preventing him from reaching a weapon. Indeed, Officer Emberton testified that officers take suspects to the ground “to prevent the individual from accessing a weapon of any sort.” Aplt. App., Vol. I at 167.7