IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 15-0179
Filed February 10, 2016
BRUCE PATRICK SAMSARA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
vs.
SERGEANT DALE SQUIRES, in His Official Capacity and Individually, and
SERGEANT MARK KUKUZKE, in His Official Capacity and Individually,
Defendant-Appellees,
and
CITY OF FAIRFIELD, and FAIRFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT,
Defendants.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jefferson County, Daniel P. Wilson,
Judge.
Bruce Samsara appeals from the district court’s ruling granting summary
judgment in favor of the individual defendants. AFFIRMED IN PART,
REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.
Joseph Glazebrook of Glazebrook, Moe, Johnston, & Hurd, L.L.P., Des
Moines, for appellant.
David E. Schrock of Scheldrup Blades, Cedar Rapids, for appellees.
Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Tabor, JJ.
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POTTERFIELD, Presiding Judge.
Bruce Samsara appeals from the district court’s ruling granting summary
judgment in favor of the individual defendants. He argues that the district court
incorrectly determined no genuine issue of material fact existed as to whether his
arrest was supported by probable cause, erred in granting qualified immunity to
the defendant officers on his false arrest and excessive force claims, and erred in
dismissing his entire petition at law even though the defendants’ motion for
summary judgment was denied in part. We find the district court appropriately
granted partial summary judgment to the individual defendants, but agree with
Samsara that the district court should not have dismissed his entire petition at
law based upon a partial grant of summary judgment, and therefore reverse the
district court’s order in part and remand the case for further proceedings.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
At approximately 6:00 p.m. on January 15, 2011, police officers in
Fairfield, Iowa, received a report of a burglary at a local business in the town’s
square. A witness to the incident was able to identify one suspect for the
police—Zachary Burke. Burke was said to have fled northbound from the scene
on foot wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. This information was relayed to
Sergeant Dale Squires, who was on duty in his squad car at the time. Squires
was also informed that Burke was “a short kid about fourteen, brown hair, maybe
thirteen,” and that he lived on West Burlington Avenue, approximately eight
blocks west of the town square. The description given for Burke was accurate—
Burke was a five-foot-two-inch, ninety-three-pound, twelve-year-old boy—but
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also largely unnecessary, because Squires was already familiar with Burke from
prior contact with him. Precisely what transpired next is disputed.
A. Squires’s Account
Sergeant Squires testified at his deposition that when he received the
report identifying Burke, he recalled having just seen a person walking
westbound between the town square and Burke’s home. He also recalled the
person being a thin, white male wearing dark clothing and a hooded sweatshirt.
Squires admitted that he thought from the outset that the person he had seen
“might be too tall to be [Burke],” but explained that he was not sure because
“teenagers grow like weeds, and it’s kind of hard to estimate height from a
passing squad car.” He explained that he only wanted to locate the youth so he
could determine whether it was Burke. Squires quickly found the person, who
was still walking westbound on West Burlington Avenue between the town
square and Burke’s home. It was not twelve-year-old, five-foot-two-inch Burke.
It was instead forty-four-year-old, six-foot-plus Bruce Samsara.
According to Squires, Samsara was wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt
with the hood up so that his face was obscured from view as Squires approached
in his squad car. Squires testified that he called out to Samsara several times to
stop walking and come over to the squad car, but Samsara kept walking.
Having received no response, Squires got out of his squad car and ordered
Samsara to come over to him. By then, Samsara had walked far enough west
that he was approximately two blocks past Burke’s home. When Samsara finally
stopped walking, he was still approximately fifteen feet away from Squires and
was facing in the opposite direction. Squires recalled that after Samsara stopped
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walking, he raised his left hand straight in the air but kept his right hand in his
pocket. In his raised left hand, Samsara clutched an unknown object, which
turned out to be a microcassette tape recorder. Squires approached Samsara
from behind in order to speak with him, and he testified at his deposition
regarding his state of mind as he did so:
I’m a little concerned. I could tell the object in his hand isn’t a cell
phone because it’s too big, but I don’t know what it is. It had a
glowing red light on it. I don’t mean to sound paranoid, but worst
case scenario, I was afraid it would be some kind of improvised
explosive device because I had no idea. Also he kept his right
hand jammed in his pocket, and I was afraid he might have a
weapon in his hand.
Squires explained that as he got closer, he was able to see Samsara’s
face and could tell that he was not Burke. But he did not allow Samsara to go on
his way. Squires wanted to conduct a protective pat down to make sure
Samsara was not armed with a weapon, and Squires had begun to believe
Samsara might be intoxicated based upon his odd behavior. Squires still did not
know who Samsara was, so he asked him to either identify himself or show
identification. Samsara did not comply. Another Fairfield police officer, Sergeant
Mark Kukuzke, arrived at the scene and also asked Samsara to identify himself.
Samsara still did not comply.
Squires testified that he tried to pat Samsara down multiple times but was
unable to do so because Samsara would pull away. Squires grabbed Samsara’s
coat in order to stop him from walking away, and began to walk him to the squad
car. Squires considered the attempts to pull away to be “belligerent and
combative” behavior, and decided that he wanted to handcuff Samsara for safety
purposes because the officers still did not know who he was or whether he had
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any weapons. But when he tried to handcuff Samsara, Samsara “began to try to
pull away” from him once again, so Squires and Kukuzke took him to the ground.
According to Squires, he and Kukuzke took Samsara down to the ground
face up and then tried to roll him over onto his stomach for handcuffing.
However, before they were able to do so, Samsara kicked upward while still lying
on his back, striking Squires in the chest with the sole of his shoe. Squires
believed the kick was intentional, and advised Samsara that he was under arrest
for assault on a peace officer. The two officers were able to subdue Samsara
and handcuff him. After Samsara was arrested, he was placed in Squires’s
squad car and transported from the scene.
B. Kukuzke’s Account
Sergeant Kukuzke’s account is substantially similar to Squires’s, albeit
from a different vantage point. According to Kukuzke, Squires and Samsara
were already talking on the sidewalk when he pulled up and he intended to watch
and make sure Squires was okay during the stop. Kukuzke was not on duty at
the time and had no idea about either the burglary that had occurred or Squires’s
reasons for having come into contact with Samsara. He remained in his vehicle
until the conversation seemed to get more heated, and then got out to assist
when Samsara pointed his finger at Squires.
Once Kukuzke got out of his car, he could hear Squires asking Samsara
for identification and Samsara refusing to comply and wanting to leave. Kukuzke
told Samsara he needed to identify himself to Squires. He recalls Samsara
keeping one hand in his pocket and holding up an object in the other. He agrees
that he and Squires escorted Samsara back over to Squires’s squad car, and
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that the two grabbed Samsara after he tried to walk away. Kukuzke stated at his
deposition that he believed Samsara was arrested for the charge of interference,
based upon the fact that he was not cooperating with Squires’s attempts to pat
him down.
According to Kukuzke, once they were back at the squad car attempting to
pat Samsara down, Samsara was “very belligerent to the point that he was
basically out of control,” so Kukuzke “swept his feet, got him flat on his back on
the ground and stayed on his left arm while Officer Squires grabbed his right
arm.” At some point during this course of events, Kukuzke believed Samsara
kicked Squires, although he did not see the kick because he was focused on
getting the item out of Samsara’s hand. Kukuzke was able to pry the item, which
he now realized was a tape recorder, from Samsara’s grip and tossed it away.
He then helped Squires roll Samsara onto his stomach to be handcuffed.
C. Samsara’s Account
Samsara does not dispute the general contours of the account as told by
Squires and Kukuzke, but does dispute various particulars. For example,
Samsara testified at his deposition that he was not wearing any sort of hooded
sweatshirt. He stated he left his home to walk to the grocery store wearing blue
jeans and a dark blue jacket with a low collar. Also, according to Samsara,
Squires was initially trying to engage in “light chitchat” with him. By Samsara’s
account, Squires only told him to stop once, at which point he raised both hands
up in the air. He admits he was holding a tape recorder in his hand as he
walked, but stated at his deposition that when he was ordered to stop he raised
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his hands and held the tape recorder up specifically so the officers would be able
to see what it was.
Samsara also testified that while it is true Squires and Kukuzke repeatedly
asked to see his identification, he told them he did not have proper identification
on his person. According to Samsara, the two officers never asked him to
identify himself by name. He explained at his deposition that he became
annoyed at Squires for stopping him for apparently no reason, and admitted
saying to the officers, “You’re the dumbest fucking people I’ve ever met.”
Samsara states he repeatedly told Squires he was on his way to get groceries,
and that when Squires failed to explain his reasons for stopping and detaining
him, he turned to leave and continue on his way. When he attempted to leave,
both officers “attacked” him and “pounded [him] on the gravel.”
Samsara recalled the officers throwing him down on the gravel very hard,
and that he hurt his tailbone landing. He further recalled Squires elbowing him in
his chin with his right elbow, drawing blood and chipping his teeth, and Kukuzke
kneeing him in the back of the head. Samsara also denied the officers’
accusation that he intentionally kicked Squires in the chest once on the ground:
I didn’t kick him in the chest. I can only imagine that if [he] got
kicked in the chest, it’s because my feet flew up in the air from
being on the ice. If that’s when they got kicked or if it’s when I got
kneed in the back of the head and they were tearing the tape
recorder out of my hand and I was unconscious, so it would be a
response from being hit in the back of the head really hard.
Samsara described the officers as being angry he was holding the tape
recorder and recording everything, and recalled that after he had been thrown to
the ground, Kukuzke ripped the tape recorder from his hand and threw it across
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the parking lot. According to Samsara, the officers took his wallet out of his
pants pocket at that point and then handcuffed him face down on the ground. He
denies becoming belligerent, but admitted at his deposition that he was shouting,
“[W]hat do you want from me?”
D. Police Video Recording of the Incident
The testimony of the parties in this case is supplemented by a video
recording of the incident. The video recording consists of two different views
from inside Squires’s squad car. The first view shows the front of the car from
the dashboard. The second view shows the backseat area of the car from an
angle behind the driver’s seat. Squires testified that he turned on the patrol car’s
video camera when he got out of the car to confront Samsara. The video
recording shows several things definitively, but cannot resolve most of the factual
disputes both because it was turned on after Squires says he had already
ordered Samsara to stop several times, and because most of the pertinent action
takes place outside of the view of either camera.
When the recording begins, Kukuzke’s personal vehicle is seen pulling
across the front of the squad car. Squires and Samsara can be heard arguing off
camera. Squires says, “Sir, you’ve done nothing wrong, except not . . .” but is
interrupted by Samsara, who exclaims, “You’re absolutely right, I haven’t done
anything wrong!” Samsara then appears to say “fuck you” to Squires, although
the audio is not clear. At that point, Squires instructs Samsara to come to his
squad car because he is going to have to identify himself. Sounds can be heard
that may be Squires and/or Kukuzke making physical contact with Samsara.
Kukuzke can be heard at that point telling Samsara, “You do have to identify
9
yourself. I am a police officer too. Identify yourself. Who are you sir?” The
three argue back and forth, with Samsara yelling, “Don’t touch me!” The officers
accuse Samsara of resisting and interfering. Samsara denies he is doing so.
The officers ask for identification and Samsara appears to say he does have
identification with him (which contradicts his deposition testimony). During the
exchange, Samsara is audibly upset, and is swearing at the officers. Among
other things, Samsara says to the officers, “God damn you fucking idiots,” and
“You are the dumbest fucking people.” An officer again tells Samsara to come
over to the squad car. Squires can be heard remarking, “I don’t understand what
is going on here, all I wanted to do was talk to you.”
At this point, two people are partially visible in the video, standing off to
the passenger side of the hood of the squad car. Samsara is told to place his
hands on the hood of the car and asked whether he has any weapons on him. A
struggle then ensues. The struggle briefly takes place on camera but outside of
the car’s headlights, and then moves out of view. Sounds of the continuing
struggle can be heard. Much of what is being said at this point is unclear,
although Samsara can be heard telling the officers to get off of him. After more
struggling and yelling back and forth, Squires says, “Okay, now you’re under
arrest for assault on a peace officer, ‘cause you just kicked me.” Samsara is
handcuffed off camera, as the parties continue to argue. The officers place
Samsara in the back seat of the squad car, at which point he is again visible on
camera.
Squires can then be seen retrieving Samsara’s tape recorder from the
snow in front of the squad car. Kukuzke joins Squires in front of the squad car
10
and the two have a brief conversation. Squires thanks Kukuzke for his help, and
Kukuzke asks, “What was that all about?” Squires replies,
He matched the description of a subject that stole a purse, so I told
him to stop like three times and he just kept on walking. I couldn’t
tell—when he turned around, I could tell it wasn’t him—so I tried to
explain. He wouldn’t give me any information, tried to walk away
from me.
Squires calls in the arrest, and reads Samsara his rights. Eventually, Squires
drives to the police station, where Samsara is taken from the back seat and led
through a door and out of view. Prior to that, however, Samsara is clearly visible
in the video at several points in time. Samsara does not have a hood over his
head or even appear to be wearing any kind of hooded clothing at all. Instead,
he is wearing a jacket with a short collar zipped all the way up.
E. District Court Proceedings
Samsara was charged with assault on a peace officer and interference
with official acts. See Iowa Code §§ 708.1, 708.3A, 719.1 (2011). On June 23,
2011, the district court granted Samsara’s motion to suppress evidence, ruling
that “the officers did not have probable cause or reasonable suspicion for seizure
of the defendant.”
Samsara then filed a civil petition at law on January 15, 2013, alleging
federal civil rights claims of false arrest and excessive force against Squires,
Kukuzke, the City of Fairfield, and the Fairfield Police Department. The
defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on November 5, 2014. The
motion was granted in part by the district court on January 9, 2015.
By agreement of the parties, the City of Fairfield and the Fairfield Police
Department were dismissed from the lawsuit. The district court’s remaining
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rulings, which are the only rulings now appealed, pertain to Squires and Kukuzke
alone. The district court ruled Squires and Kukuzke were not entitled to
summary judgment on the issue of whether there was reasonable suspicion to
justify the initial investigatory stop of Samsara, but were entitled to summary
judgment on the issues of whether probable cause existed for Samsara’s arrest
and whether the officers had qualified immunity for their use of force against
Samsara. The district court concluded its written ruling by stating, “The
Defendants’ motion for summary judgment . . . is denied in part and granted in
part as set forth above.” The court then ordered, “[Plaintiff’s] petition at law . . .
and this cause of action are dismissed.”
Samsara now appeals the district court’s grant of partial summary
judgment as to the individual defendants, as well as the dismissal of his entire
petition at law when the defendants’ motion for summary judgment was denied in
part.
II. Standard of Review
We review summary judgment rulings for correction of errors at law.
Baker v. City of Iowa City, 867 N.W.2d 44, 51 (Iowa 2015). Summary judgment
is appropriate when there are no genuine issues of material fact and the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.981(3); City of
Fairfield v. Harper Drilling Co., 692 N.W.2d 681, 683 (Iowa 2005). “A fact is
material if it will affect the outcome of the suit, given the applicable law.” Huck v.
Wyeth, Inc., 850 N.W.2d 353, 362 (Iowa 2014). “An issue of fact is ‘genuine’ if
the evidence is such that a reasonable finder of fact could return a verdict or
decision for the nonmoving party.” Id. In determining whether a genuine issue of
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material fact exists, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the
nonmoving party. Id.
III. Analysis
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees
“[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and
effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures . . . .” U.S. Const. amend.
IV. In other words, the Fourth Amendment imposes a general standard of
reasonableness upon all searches and seizures by government officials. State v.
Kreps, 650 N.W.2d 636, 641 (Iowa 2002). Reasonableness usually requires that
a search or seizure be conducted pursuant to a warrant, and searches and
seizures conducted without a warrant are per se unreasonable unless a
recognized exception applies. Id.
One exception to the warrant requirement allows a police officer to stop an
individual for investigatory purposes based upon a reasonable suspicion that a
criminal act has occurred or is occurring. State v. Kinkead, 570 N.W.2d 97, 100
(Iowa 1997) (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21–22 (1968)). The purpose of an
investigatory stop is to allow the police officer to confirm or dispel suspicions of
criminal activity through reasonable questioning. Kreps, 650 N.W.2d at 641.
Despite its temporary nature and limited purpose, an investigatory stop still
constitutes a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment. Id.
Therefore, although such a stop falls within an exception to the general warrant
requirement, it must be considered objectively reasonable under the
circumstances in order to be deemed constitutional under the Fourth
Amendment. Id.
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In order to justify an investigatory stop, a police officer must be able to
point to “specific and articulable facts, which taken together with rational
inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” Id. Reasonable
suspicion of criminal activity, however, means just that. It requires “considerably
less than proof of wrongdoing by a preponderance of the evidence,” and the
evidence justifying the stop need not rise to the level of probable cause. Id. at
642. Whether an investigatory stop is justified by reasonable suspicion “must be
determined in light of the totality of the circumstances confronting a police officer,
including all information available to the officer at the time the decision to stop is
made.” Id.
Another exception to the general warrant requirement allows a police
officer to arrest an individual based upon probable cause. See State v.
Christopher, 757 N.W.2d 247, 250 (Iowa 2008). Probable cause to arrest exists
“if the totality of the circumstances as viewed by a reasonable and prudent
person would lead that person to believe that a crime has been or is being
committed and that the arrestee committed or is committing it.” State v. Bumpus,
459 N.W.2d 619, 624 (Iowa 1990). As is the case for investigatory stops and all
other searches and seizures under the Fourth Amendment, the reasonableness
of an arrest is judged against an objective standard, as opposed to a subjective
one. Terry, 392 U.S. at 21–22 (stating that when evaluating the reasonableness
of a particular search or seizure, “it is imperative that the facts be judged against
an objective standard: would the facts available to the officer at the moment of
the seizure or the search ‘warrant a man of reasonable caution in the belief’ that
the action taken was appropriate?”).
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Police officers are entitled to use force during both investigatory stops and
arrests. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989) (“Our Fourth
Amendment jurisprudence has long recognized that the right to make an arrest or
investigatory stop necessarily carries with it the right to use some degree of
physical coercion or threat thereof to effect it.”). However, the use of force by
police officers while conducting both types of seizure is subject to the same
standard of reasonableness as the seizure it accompanies. Tennessee v.
Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 7–8 (1985). A court considering the constitutionality of a
seizure must balance “the extent of the intrusion against the need for it,” meaning
that reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment is determined in part by “how
[a seizure] is carried out.” Id. This balancing test limits the force used to that
necessary to accomplish the goals of the seizure in context of the specific facts
and circumstances of each particular case. See State v. Dewitt, 811 N.W.2d
460, 468 (Iowa 2012) (explaining although the amount of force necessary to
accomplish the goals of an investigatory stop will vary depending on the facts
and circumstances of the case, “a seizure justified by reasonable suspicion must
be minimally intrusive”).
The district court began its analysis with its conclusion that a genuine
issue of material fact exists as to whether Squires’s initial investigatory stop of
Samsara was supported by reasonable suspicion he had been involved in
criminal activity. This finding is not disputed on appeal.
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A. Probable Cause to Arrest
Samsara disputes the district court’s finding regarding probable cause to
arrest. On this issue, the district court’s ruling recognized that Samsara
“generally denies that he kicked Squires,” but then found:
The necessary material fact to determine whether Squires had
probable cause to arrest Samsara is whether Squires believed the
offense of assault had been committed by Samsara. Viewing the
facts in the light most favorable to Samsara, in which there was
clearly some physical interaction between Samsara and one or
both officers, it is reasonable to believe that Squires believed he
was intentionally kicked by Samsara, providing probable cause for
arrest. Therefore, no genuine issue of material fact remains on the
issue of probable cause to arrest and Defendants are entitled to
summary judgment as a matter of law on this issue.
The district court was correct in finding Samsara’s denial of intent to kick
Squires does not diminish the officer’s reasonable belief an assault had occurred.
Samsara concedes his feet may have made contact with Squires’s chest, and
Squires’s belief that the contact was intentional was objectively reasonable given
the totality of the circumstances. The court correctly granted summary judgment
to the officers on this issue.
Summary judgment in favor of Squires and Kukuzke on the issue of false
arrest also was appropriate because Samasara committed a misdemeanor in the
officers’ presence by interfering with official acts. “[An individual’s] response to
even an invalid arrest or [investigatory] stop may constitute independent grounds
for arrest.” United States v. Dawdy, 46 F.3d 1427, 1431 (8th Cir. 1995). The law
in Iowa is that a person may not resist even an unlawful arrest by a known peace
officer. Iowa Code § 804.12 (“A person is not authorized to use force to resist an
arrest . . . even if the person believes that the arrest is unlawful or the arrest is in
16
fact unlawful.”); see also Dawdy, 46 F.3d at 1431; State v. Thomas, 262 N.W.2d
607, 611 (Iowa 1978) (holding that “a person may not resist an arrest reasonably
effected by one whom the arrestee knows or has good reason to know is a peace
officer, despite the legality or illegality of the arrest”). Moreover, the law in Iowa
makes it illegal for a person to “knowingly resist[ ] or obstruct[ ] anyone known by
the person to be a peace officer . . . in the performance of any act which is within
the scope of the lawful duty or authority of that officer.” Iowa Code § 719.1.
It is clear from the video recording of the underlying incident and the
testimony of those involved that the officers were detaining Samsara at least in
part so they could identify him and then pat him down for weapons. The video
recording further establishes that Samsara interfered with and physically resisted
the officers’ attempts to identify and pat him down (although the degree to which
he did so is unclear because most activity is only audible and not captured on
screen). That video evidence, combined with Samsara’s own testimony that he
turned to walk away from the officers because Squires “ha[d] no purpose for
detaining [him] there,” establishes Squires and Kukuzke had probable cause to
arrest him not only for assault, but also for interference with and resistance to an
investigatory stop. Samsara’s behavior defeats his false arrest claim.
B. Qualified Immunity for Excessive Force
Samsara also disputes the district court’s finding regarding the officers’
use of force. The district court granted summary judgment to the officers on their
claim of qualified immunity as to Samsara’s count of excessive force. 1 The
1
The district court also used the doctrine of qualified immunity as a secondary basis for
granting summary judgment on the false arrest claim. Because we have already
17
analysis to determine whether qualified immunity applies is distinct from the
analysis of whether excessive force was used. See Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S.
194, 200 (2001), modified by Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 236 (2009)
(holding that the two-step protocol set forth in Saucier “should no longer be
regarded as mandatory,” so a court may use its own judgment and consider
either of the two steps first).
Qualified immunity operates to immunize police officers from liability
where “their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or
constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known,” and in
doing so “balances two important interests—the need to hold public officials
accountable when they exercise power irresponsibly and the need to shield
officials from harassment, distraction, and liability when they perform their duties
responsibly.” Pearson, 555 U.S. at 231. Whether a right is clearly established
depends upon “whether it would be clear to a reasonable officer that his conduct
was unlawful in the situation he confronted.” Saucier, 533 U.S. at 202. “Officials
are not liable for bad guesses in gray areas; they are liable for transgressing
bright lines.” Davis v. Hall, 375 F.3d 703, 712 (8th Cir. 2004). In other words,
qualified immunity protects police officers from liability when a reasonable officer
in their position would have believed their actions to be proper.
Here, the physical struggle is not disputed, but the video and audio fail to
show whether the force was proportional to the situation facing the officers at the
scene. Samsara claims he was “brutally taken to the ground, aggressively held
determined that the individual defendants were entitled to summary judgment on that
claim, we need not address whether the doctrine of qualified immunity was properly
applied in that context.
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there, while he was handcuffed,” and there is no question it took both officers to
take Samsara to the ground and to handcuff him while disposing of the object in
his hand. The question is whether the officers could have accomplished those
tasks with less force and whether they reasonably knew the amount of force they
used was unlawful. The evidence shows both officers made numerous attempts
to bring Samsara to the squad car without force. Samsara resisted and fought
against the officers’ efforts. As for Samsara’s claimed injuries, the summary
judgment record reveals no evidence that he required or requested medical
treatment and he appears to be unhurt in the video showing him in the back of
the car.
In ruling that Squires and Kukuzke were entitled to qualified immunity on
the excessive force claim, the district court wrote:
In this case, while viewing the facts in the light most favorable to
Samsara, the Court must determine whether it was clear to Squires
and Kukuzke that their use of force was unlawful, given the
circumstances with which they were presented. Samsara’s
excessive force claim arises from the physical interaction between
Samsara, Squires, and Kukuzke. Samsara alleges that he ‘was
brutally taken to the ground, aggressively held there, while he was
handcuffed by [Squires and Kukuzke].’ . . . This is the point in the
video recording when no one is shown on video, but there are
sounds of a struggle between the three men. The physical struggle
is not disputed by either party, and is obvious from the video and
audio recording, presented a situation in which the officers’ use of
force was not unlawful, given the circumstances. They had
confronted Samsara, who had previously been nonresponsive, then
responded loudly, and finally had resisted an attempt to be patted
down for the officers’ safety. Squires’s and Kukuzke’s use of force
in these circumstances was reasonable, and therefore lawful.
Qualified immunity also applies to Samsara’s claim of excessive
force.
We agree with the district court that the officers were entitled to qualified
immunity on the issue of force. The amount of force used by the officers is in
19
dispute, but the parties agree on the material facts of the forcible take-down.
There is no material fact in dispute that would lead the officers to believe at the
time, on the scene, that their use of force was unlawful. Cf. Debower v. Bremer
Cty., No. 09-1423, 2010 WL 2757112, at *9 (Iowa Ct. App. July 14, 2010)
(“Where, as here, facts material to the qualified immunity analysis remain in
dispute, a jury question is generated and summary judgment is inappropriate.”).
Qualified immunity protects officers from suit unless their conduct violates a
clearly established constitutional right. See Saucier, 533 U.S. at 206.
Furthermore, Pearson allows courts to consider whether an official could
reasonably have believed his conduct was lawful without first analyzing
whether the facts alleged make out a constitutional violation. 555 U.S. at 236.
Here, the relevant issue is the objective question whether a reasonable
officer would have believed the officers’ use of force to be lawful, “in light of
clearly established law and the information the [arresting] officers possessed.
[The officer's] subjective beliefs . . . are irrelevant.” See Leydens v. City of
Des Moines, 484 N.W.2d 594, 597 (Iowa 1992). The officers’ actions here did
not clearly violate the constitutional prohibition against excessive force. As a
result, the district court correctly applied the qualified immunity doctrine to
shield the officers from liability.
C. The District Court’s Dismissal of Samsara’s Petition at Law
Having determined that the district court appropriately granted summary
judgment to the individual defendants on the issues of probable cause to arrest
and qualified immunity for excessive force, one final issue remains. Samsara
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argues that even if the district court’s rulings on summary judgment are upheld,
we still must reverse the district court’s order dismissing his entire petition at law.
We agree. The district court’s ruling ends by stating, “The Defendants’ motion for
summary judgment . . . is denied in part and granted in part as set forth above.”
A partial grant of summary judgment in favor of the defendants does not warrant
the dismissal of a plaintiff’s entire petition at law. There remains the issue of the
legality of the investigatory stop.
We therefore affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the
issues of probable cause to arrest and qualified immunity for excessive force, but
reverse the district court’s order dismissing Samsara’s petition at law, and
remand to the district court on the unresolved issue of the legality of the
investigatory stop.
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.