Goff v. Bise

• Decision Date: 10 February 1999
• Docket Number: No. 98-2849,98-2849
• Citation: 173 F.3d 1068
• Parties: Richard GOFF, Appellee, v. Lloyd BISE, Individually and in his official capacity as Mayor of the town of Vilonia, Arkansas; Shane Shoemake, Individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Police of the Police Department of Vilonia, Arkansas; City of Vilonia, Arkansas, Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1068

173 F.3d 1068

Richard GOFF, Appellee, v. Lloyd BISE, Individually and in his official capacity as

Mayor of the town of Vilonia, Arkansas; Shane Shoemake,

Individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Police

of the Police Department of Vilonia, Arkansas; City of

Vilonia, Arkansas, Appellants.

No. 98-2849.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Feb. 10, 1999.

Filed April 6, 1999.

David Carl Schoen, North Little Rock, Arkansas, argued (Thomas N. Kieklak, North Little Rock, Arkansas, on the brief), for Appellants.

Sam T. Heuer, Little Rock, Arkansas, argued, for Appellee.

Before: BOWMAN, Chief Judge, FAGG, and HANSEN, Circuit Judges.

BOWMAN, Chief Judge.

Alleging violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Richard Goff sued Lloyd Bise, the mayor of Vilonia, Arkansas; Shane Shoemake, the Vilonia chief of police; and the City of Vilonia. The District Court ¹ denied the defendants' motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, and the case was tried to a jury. Mr. Goff's claims against the City were not submitted to the jury, but the jury determined that Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake had violated Mr. Goff's Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause and by using excessive force when making the arrest. The District Court entered judgment on the jury's verdict. All three defendants appeal, arguing they were entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake also argue that the District Court erred when it denied their motion for judgment as a matter of law and made certain evidentiary and instructional rulings. We affirm.

I.

Lloyd Bise, the mayor of Vilonia, Arkansas, and Richard Goff, a Vilonia resident, met in 1978 and for many years were friends and business associates. In February 1996, however, Mr. Goff began to suspect that his wife, Joyce Goff, was having an affair with Mayor Bise. Mr. and Mrs. Goff subsequently divorced, and the relationship between Mr. Goff and Mayor Bise deteriorated. This led to a number of confrontations, including one on August 12, 1996, that gave rise to this lawsuit. The parties dispute much of what occurred on August 12, but the jury's verdict resolved these disputes in Mr. Goff's favor. We therefore summarize the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury verdict. See Cox v. Dubuque Bank & Trust Co., 163 F.3d 492, 494 (8th Cir.1998).

On August 12, Mr. Goff was driving through Vilonia when he saw Mayor Bise standing outside City Hall. Mayor Bise made an obscene gesture at Mr. Goff and taunted Mr. Goff about the affair the mayor was having with Mr. Goff's wife. Angered, Mr. Goff turned his truck around and followed Mayor Bise, who got into his own truck and drove to the Vilonia post office.

At the post office, Mayor Bise remained in his truck while mailing some letters. Mayor Bise then attempted to depart, but Mr. Goff pulled his truck across the driveway, blocking Mayor Bise's path. The two men began arguing. During this argument, Mr. Goff got out of his truck, approached Mayor Bise's truck, and attempted to confront the mayor. Mayor Bise refused to get out of his truck. Instead, Mayor Bise tried to turn his truck around, almost running over Mr. Goff in the process. Mr. Goff then drew his pocket knife and, without opening the blade, banged it on the window of Mayor Bise's truck. The banging and arguing continued until Mayor Bise succeeded in turning around his truck and drove away. Mr. Goff then returned to his truck and drove to his daughter's house, located a short distance from the post office, to calm down and visit his granddaughter.

After leaving the post office, Mayor Bise used a police radio installed in his truck to locate the Vilonia police officer on duty. Learning that the officer, Chief of Police Shane Shoemake, was at a nearby store, Mayor Bise stopped at the store and asked Chief Shoemake to speak with Mr. Goff regarding the confrontation. Chief Shoemake then drove his police car to the post office, discovered that Mr. Goff had just departed, and followed Mr. Goff to Mr. Goff's daughter's house.

Arriving at Mr. Goff's daughter's house, Chief Shoemake saw that Mr. Goff had parked in the driveway and was walking toward the house. Chief Shoemake parked behind Mr. Goff's truck, got out, and asked Mr. Goff about the incident at the post office. Mayor Bise then drove up, and Mr. Goff and Mayor Bise resumed their argument. Mayor Bise accused Mr. Goff of damaging his truck and ordered Chief Shoemake to arrest Mr. Goff. In response, Mr. Goff circled Mayor Bise's truck, demanding to know the location of the damage.

Chief Shoemake interrupted this argument and told Mr. Goff that he was under arrest. Mr. Goff demanded to know the grounds for the arrest, and Chief Shoemake responded that he saw Mr. Goff jab his hand through the passenger window of Mayor Bise's truck and attempt to poke Mayor Bise in the eyes. Chief Shoemake then told Mr. Goff to put his arms behind his back and to stand against the police car. According to Mr. Goff, he did not resist Chief Shoemake's efforts to arrest him. Nevertheless, when Mr. Goff was standing against the police car, Chief Shoemake invited or allowed Mayor Bise to assist in effecting the arrest. ²

Mayor Bise took Chief Shoemake's handcuffs and fastened the first cuff around Mr. Goff's wrist so tightly that it pinched a nerve and drew blood. Feeling his hand go numb, Mr. Goff complained to Chief Shoemake that the handcuff was too tight. When Chief Shoemake did not answer, Mr. Goff turned and saw that Mayor Bise, not Chief Shoemake, had fastened the handcuff. Mr. Goff kicked at Mayor Bise, and Mayor Bise pulled on the handcuffs' chain, swinging Mr. Goff around and throwing him to the ground. The fall aggravated injuries Mr. Goff previously had suffered to his back and shoulder. Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake then pinned Mr. Goff to the ground, and Mayor Bise choked Mr. Goff until he temporarily lost consciousness.

Mayor Bise fastened the second handcuff to Mr. Goff's wrist before Mr. Goff regained consciousness. Chief Shoemake then loaded Mr. Goff into the police car and transported Mr. Goff to a county jail. Along the way, Chief Shoemake reportedly made a number of unnecessary stops and refused to give Mr. Goff medical treatment or loosen the handcuff on Mr. Goff's wrist.

Mr. Goff was charged with assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest because of his actions during the August 12 incident at his daughter's house. Acquitted on all charges, he filed the present § 1983 action. Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake disputed Mr. Goff's account of the events on August 12, in particular Mr. Goff's claims that he did not assault Mayor Bise and that he did not resist arrest. All three defendants filed for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, but the District Court determined there were genuine issues of fact material to the qualified-immunity claim and denied the motion. The case was tried to a jury, which rejected Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake's version of the events on August 12 and awarded Mr. Goff $12,000 in compensatory damages against the two defendants jointly; $100,000 in punitive damages against Mayor Bise; and $2000 in punitive damages against Chief Shoemake. The District Court entered judgment on this verdict. Mayor Bise, Chief Shoemake, and the City of Vilonia (although there is no judgment against it) all appeal.

II.

Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake first contend that the District Court erred when it denied them summary judgment based on qualified immunity on Mr. Goff's claims that they arrested him without probable cause and used excessive force during the arrest. ³ The parties disagree whether this issue is properly before the Court. We hold that it is. Normally this Court will not review the denial of a motion for summary judgment after a trial on the merits. See Cowan v. Strafford R-VI Sch. Dist., 140 F.3d 1153, 1157 (8th Cir.1998); Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Golden Triangle, 121 F.3d 351, 353-54 (8th Cir.1997). However, a district court's denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity is an exception, and is reviewable after a trial on the merits. See Littlewind v. Rayl, 33 F.3d 985, 986 (8th Cir.1994) (stating that a defendant is not required to appeal immediately a denial of summary judgment based on qualified immunity to preserve the qualified-immunity issue on appeal); McIntosh v. Weinberger, 810 F.2d 1411, 1431 n. 7 (8th Cir.1987) (concluding a defendant did not surrender his qualified immunity defense by failing to appeal it immediately), vacated and remanded on other grounds sub. nom. Turner v. McIntosh, 487 U.S. 1212, 108 S.Ct. 2861, 101 L.Ed.2d 898 (1988). Therefore, the issue of qualified immunity is properly before us. The standard of review is de novo. See Liebe v. Norton, 157 F.3d 574, 576 (8th Cir.1998).

To withstand a motion for summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds,

a civil rights plaintiff must (1) assert a violation of a constitutional right; (2) demonstrate that the alleged right is clearly established; and (3) raise a genuine issue of fact as to whether the official would have known that his alleged conduct would have violated [the] plaintiff's clearly established right.

Habiger v. City of Fargo, 80 F.3d 289, 295 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 1011, 117 S.Ct. 518, 136 L.Ed.2d 407 (1996). Mr. Goff's complaint states that Mayor Bise and Chief Shoemake arrested him without probable cause and used excessive force when making the arrest. Both of these claims allege violations of constitutional rights that were clearly established at the time of the August 12 arrest. See Guite v. Wright, 147 F.3d 747, 750 (8th Cir.1998) ("The right to be free from excessive force is a clearly established right under the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures of the person."); Habiger, 80 F.3d at 295 (stating that a person has "a clearly established right under the ...