Opinion ID: 6500908
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The George Floyd Protests

Text: Like many major American cities, Madison, Wisconsin was embroiled in violent and disruptive protests during the weekend of May 30–31, 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s death. In Madison, crowds of hundreds engaged in rampant looting, vandalism, arson, and widespread violence. This chaotic situation was dangerous for civilians and law enforcement alike. Some protestors wore body armor and gas masks and armed themselves with weapons, including guns. Members of the Madison Police Department (“MPD”) were a particular target of some of the protestors. Protestors verbally threatened MPD officers with injury and death and hurled projectiles, injuring several officers. Over the course of the weekend, protestors torched a marked MPD squad car after stealing an AR-15 rifle from inside. In an attempt to restore order, Satya Rhodes-Conway, Mayor of Madison, declared a state of emergency on May 30, 2020, and imposed a city-wide curfew. 1 MPD officers were impressed into near 24-hour service. Officers Christopher Marzullo, Daniel Hamilton, and Manuel Gatdula were on duty the evening of May 31, 2020. 1 PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY, May 30, 2020, available at https://www.cityofmadison.com/sites/default/files/news/attachments/emergency_order.pdf (last accessed Jul. 6, 2022); see also id. at 1, § 6.a (“A curfew is hereby imposed at the following times: i. May 31, 2020, at 12:01 a.m. until May 31, 2020, at 5:00 a.m. [and] ii. May 31, 2020, at 9:30 p.m. until June 1, 2020, at 5:00 a.m.”). No. 21-2128 3 Marzullo was a 7-year veteran of the force while Hamilton and Gatdula were 13-year veterans. Around 11:00 p.m., the three officers were on the second floor of the Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel and Student Center which served as a law enforcement resupply and stand-down area. A group of MPD officers had recently left the chapel to render aid to a nearby officer who had been assaulted by the crowd. It was at this point, while overlooking the street below from the chapel’s large, second-story window, that Marzullo, Hamilton, and Gatdula first saw Appellant Kyle Olson.2 Olson parked a car directly across from the chapel. He was drinking an unknown liquid, which Hamilton believed could be alcohol, from a “tallboy” aluminum can and looking around at his surroundings. Both Hamilton and Gatdula considered this behavior unusual under the circumstances. Hamilton noted Olson appeared to be “checking a full 360” and scanning his environment to ensure he was not followed or observed by law enforcement. Gatdula also interpreted Olson’s behavior as designed to determine whether he was being watched. Given the unrest, Gatdula believed Olson was preparing to engage in activity he did not want seen or discovered. All three officers then watched Olson take a black pistol from the trunk of the car, tuck the gun into his waistband at the small of his back, and pull his shirt over the gun. The officers decided to confront Olson. Marzullo radioed the 2 Accounts of the interaction—specifically, the sequence of several key events—vary to some degree and form the basis of this appeal. Presently, unless otherwise noted, we describe those uncontested aspects of the encounter, those documented in the officers’ recorded radio transmissions to the MPD command post, and their written reports from that evening. 4 No. 21-2128 MPD command post that they were “going to deal with a gentleman that possibly has a [gun] outside the church.” Marzullo, Hamilton, and Gatdula exited the chapel and approached Olson with their service weapons drawn and trained on him. Marzullo ordered Olson to place his hands on the top of the car, and Olson immediately complied. Marzullo and Hamilton secured Olson’s hands while Gatdula proceeded to pat down Olson’s back. Gatdula felt what he believed to be the grip of a pistol at the small of Olson’s back, lifted Olson’s shirt, and pulled a black pistol from Olson’s waistband. Gatdula then walked approximately 10 feet away to a sidewalk to inspect the gun, which was fully loaded with a round in the chamber. At some point during this sequence of events, Hamilton radioed the MPD command post “[gun] secure. One at gunpoint.” Approximately 40 seconds elapsed between Marzullo’s initial call to the MPD command post regarding the officers’ intent to approach Olson and Hamilton’s call that the gun was secure. Marzullo and Hamilton handcuffed Olson and Hamilton radioed the MPD command post they had “[o]ne [arrest] in front of the church.” Twenty-four seconds elapsed between Hamilton’s call to the MPD command post that the gun was secured and his call that the officers made an arrest. Marzullo searched Olson incident to arrest and discovered drug paraphernalia. During this search, Marzullo reported Olson “ma[de] an excited utterance stating that he was a felon.” While the officers took Olson into custody, they drew attention from an increasingly hostile crowd. Several people passed the officers yelling “fuck 12” and “let him go,” presumably referring to Olson. Several large crowds of up to 100 people continued to gather and approach the officers’ No. 21-2128 5 position from a block away. Hamilton believed the approaching crowds were responsible for setting several fires that night and damaging property, including with a baseball bat. For everyone’s safety, Marzullo and Hamilton moved Olson out of the street to a nearby front porch where Marzullo radioed for assistance transporting Olson to the Dane County Jail. While awaiting transportation, Hamilton reported Olson confessed he was a convicted felon. All three officers filed written reports documenting their interaction with Olson in the early hours of June 1, 2020.