Janis v. Biesheuvel, 05-1660.

• Decision Date: 25 October 2005
• Docket Number: No. 05-1660.,05-1660.
• Citation: 428 F.3d 795
• Parties: Virginia JANIS, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Oliver Richards, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jim BIESHEUVEL, individually and in his official capacity as Deputy Sheriff of the Custer County Sheriff's Office, Custer County, State of South Dakota; State of South Dakota; South Dakota Highway Patrol, a political subdivision of the State of South Dakota, as employer of Trooper Garstenshlager; Trooper Ted Garstenshlager, individually and in his official capacity of the South Dakota Highway Patrol; Custer County, South Dakota, as employer of Deputy Biesheuvel and as a political subdivision of the State of South Dakota; Custer County Sheriff's Department, as employer of Jim Biesheuvel, and as a political subdivision of Custer County; John Doe One through Three, jointly, severally, and individually, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

428 F.3d 795

Virginia JANIS, as Personal Representative for the Estate of Oliver Richards, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jim BIESHEUVEL, individually and in his official capacity as Deputy Sheriff of the Custer County Sheriff's Office, Custer County, State of South Dakota; State of South Dakota; South Dakota Highway Patrol, a political subdivision of the State of South Dakota, as employer of Trooper Garstenshlager; Trooper Ted Garstenshlager, individually and in his official capacity of the South Dakota Highway Patrol; Custer County, South Dakota, as employer of Deputy Biesheuvel and as a political subdivision of the State of South Dakota; Custer County Sheriff's Department, as employer of Jim Biesheuvel, and as a political subdivision of Custer County; John Doe One through Three, jointly, severally, and individually, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 05-1660.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: September 12, 2005.

Filed: October 25, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Robin L. Zephier, argued, Rapid City, South Dakota, for appellant.

Neil K. Fulton, argued, Pierre, South Dakota, for appellees John Doe, Trooper Ted Garstenshlager, South Dakota Highway Patrol, and the State of South Dakota.

Donald P. Knudsen, argued, Rapid, City, South Dakota (James S. Nelson on the brief), for appellees Custer County, South Dakota, Custer County Sheriff's Department and Jim Biesheuvel.

Before MELLOY, BEAM, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

MELLOY, Circuit Judge.

Oliver Richards brought this action alleging that law enforcement used excessive force in their arrest of Richards near Custer, South Dakota. The district court¹ granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. It held that Richards had not produced sufficient evidence to demonstrate that his Fourth Amendment rights had been violated, and that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity. Virginia Janis, on behalf of the estate of Oliver Richards, brings this appeal. We affirm.

I. Background

On May 16, 2003, Oliver Richards's vehicle headed northbound on Highway 79 near Angostura, South Dakota. He was traveling at approximately 40-45 mph on the 65 mph highway. South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks ("GFP") officers observed Richards driving erratically. GFP officers turned on their flashing blue lights, attempted to pull-over Richards's vehicle, and radioed in to the South Dakota Highway Patrol and Custer County Sheriff's Office that they were in pursuit of a possible drunk driver. GFP officers, Highway Patrol officers, and Deputies from the Custer County Sheriff's Office pursued Richards for approximately thirty minutes with their flashing overhead lights and sirens on. Richards did not stop. Because Richards would not stop, the South Dakota Highway Patrol District Commander authorized the deployment of tire-deflating spikes. Richards drove over the spikes but kept going even though his tires were deflating and multiple law enforcement vehicles were present with their emergency lights and sirens activated. Authorities then set up a "rolling roadblock" in which law enforcement vehicles pulled in front of, and behind, Richards's vehicle and then slowed down until his vehicle was stopped on the side of the road.

Law enforcement officers approached Richards's car and demanded he exit the vehicle. Richards refused repeated commands to exit the car. At that point, Deputy Sheriff Jim Biesheuvel of the Custer County Sheriff's Office and Trooper Ted Garstenschlager of the South Dakota Highway Patrol reached through the open driver's door, grabbed Richards's arms, and pried his grip from the steering wheel. The officers then pulled Richards out of the vehicle and placed him on the road,² face down. The officers put Richards's arms behind his back and handcuffed him. Richards complained of pain in his left arm and shoulder. Officers then took Richards to the side of the road, where they determined that he was not intoxicated, but rather was suffering from diabetic shock. Officers called for an ambulance and removed Richards's handcuffs. Officers gave Richards a glucose tube and administered medical care for several cuts on his wrists and a cut over his eye until the ambulance arrived.³

On May 13, 2004, Richards brought this action alleging that the officers violated his constitutional rights. He alleged that the officers used excessive force when they removed him from the car and handcuffed him on the ground, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Richards also alleged that the law enforcement agencies failed to properly train, supervise, discipline, and control their officers. Finally, Richards alleged negligent hiring, supervision, and training under South Dakota law. Defendants claimed in their answers that they were entitled to qualified and sovereign immunity on all claims. As a result of these defenses, the district court issued an order requiring the defendants to move for summary judgment. The district court also ordered that discovery not proceed until the defenses were resolved.

On August 9, 2004, Richards moved for reconsideration of the district court's order limiting discovery and requested that defendants' motion be held in abeyance until discovery was completed. While these motions were pending, Oliver Richards died from causes unrelated to the incidents that gave rise to this lawsuit. Virginia Janis, as personal representative of Richards's estate, was substituted in his place.

On December 28, 2004, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. The district court also denied Janis's motion to reconsider its order limiting discovery and stay resolution of the motions for summary judgment pending discovery. Janis now brings this timely appeal.

II. Discussion

A. Excessive Force Claim

We review de novo a grant of summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Seiner v. Drenon, 304 F.3d 810, 812 (8th Cir.2002). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(c), summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). A motion for summary judgment places an affirmative burden on the non-moving party to go beyond the pleadings and, by affidavit or otherwise, produce specific facts that show that there is a genuine issue for trial. Fed R. Civ. P. 56(e).

To determine whether a defendant is entitled to qualified immunity, we engage in a two-part analysis. Littrell v. Franklin, 388 F.3d 578, 582 (8th Cir.2004). First, we examine "whether, construed in a light most favorable to the party asserting the injury, the facts alleged show the officers' conduct violated a constitutional right." Andrews v. Fuoss, 417 F.3d 813, 816; see also Littrell, 388 F.3d at 582 ("The `existence or nonexistence of a constitutional right' is, therefore, the threshold question.") (quoting Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001)). Second, we must determine whether the right was clearly established. Littrell, 388 F.3d at 582. This second step is a "fact-intensive inquiry and `must be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as a broad general proposition.'" Id. at 583 (quoting Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151.). A constitutional right is clearly established if "[t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right." Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987). "Thus, ... in light of the Anderson definition of clearly established, the question whether the ... right was clearly established at the time the defendant acted ... requires an assessment of whether the official's conduct would have been objectively reasonable at the time of the incident." Littrell, 388 F.3d at 583 (internal quotations and citations omitted).

In this case, Janis asserts that the officers violated Richards's right to be free from excessive force. We analyze excessive force claims in the context of seizures under the Fourth Amendment. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). "To establish a constitutional violation under the Fourth Amendment's right to be free from excessive force, `the test is whether the amount of force used was objectively reasonable under the particular circumstances.'" Littrell, 388 F.3d at 583 (quoting Greiner v. City of Champlin, 27 F.3d 1346, 1354 (8th Cir.1994)). We judge the reasonableness of an officer's use of force "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight." Graham, 490 U.S. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865.

Viewing the evidence in this case in a light most favorable to Janis, we conclude that Janis has failed to meet her burden of proving that an issue of material fact exists as to whether the amount of force used was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances, and, therefore, she did not show that the defendants violated a constitutional right. Accordingly, we need not reach the second step of the qualified immunity analysis.

In the present case, the defendants believed that Richards was intoxicated while operating his vehicle. They reached this conclusion after having observed Richards driving erratically. Based on this belief, they attempted to stop his vehicle in a thirty-minute pursuit. When Richards would not stop, they used tire-deflating spikes. When this did not stop Richards, they employed a rolling roadblock. The officers were entitled to stop Richards and ask him to exit his vehicle. See United States v. Mallari, 334 F.3d 765, 766-67 (8th Cir.2003) (stating that a traffic stop is justified when an officer has an objectively reasonable basis for believing a traffic law has been violated).

Once they were...