Schreiber v. Moe

• Decision Date: 04 March 2010
• Docket Number: No. 09-1337.,09-1337.
• Citation: 596 F.3d 323
• Parties: James Warren SCHREIBER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Officer William MOE and City of Grand Rapids, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

596 F.3d 323

James Warren SCHREIBER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Officer William MOE and City of Grand Rapids, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 09-1337.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued: January 19, 2010.

Decided and Filed: March 4, 2010.

ARGUED: Anthony C. Greene, Law Offices, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellant. Margaret P. Bloemers, City Attorney's Office for the City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Anthony C. Greene, Law Offices, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellant. Margaret P. Bloemers, Nadine R. Klein, Patrick J. Lannen, City Attorney's Office for the City of Grand Rapids, Grand Rapids, Michigan, for Appellee.

Before: SILER, MOORE, and CLAY, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

KAREN NELSON MOORE, Circuit Judge.

In this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action, Plaintiff-Appellant James Warren Schreiber ("Schreiber") appeals the district court's decision to grant, in part, the defendants' motion for summary judgment. In particular, Schreiber argues that the district court erred in concluding that, as a matter of law, Defendant-Appellee William Moe ("Moe") was not liable for his warrantless entry into Schreiber's home or the force he used in subsequently arresting Schreiber. For the reasons discussed below, we AFFIRM the district court's judgment with respect to Schreiber's warrantless-entry claim, but REVERSE the district court's judgment with respect to Schreiber's excessive-force claim.

I. BACKGROUND

On November 1, 2002, Moe, a police officer, was on patrol on the north side of the City of Grand Rapids. At approximately 3:45 p.m., he received a dispatch directing him to go to Schreiber's apartment. The dispatch was a "Priority 2," which encompasses cases where there is a risk of physical harm to a person at the scene. According to the computer display in Moe's car, someone had called 911 who claimed to have been talking to Schreiber's teenage daughter, Sarah, on the telephone and had heard her parents yelling. According to the caller, the telephone call had suddenly been disconnected, and, when the caller called Sarah back, Schreiber hung up the phone. The caller believed that Sarah was "getting beat." Doc. 51-4 (Ex. D at 1). The caller also asked to remain anonymous.¹

Moe claims that, upon arriving at Schreiber's apartment, he could hear an angry male voice yelling profanities, and Schreiber admits that he was in a "heated" discussion with Sarah. Doc. 51-15 (Schreiber Dep. at 17). Moe proceeded to knock on the door, which was answered by a young boy around the age of ten. At this point, Moe could see Schreiber yelling at someone within the home. The parties seem to dispute, however, whether Sarah was visible to Moe at this point; Schreiber claims that she was, and Moe claims that she was not. Moe asked the young boy if Sarah was okay. Shortly thereafter, Schreiber came to the door, and according to Moe, Schreiber was shouting phrases such as "`what the fuck do you want'" and "`I hate the fucking police.'" Doc. 51-22 (Moe Prelim. Exam. at 11). According to Moe, Moe responded by explaining that he was there to check on Sarah's welfare, only to have Schreiber reply "`no, you fuckin' don't.'" Id. at 12-13. Schreiber does not deny making these statements, but does claim that he asked for a warrant and also that he explicitly told Moe that Sarah was fine. Moe then entered the home before Schreiber could close the door. Once through the door, Moe claims that Schreiber's wife invited him to come in further. Neither of the parties dispute that Moe did not have a warrant.

Upon entering the living room, Moe saw Sarah for what he claims was the first time. Both parties seem to agree that she was crying and visibly upset, though there were no obvious signs of physical injury. During this time, however, the house appears to have been in "chaos." Doc. 51-23 (Moe Prelim. Exam. at 17). Schreiber and Sarah continued yelling at one another, and Schreiber continued shouting various insults at Moe. In particular, Schreiber claims that he told Moe that Moe did not have a search warrant and admits that he "probably" called Moe a "Neo Nazi" and a "pig." Doc. 51-15 (Schreiber Dep. at 31). Furthermore, according to Moe, Schreiber also threatened to have Moe killed by the "Michigan Militia," a claim Schreiber does not deny. Doc. 51-23 (Moe Prelim. Exam. at 22). Moe decided to call for backup.

At some point during the altercation, Schreiber's wife, Emily, handed Moe a telephone and explained that a woman from Catholic Social Services was on the line. According to Moe, the woman, Cyndi Musto ("Musto"), proposed that Sarah leave the home and spend the night at a local youth shelter in order to get away from her father. In her deposition, Musto claims that she told Moe that she was concerned about Sarah's safety, but Musto later admitted that she could not "remember, actually, what was said." Doc. 51-19 (Musto Dep. at 31).

A short while later, Officer Veldman arrived on the scene in response to Moe's request for backup. After Veldman arrived, Moe proceeded to do a file check on Schreiber, during which Schreiber became agitated and asked if he could go to his room. Moe told Schreiber he could not leave because he might have weapons elsewhere in the home. According to Moe, Schreiber again started shouting at him, saying that Schreiber hated the police and that he wanted them all dead, a claim that Schreiber has not denied. Schreiber then asked if he could go to the bathroom, and Moe again told him no.² Nonetheless, Schreiber attempted to walk past Moe, who responded by putting his hand up to block Schreiber's path. This prompted Schreiber to turn around and hurry onto an adjoining balcony that was about ten feet off the ground, throwing his couch to the side in the process. While on the balcony, Schreiber behaved erratically and attempted to find a way down.

The record is not entirely clear as to what happened next. Schreiber claimed in his deposition that he closed the sliding glass balcony door, though in an earlier interview with the Internal Affairs Unit, he claimed that Moe shut the door. Moe claimed that he closed the door so that he could speak with Sarah without any disruptions. The parties agree that Schreiber was subsequently unable to get back in the house, though they disagree as to why. Schreiber claims that Moe locked the door, though Schreiber admits that he never saw Moe do so.³ Moe, however, claims that he never touched the lock. Schreiber also claims that Moe laughed when he saw that Schreiber could not re-enter, which caused Schreiber to get angry.

Schreiber claims that he "probably" demanded that Moe "open the F'n door," Doc. 51-15 (Schreiber Dep. at 36), and when Moe did not, Schreiber admits that he picked up a chair on the porch and used it to shatter the balcony door by hitting it several times. Schreiber then entered the apartment through the hole that he had broken in the glass, and from this point forward the parties' accounts of what happened differ sharply. Schreiber claims that he never made "any moves towards" Moe, never "lift[ed his] hands toward" Moe, Doc. 51-16 (Schreiber Dep. at 88), never tried to strike Moe, and was generally in control of his own behavior.⁴ Id. at 89. Schreiber claims that he just walked back inside the apartment and then Moe "threw [him] down," id. at 43, rubbed his face in the glass, turned him around so he was face up, punched him in the face at least twenty times, and also squeezed his groin. Id. at 45-46, 60. Schreiber does admit, however, to calling Moe names throughout the incident. Moe, by contrast, claims that Schreiber charged at him when Schreiber came through the glass and that Moe "end[ed] up taking [Schreiber] to the ground." Doc. 51-23 (Moe Prelim. Exam. at 26). Moe further claims that Schreiber struck him about seven or eight times and that Moe struck back at Schreiber about six times and only in self-defense. Meanwhile, Officer Veldman was busy trying to prevent the other family members from entering the fray.

Once Schreiber was in custody, he was placed in a patrol car where he claims he suffered additional abuse that is outside the scope of this appeal. While in the car, Schreiber claims that Moe tried to "create a new version" of the events that occurred by telling him that it was Schreiber who struck first. Doc. 51-16 (Schreiber Dep. at 91). The hospital report indicates that, shortly after the incident, Schreiber's left eye was swollen shut, that he had "three major lacerations" on his face, and that he had facial bone fractures. Doc. 51-9 (Ex. I at 1-2). Schreiber also claims that, as a result of Moe's actions, he suffered headaches for three months and continues to have anxiety problems.

On December 16, 2003, Schreiber pleaded no contest in Michigan state court to attempting to "assault, batter, wound, resist, obstruct, oppose, or endanger" a police officer under Michigan Compiled Laws § 750.81 d(1) and § 750.92. Doc. 51-1 (Ex. A at 1-3). On February 4, 2005, Schreiber brought this § 1983 action against Moe and Grand Rapids in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan. In the complaint, Schreiber alleged that Moe was liable for false arrest, illegal imprisonment, entering his home without a warrant, unlawful seizure, and the use of excessive force. Schreiber further claimed that Grand Rapids was vicariously liable due to its failure to train its officers adequately and its policy of tolerating officer misconduct.

The defendants moved for summary judgment, and the district court granted this motion in part. In particular, the district court found that exigent circumstances justified Moe's warrantless entry into Schreiber's home and, in any event, that Moe was entitled to qualified immunity. Furthermore, the district court determined that Heck v. Humphrey, 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), barred Schreiber's false-arrest and illegal-imprisonment claims because Schreiber...