Holmes v. Village of Hoffman Estate

• Decision Date: 26 December 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-2759.,06-2759.
• Citation: 511 F.3d 673
• Parties: Darius HOLMES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF HOFFMAN ESTATES and Officer Matthew Teipel, Star No. 279, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

511 F.3d 673

Darius HOLMES, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. VILLAGE OF HOFFMAN ESTATES and Officer Matthew Teipel, Star No. 279, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 06-2759.

United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit.

Argued January 18, 2007.

Decided December 26, 2007.

Edward M. Fox (argued), Fox & Associates, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellant.

Michael W. Condon (argued), Hervas, Condon & Bersani, Itasca, IL, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before BAUER, MANION, and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.

ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

After a jury acquitted plaintiff Darius Holmes of charges that he committed a battery upon police officers Martin Piatek and Matthew Teipel and resisted Teipel's efforts to arrest him, Holmes filed suit against the officers and their municipal employers under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming false arrest and the use of excessive force, in violation of his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, and malicious prosecution in violation of Illinois law. Holmes settled his claims against Piatek and the Village of Streamwood, Illinois, which employed Piatek. The district court entered summary judgment against Holmes on the remaining claims against Teipel and his employer, the Village of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, prompting Holmes to appeal. Because the undisputed facts demonstrate that Teipel had probable cause to believe that Holmes had committed a battery on Piatek, we affirm the grant of summary judgment as to Holmes's claim for false arrest. However, we conclude that disputes of material fact exist as to Holmes's malicious prosecution claim as well as his excessive force claim, and for that reason we reverse the grant of summary judgment as to those claims.

I.

Late in the evening of June 4, 2003, Detective Piatek, a tactical officer with the special operations unit of the Streamwood police force, was patrolling convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations following a series of armed robberies of such establishments in Streamwood and other nearby suburbs northwest of Chicago. Between 11:30 and midnight, Piatek drove by a strip mall containing a 7-Eleven store that had been robbed earlier that same day and on another recent occasion. Piatek noticed an occupied car parked outside the store with its motor and lights off. Holmes, the driver of the car, was talking on a cell phone. His friend, Vonnell Landfair, was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. As Piatek pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall and drove slowly past the vehicle, he observed that it was occupied by two African-American males, one of whom (Landfair) was thin and the other of whom (Holmes) had a more stocky build. Piatek would later testify that he decided to investigate the car and its occupants because he believed the occupants matched the description of the individuals who had robbed the 7-Eleven. But there is some question about whether his belief was accurate as to the race of the two suspects. A report concerning one of the robberies originally indicated that the perpetrators were white, although the report was subsequently revised to indicate they were black; a report concerning a second robbery indicated that one of the perpetrators was Hispanic. The robbers had worn ski masks, thereby limiting the available information about their appearance.

After he reported by radio that he was investigating a suspicious automobile, Piatek approached the vehicle and asked its driver, Holmes, to produce his driver's license. Holmes responded by asking Piatek who he was and why he needed to see Holmes's driver's license. Piatek was driving an unmarked car and was dressed in civilian clothing and so, according to Holmes, he did not realize that Piatek was a police officer. The parties dispute whether Piatek identified himself as such to Holmes. They also dispute the manner in which both Piatek and Holmes behaved during their initial dialogue. Holmes represents that he was polite and cooperative whereas Piatek was foul-mouthed and confrontational; the defendants have indicated that just the opposite was true.

At this point, Piatek asked Holmes to step out of his car. Holmes complied with the request. But, according to Piatek, once Holmes was out of the car, he assumed a combative stance which, coupled with his alleged belligerence, caused Piatek to be concerned for his safety. Piatek decided to pat Holmes down to verify that he was not armed, and he advised Holmes of his intent. Piatek turned Holmes around, so that he was facing his car, and placed him against the car in order to frisk him.

By this time, Teipel had arrived on the scene and joined Piatek on the driver's side of Holmes's car. Teipel, an officer with the Hoffman Estates police department, had been completing a traffic stop at a gasoline station directly across the street from the strip mall when he heard Piatek's radio report concerning a suspicious vehicle. In accord with a custom of providing backup to neighboring police personnel during late-night encounters, Teipel drove his car over to the mall in order to assist Piatek. The parties have given significantly divergent accounts of what occurred following Teipel's arrival. For later reference, we separately recount each of the versions Holmes, Piatek, and Teipel have given, focusing on the points most pertinent to Holmes's claims. Of course, it is Holmes's version that we must credit given the obligation we have at this stage in the proceedings to construe the facts favorably to him. E.g., Payne v. Pauley, 337 F.3d 767, 773 (7th Cir.2003).

Holmes gives the following account of events: He was cooperating with Piatek and was passively facing his car when Teipel arrived on the scene. As Teipel walked toward the driver's side of Holmes's car, Piatek said to Teipel, "We have ourselves a smart ass here." Teipel responded, "Oh, yeah?", walked up to Holmes, and slammed Holmes's head hard against the roof his car. Teipel instructed Holmes's passenger, Landfair, who was still seated in the car, to look away. Teipel then grabbed Holmes's left arm while Piatek held his right harm. Piatek, after whispering in Holmes's ear that he was going to hurt Holmes, executed a wristlock on his right hand and arm. A wristlock is a compliance technique that police officers sometimes use to subdue uncooperative individuals. The technique involves bending the wrist back toward the forearm, causing the individual to experience pressure and pain. The wristlock caused Holmes to cry out that Piatek was hurting him. Piatek replied, "I know." While this was occurring, Teipel continued to hold Holmes's left arm behind his back. Piatek then released the wristlock and said to Teipel, "He hit me. Take him down." But according to Holmes, at no time during his encounter with Piatek and Teipel did he strike, push, or resist either of the officers. After Piatek made this remark to Teipel, the officers threw Holmes to the ground. A smug Piatek told Holmes that he was on the ground because he had been "smart" with the officers; he also advised Holmes that he was under arrest. Teipel handcuffed Holmes and pressed his knee against Holmes's face and kept it there. Holmes advised Teipel that he needed to go to the hospital. Teipel told him to "shut up" and that the only place he was going to was jail. Holmes told Teipel repeatedly that Teipel was hurting him, but each time Holmes said this, Teipel would grind his knee into Holmes's face. This happened more than five times, according to Holmes, resulting in a gash or cut above Holmes's right eye in addition to swelling and redness on the left side of his face. Holmes ultimately was taken to the police station, where he was booked and released on bond. Upon his release, he sought treatment for the injuries to his wrist and face. His wrist was placed in a soft cast, he was given ointment for the abrasions to his face, prescribed a pain reliever, and he was advised to have a specialist check his wrist. No stitches were required, and Holmes later could not recall whether he ever filled the prescription for the pain medication. He did follow up with a physician about his injured arm who advised him that some of the tissues in his wrist had been torn and that he should not use the arm for several weeks.

Teipel gives a much different account of what occurred after Holmes exited his car: Like Piatek, Teipel testified that he believed that Holmes and his passenger matched the description of the two individuals wanted in connection with the recent armed robberies. Teipel observed Holmes step out of the car, turn around, and place his hands on the roof of the car as Piatek prepared to pat him down. But in the midst of the pat-down, Holmes pushed himself off the car, turned in order to face the two officers, and then shoved both of them. Piatek then advised Holmes that he was under arrest for battery and took hold of Holmes's right wrist. Teipel grabbed Holmes's left wrist and, as Holmes began to struggle, placed his own hand against Holmes's upper back, pushed Holmes against his car, and told Holmes to stop resisting arrest. But when Piatek attempted to place handcuffs on Holmes, Holmes pushed himself backward and caused all three men to fall to the ground. There, while Holmes continued to struggle, the officers managed to secure him in handcuffs. Teipel placed his knees against Holmes's back and shoulder in order to help secure him. Teipel never heard Holmes cry out in pain, and he denied that he and Piatek had thrown Holmes to the ground.

Piatek's recitation of events conforms more closely, although not precisely, with Teipel's version: Once Holmes was facing his car and Piatek began to pat him down, Holmes either flailed his arms backwards and/or pushed himself backward off of the car and tried to shove both Piatek and Teipel (who by now had joined the encounter) out of the way. Piatek advised Holmes that he was under arrest for battery and ordered Holmes to put his hands behind his back. Holmes refused. Piatek...