Lockhoff v. Slonaker
| Decision Date | 05 June 2017 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-2893 |
| Parties | MICHAEL E. LOCKHOFF, Plaintiff, v. ISAIAH SLONAKER, IV and STEPHEN M. KAMNIK, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
---NOT FOR PUBLICATION---
On July 29, 2015, Pennsylvania State Police Troopers Stephen M. Kamnik and Isaiah Slonaker, IV ("Defendants") conducted a traffic stop and arrested the Plaintiff, Michael E. Lockhoff, who brought this suit challenging the manner in which he was arrested and his subsequent prosecution. Remaining in this case are Lockhoff's federal claims against Defendants in their individual capacities for excessive force, false arrest, and malicious prosecution. He principally asserts, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, that Defendants violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution to be free from unreasonable search1 or seizure. His remaining state law claims are for civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault and battery, and malicious prosecution. Before the Court is Defendants' motion for summary judgment, which shall be granted in part and denied in part.
The events in this case unfolded as Lockhoff - then seventeen years old - was driving home from his summer job with a landscaping company. At approximately 12:30 p.m., the Defendants observed Lockhoff's car make a left turn on a steady red light. They also believed that the dark tint on the car windows exceeded the legal limit. Accordingly, they initiated a traffic stop, and Lockhoff pulled over to the side of the road. Defendants' dashboard mounted Mobile Video Recorder ("MVR") was activated once they began following Lockhoff, and it recorded much of the subsequent interaction. At one point, out of range of the MVR viewfinder, one can hear but not see what is happenening. At the beginning of the encounter, Kamnick informed Lockhoff that he was being "audibly and visually recorded."
Kamnick got out of the patrol car first and went to the front passenger window. Slonaker also got out, and stood several feet from the rear driver side corner of Lockhoff's car. Kamnick told Lockhoff that he had pulled him over because he turned left on red, and because of the window tint. Kamnick can be heard on the MVR recording telling Lockhoff that he smelled the odor of marijuana coming from the car. Lockhoff testified that his car did not smell like marijuana but also testified that he did not know at the time of the incident what marijuana smelled like. Kamnick also saw open packages of cigar wrappers in the car. Lockhoff does not deny that the wrappers were in the car but says, that if they were, they were there because he is a cigar smoker. The parties agree that after requesting Lockhoff's license, registration, and proof of insurance, this exchange took place:
Kamnick then instructed Lockhoff to shut off the engine and to remain in the car while he went back to the patrol car to check Lockhoff's information.
After several minutes, Kamnick returned to the driver's side of Lockhoff's car and told him to step out. Lockhoff did not comply, but instead repeatedly asked Kamnick to explain why he was being told to exit. Kamnick responded that he was going to issue a traffic citation, and that he preferred not to do so while standing in the road. Kamnick then said "you're going to get out of the car, either on your own free will, or I'm going to pull you through this window." Lockhoff continued to request an explanation, and after Kamnick repeated his instructions to step out of the car several more times, Lockhoff complied.
After getting out, Lockhoff manually locked the car door, put the key into his left pocket, and inserted both hands into his pockets as he walked to the grass shoulder behind his car, followed by the Defendants. Initially, Kamnick instructed him to "take your hands out of your pockets," and Lockhoff did so. Kamnick and Lockhoff began to discuss the red light violation, and when questioned, Lockhoff agreed that the light was "clearly red" when he made the turn.
Lockhoff then put his hands back in his pockets, prompting Kamnick to say "keep your hands out of your pockets, this is the last time I'm going to tell you, ok?" In response, Lockhoff removed his hands from his pockets, took a step backwards, reached his hands back into his pockets and turned them inside out - showing that they contained nothing but his keys and phone - while saying with visible agitation, "dude, chill, I don't got anything in my pockets." Kamnick then repeated, "I told you to keep your hands out of your pockets." Despite these warnings, Lockhoff put his hands back in his pockets and said, "I'm not going to do anything dude, why are you freaking . . . you're just like trying to go after me because I'm [inaudible]." At this point, Kamnick announced that Lockhoff was making him nervous because he refused to keep his hands out of his pockets, and so he directed Lockhoff to stand against the car and frisked him. Apart from the keys and phone, Kamnick did not find anything. After the frisk, Lockhoff turned around, leaned back against the car, and put his hands back into his pockets.
Next, there was a brief discussion of the window tint violation - which Lockhoff disputed - before Kamnick again brought up the smell of marijuana. Lockhoff categorically denied ever having smoked marijuana, or ever having had marijuana in his car. Kamnick then asked whether Lockhoff had any guns, knives, cocaine or heroin in the car, which Lockhoff also denied. Finally, Kamnick asked for permission to search the vehicle, which Lockhoff flatly refused.
Believing that he had a sufficient basis to search Lockhoff's vehicle without a warrant because of the smell of marijuana, Kamnick asked Lockhoff to go with Slonaker to stand by the patrol car for safety reasons. Lockhoff inquired at least four times why he was being asked to do so, and each time Kamnick repeated the instruction without explaining that he intended to search the car. As this exchange took place, Kamnick moved behind Lockhoff, and then, lightly pushed Lockhoff towards Slonaker. Lockhoff took a step away from the car, at which point Kamnickgrabbed ahold of Lockhoff's right arm. Abruptly, Kamnick placed his free hand on the back of Lockhoff's neck and forcefully pushed him forward onto the side of the trunk. While holding Lockhoff in place, Kamnick bent Lockhoff's arms at the elbows, brought them up behind his back, and placed handcuffs on his wrists. Slonaker provided assistance by putting his hand on Lockhoff's left arm.
As he was being restrained, Lockhoff repeatedly expressed disbelief at the Defendants' actions, yelling out "what the fuck are you guys doing" and "you guys are fucking crazy." In response, Kamnick stated "you're just being detained, alright, you're not under arrest." As Lockhoff continued to protest, the Defendants walked him towards the passenger side of their patrol car - out of view of the MVR, but still within its audio range.
What happened next is the subject of some dispute. The parties agree that as they moved off-camera, Kamnick first pushed the now-handcuffed Lockhoff against the passenger side of the patrol car. They also agree that Kamnick then reached into Lockhoff's pocket in order to retrieve the car keys. However, the parties diverge with respect to what Lockhoff did in response. According to Kamnick, Lockhoff "made a jerky motion away from [him]," and struck him in the belt with his right elbow, leading him to believe that Lockhoff was attempting to fight or flee. Slonaker says he saw Lockhoff attempting to turn away from Kamnick's grip. Lockhoff agreed that he only "moved [his] leg a little bit," but denied "twisting [his] body away from [Kamnick's] grip," or doing anything else. All agree as to what happened next: Kamnick forcefully took Lockhoff to the ground, and held him there, face down. With respect to what transpired while Lockhoff was on the ground, the parties' accounts diverge once more. According to Lockhoff, he complied with Kamnick's commands. But Defendants assert that Lockhoff continued to resist once he was on the ground, trying to push himself up, whichrequired the continued application of physical force to restrain him. According to the Defendants, Kamnick placed his knee on Lockhoff's arm, and continued to apply force to prevent Lockhoff from getting up.
There is no dispute that most of the force was exerted by Kamnick, and that Slonaker did little more than hold Lockhoff's legs once Kamnick had already brought him to the ground. It is also undisputed that the take-down and restraint resulted in superficial injuries to the area of Lockhoff's right eye socket, forehead, wrists, and lower back. The audio captured by the MVR can be clearly heard. Lockhoff can be heard yelling "[inaudible] . . . no, what are you doing," followed by sounds of a scuffle and heavy breathing. Kamnick then says "stop resisting, will you"; Lockhoff responds in a strained voice "dude, you're taking my fucking keys out of my pocket," to which Kamnick replies "no shit." Lockhoff is next heard repeatedly yelling variations of "what the fuck," "what are you doing," and "get the fuck off me," followed by Kamnick saying "now you're under arrest." Kamnick tells Lockhoff to "relax," and to "sit up," while Lockhoff continues to verbally protest....
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