Case Law & Resources: California
Citation
Issue Presented & Facts
Hoffman v. Jourdan, 2017 WL 4547066, at *12 (E.D. Cal. Oct. 12, 2017), report and recommendation adopted, 214CV2736MCEKJNP, 2017 WL 5070364 (E.D. Cal. Nov. 3, 2017)
Whether a plaintiff could allege a 4th Amendment violation based on excessive force where officers failed to comply with state Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training (POST) guidelines on interacting with people with mental impairments.
Motel called police on a P after her card was declined, and the motel wanted her to leave the property. After P refused to open the motel door, officers broke the door and caused physical injuries. P was unarmed. P alleged excessive force and proffered evidence that she suffered from schizophrenia. It was unknown whether officers were aware of her mental illness when they arrived at the scene.
Holding
Law enforcement officer defendants were not entitled to summary judgment on claims of excessive use of force in part because they likely failed to comply with state policing guidelines despite being aware of plaintiff's mental impairment.
Reference to Cal. Penal Code § 13515.25; Welfare and Institutions Code § 5150.16, 4th Amd.
Booke v. County of Fresno, 98 F. Supp. 3d 1103, 1114 (E.D. Cal. 2015)
Whether a reasonable jury could find excessive force in violation of the 4th Amendment where officers failed to use alternatives to deadly force when interacting with a person with mental impairments.
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Suicidal man with hand gun and knives had been drinking and 911 alley stated that he wanted to provoke officers to shoot him, but he would not hurt anyone. Salinas moved towards officers, no weapon in hand, but with a bulge beneath his shirt. One officer yelled "less lethal" and fired the beanbag shot. Three other city officers fired their AR-15 rifles together.
A reasonable jury could find that excessive force because officers should have recognized that the plaintiff had mental impairment but failed to use less-than-lethal force in compliance with POST guidelines.
As with POST Learning Domain 37, Policy 418.3 addresses the necessity for “conflict resolution and de-escalation techniques,” and requires officers to consider alternatives to “deadly force” (if circumstances permit) when interacting with a person with mental illness.
Salinas did not move quickly, and the officers could have at least given him a warning that they would fire if he did not stop. His actions also did not pose an immediate threat to the officers.
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Reference to 4th Amd.; Cal. Penal Code § 13515.25; Cal Welfare & Institutions Code § 5150
Deorle v. Rutherford, 272 F.3d 1272 (9th Cir.) (2001)
Whether an officer violated the 4th Amendment in using excessive force on plaintiff by using a lead-filled beanbag round.
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Police officer shot Deorle with a "less lethal" round," but he provided no warning. Deorle, though verbally abusive, complied with officers and threw his hatchet and crossbow away when they told him to put it down. He did scream at the officer that he would "kick his ass." However, Deorle did not attack or touch anyone. He was walking towards officer w/ a steady gait when shot.
Grant of summary judgment is reversed & remanded. Degree of force was excessive. "The absence of a warning or an order to halt is also a factor that influences our decision. Shooting a person who is making a disturbance because he walks in the direction of an officer at a steady gait with a can or bottle in his hand is clearly not objectively reasonable. Certainly it is not objectively reasonable to do so when the officer neither orders the individual to stop nor to drop the can or bottle, and does not even warn him that he will be fired upon if he fails to halt. Appropriate warnings comport with actual police practice."
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Reference to 4th Amd.
Case Law
Resources
Citation
Summary and Notes
Policies to de-escalate and to identify selves as police officers before shooting.
Relevant Excerpt
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Policies requiring de-escalation, a warning before shooting, a "use of force continuum," and exhausting all alternatives before shooting
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