Burchett v. Kiefer

• Decision Date: 19 November 2002
• Docket Number: No. 01-3301.,01-3301.
• Citation: 310 F.3d 937
• Parties: Charles E. BURCHETT; Carla Burchett, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Greg KIEFER; R.K. Copas; Tony Robinson; Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation; Paul Bliss; Jon Dozer; Dennis Lowe; William Morris, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

310 F.3d 937

Charles E. BURCHETT; Carla Burchett, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Greg KIEFER; R.K. Copas; Tony Robinson; Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation; Paul Bliss; Jon Dozer; Dennis Lowe; William Morris, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 01-3301.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Submitted: August 6, 2002.

Decided and Filed: November 19, 2002.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

David L. Day (briefed), Samuel A. Gradwohl (briefed), Columbus, OH, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Randall Lee Lambert (briefed), Patricia S. Sanders (briefed), Lambert, McWhorter & Bowling, Ironton, OH, Karen J. Huey (briefed), Office of the Attorney General of Ohio, Columbus, OH, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before MOORE and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; ROSEN, District Judge.^*

OPINION

MOORE, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiffs Charles and Carla Burchett appeal from an order granting the defendants' motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against certain members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, alleging violations of their Fourth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The alleged violations arose out of an incident on July 9, 1998, when Charles Burchett was seized, handcuffed, and detained in a police car while law enforcement officials executed a search warrant on the home of his brother, who lived next door. The district court granted all defendants' motions for summary judgment, concluding that no reasonable jury could find the defendants to have violated the Burchetts' rights. We AFFIRM in part and REVERSE in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Taken in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, the facts of this case are as follows. On July 9, 1998, members of the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation ("BCI") were asked to assist the Jackson County Sheriff's Department in executing a search warrant on a house in Oak Hill, Ohio, that belonged to Charles Burchett's brother. That evening, Sheriff Kiefer led members of the two teams to the house to search for drugs. Charles Burchett, who lived next door, saw unmarked vehicles pull into his brother's driveway, and he walked to the edge of the property line between the two houses for a better view. The parties agree that the property line is approximately twenty-five feet from each house, and that the two houses are thus approximately fifty feet apart. Burchett saw three individuals, all of whom he describes as wearing black clothes with no identification and two of whom he describes as wearing masks, walk around the back of his brother's house with weapons. According to Burchett, one of the individuals — all of whom turned out to be BCI agents — yelled at him to get on the ground.

Fearing for the safety of his baby, who was in a porch swing nearby, Burchett turned and ran onto his porch. The officers pursued him, because, in BCI Agent Lowe's words, "as I saw him standing there in the yard he had something in his hand and I could see it was something black and looked like it was a weapon at the time.... So he turned and ran, he was leaving [the brother's] property and wasn't obeying my command to get on the ground. So I gave chase because I felt he was a threat." Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 101 (Lowe Dep.). According to Burchett and his wife, Carla, the officers followed him onto the porch and seized him just as he was reaching for his baby. Carla then came outside onto the porch and took the baby from the swing. At this point, Burchett had nothing in his hands; the black object that looked like a weapon turned out to have been Burchett's sunglasses, which were now lying on the porch.

Other officers arrived, and the officials immediately attempted to handcuff Burchett. Burchett admits to having "[t]wisted and turned some" while being handcuffed, J.A. at 88 (Burchett Dep.), and his wife stated that he was "kind of jumping around," J.A. at 61 (Carla Burchett Dep.). BCI Agent Bliss claims that Burchett kept one arm out and would not let the officers bring it down. The officers eventually succeeded in handcuffing him, and according to Burchett, they began pushing him in the direction of the patrol car and off the porch, which has a "step down," and Burchett fell. J.A. at 78 (Burchett Dep.). He was then taken away and, by his account, "pushed very roughly" into a marked Sheriff's Department patrol car that had arrived after the unmarked cars. J.A. at 78.

Burchett was kept handcuffed and in the police car for three hours while the search was executed. By all accounts, this was a very hot day. Although the incident began sometime after 4:30 in the afternoon, Burchett testified that the outdoor temperature remained at ninety degrees. The car's windows were initially down and the car was running, but upon placing Burchett in the car, the officers rolled up the windows and turned off the car.¹ The air conditioner remained off and the windows up for the three hours. Burchett says that he asked the officers "to roll the window down to get some air," but they told him, "No, shut your mouth." J.A. at 85 (Burchett Dep.). At least two of the officers were aware of the heat that day, as BCI Agent Bliss testified that while he and BCI Agent Dozer were executing the search warrant in the attic of the brother's residence, the temperatures became "extremely hot" and they had to step outside periodically to get some air.² J.A. at 57 (Bliss Dep.). Burchett's wife testified that when he was eventually let out of the car, he was "sopping wet from sweat." J.A. at 64 (Carla Burchett Dep.).

Sheriff Kiefer, who observed Burchett in the car, described Burchett as being "generally in a rage." J.A. at 95 (Kiefer Dep.). BCI Agent Bliss testified that he saw Burchett three or four times during that period, and that he once tried to calm Burchett by speaking with him in the car. Toward the end of the three hours, Sheriff Kiefer asked Burchett's wife and daughter to speak with Burchett and calm him down. The officers opened the window slightly for them to do so, at which point Burchett showed them that his hands were swollen and blue. Burchett's daughter pointed this out to Kiefer, who told Burchett that he would be released if he promised to behave. Burchett agreed, was let out of the car, and was released from the handcuffs. Burchett was given a citation for disorderly conduct, but the charges were later dismissed.

Burchett claims that he suffered physical and emotional injuries as a result of his detention. The detention in the heat caused extreme discomfort, and the handcuffs caused swelling, abrasions, and three or four days of missed work. He fears that police will "attack" him again, and his wife states that he has had nightmares since then. Burchett's wife also states that she has experienced mental anguish as a result of the incident.

Burchett and his wife filed this lawsuit on December 17, 1998, alleging violations of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, his Sixth Amendment right to be informed of the nature and cause of the charges against him, and his Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection and not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Burchett has added and dropped numerous defendants since the case was first filed, but at the summary judgment stage the following defendants remained: Sheriff Greg Kiefer, Deputy Sheriff R.H. Copas, and Deputy Sheriff Tony Robinson of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, as well as BCI Agents Paul Bliss, Jon Dozer, Dennis Lowe, and William Morris.

All defendants moved for and were granted summary judgment. The district court noted that the defendants could be entitled to qualified immunity, but without reaching the question of whether the rights at issue were clearly established or known by reasonable people, the court ruled that no constitutional violations had occurred. Because the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit police from detaining individuals present during a search in order to prevent flight, ensure safety, and protect evidence, and the district court found that the detention of Burchett was reasonable, it concluded that no Fourth Amendment violation occurred. The district court also apparently interpreted Burchett's Sixth Amendment claim to be a claim regarding his right to counsel. Because that right does not attach until the beginning of adversarial criminal proceedings, the court ruled that no Sixth Amendment right was violated.

II. ANALYSIS

We review a district court's decision granting summary judgment de novo. Gen. Elec. Co. v. G. Siempelkamp GmbH & Co., 29 F.3d 1095, 1097 (6th Cir.1994). Summary judgment is proper only if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). We must look beyond the pleadings and must assess the proof to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). The proper inquiry is whether the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). "Rule 56(c) mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). In conducting the summary judgment analysis, we must view all inferences to be drawn from the underlying facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Gen. Elec. Co., 29 F.3d at 1097-98.

The Burchetts' claims must be evaluated under the framework of qualified immunity....