David Eggleston v. Jake Short

Filing

OPINION filed: It is ORDERED that the appeal is DISMISSED for lack of appellate jurisdiction, decision not for publication. R. Guy Cole , Jr. and Eric L. Clay, Circuit Judges; and William O. Bertelsman, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, sitting by designation.

Case: 12-6269

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Filed: 03/28/2014

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NOT RECOMMENDED FOR FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION
File Name: 14a0237n.06
No. 12-6269

FILED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

Mar 28, 2014
DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk

DAVID EGGLESTON,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.

JAKE SHORT,
Defendant-Appellant.

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ON APPEAL FROM THE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE MIDDLE
DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

BEFORE: COLE and CLAY, Circuit Judges; BERTELSMAN, District Judge.
OPINION
BERTELSMAN, District Judge:
Plaintiff-Appellee David Eggleston brought this 42 U.S.C. §
1983

action

against

Defendant-Appellant

Officer

Jake

Short,

alleging that Short used excessive force against Eggleston in the
course of making an arrest.

The district court denied Short’s

motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity, and he
appeals.
Because there is an issue of fact as to whether the force used
was excessive, this court does not have jurisdiction to entertain
*

The Honorable William O. Bertelsman, United States District
Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky, sitting by designation.

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No. 12-6269, Eggleston v. Short
the appeal.

Therefore, we must DISMISS the appeal and remand the

case to the district court.
I.
No question is raised concerning the validity of the arrest.
The arrest followed a high-speed chase in which Eggleston initially
failed to stop and was endangering the public. When he finally did
stop, he left his motor running, and Officer Short forcefully
removed him from his truck and took him to the ground in order to
obtain access to the truck and turn off the ignition.

Eggleston’s

blood alcohol level was later found to be well above the legal
limit.
It is the degree of force used by Short in performing this
“takedown” maneuver that gives rise to this action.

During the

takedown, Eggleston landed on his face and was severely injured,
suffering a broken jaw, receding gums requiring skin grafts to
repair, two chipped teeth, three dead teeth, and a broken hand.
The takedown procedure, which took only seconds, was recorded on
the cruiser’s video camera.

The video is in evidence and has been

reviewed by both the district court and this court.
In a succinct but clear order, the district court held that
“[g]iven the varying interpretations of the video . . . where
[there is] an issue of material fact as to whether the force
applied was objectively reasonable . . . [an award of] summary
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No. 12-6269, Eggleston v. Short
judgment is inappropriate.”

It seems apparent that the district

court’s holding was based on its opinion that the video is not
clear as to the amount of force used or whether Short could have
employed some measure to prevent Eggleston from landing on his
face.
Having carefully considered the matter, we hold that the video
does indeed raise issues of fact to the extent that we lack
jurisdiction to consider this appeal.
II.
In analyzing a qualified immunity case, courts must proceed as
follows.
A. The Trial Court
The evidence must be interpreted in the light most favorable
to the party asserting the injury.

See Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S.

194, 201 (2001).
The court then looks to two factors: (1) whether the action
violated

a

constitutional

right;

and

(2)

whether

that

constitutional right was clearly established such that a reasonable
officer would understand that what he is doing would violate that
right.

Eldridge v. City of Warren, 533 F. App’x 529, 532 (6th Cir.

2013) (citations omitted). The court has the discretion to conduct
this analysis in any order.

Id. (citing Pearson v. Callahan, 555

U.S. 223, 236 (2009)).
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In considering whether a constitutional violation occurred, if
the defendant challenges the plaintiff’s version of the facts, an
issue of fact is created, and qualified immunity must be denied.
See Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (1995) (officer’s claim he did
not participate in beating of plaintiff raised a non-appealable
issue of fact).

However, a court may grant qualified immunity if

one of the parties’ accounts is “blatantly contradicted by the
record, so that no reasonable jury cold believe it.”

Scott v.

Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380 (2007).
The “clearly established” inquiry, it is vital to note, must
be undertaken in light of the specific context of the case, not as
a broad general proposition . . . .” Saucier, 533 U.S. at 201
(emphasis added); see also Campbell v. City of Springboro, 700 F.3d
779, 788–89 (6th Cir. 2012). That is, “[t]he relevant, dispositive
inquiry in determining whether a right is clearly established is
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; see also Burgess v. Fischer, 735 F.3d 462, 473 (6th Cir.
2013).

If the constitutional right was not clearly established,

the motion for qualified immunity should be granted.
If the court finds that the constitutional right was clearly
established, it may proceed to rule on the question of qualified
immunity on the basis of the record.
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The court may deny qualified

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No. 12-6269, Eggleston v. Short
immunity if the facts disclose a violation of a well-established
right,

or

grant

qualified

immunity

if

the

facts,

even

when

interpreted in favor of the plaintiff, do not support a finding
that

it

would

have

been

obvious

to

a

reasonable

person

in

defendant’s position that his actions violated a constitutional
right.
B.
“The

collateral

The Appellate Court

order

doctrine

provides

this

court

with

jurisdiction to hear an interlocutory appeal of a denial of
qualified immunity.”

Younes v. Pellerito, 739 F.3d 885, 888 (6th

Cir. 2014) (citation omitted).

However, it “applies only to the

extent that the denial was based on ‘pure questions of law.’” Id.
“A defendant challenging a denial of qualified immunity must be
willing to concede the most favorable view of the facts to the
plaintiff for purposes of the appeal.”

Id.

“Where a defendant

relies instead on [his] own disputed view of the facts, ‘the appeal
boils down to issues of fact and credibility determinations that we
cannot make.’” Id.

However, if “the issue appealed concerns not

which facts the parties might be able to prove, but whether certain
alleged facts reflect a violation of clearly established law,” this
inquiry is a legal question, and the appellate court does have
jurisdiction.

Hoover v. Radabaugh, 307 F.3d 460, 465 (6th Cir.

2002).
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III.
The constitutional issue in this case is whether Short used
excessive force against Eggleston in the course of arresting him.
Such claims are analyzed under the Fourth Amendment’s objective
“reasonableness” standard.

Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395

(1989). “Determining whether the force used to effect a particular
seizure is ‘reasonable’ under the Fourth Amendment requires a
careful balancing of ‘“the nature and quality of the intrusion on
the

individual’s

Fourth

Amendment

interests”’

countervailing governmental interests at stake.”
(citation omitted).

against

Id. at 396

This analysis “requires careful attention to

the facts and circumstances of each particular case, including the
severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an
immediate threat to the safety of the officers or others, and
whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade
arrest by flight.”
This
question

Id.

“reasonableness”
is

whether

the

inquiry
officers’

“is

an

objective

actions

are

one:

the

‘objectively

reasonable’ in light of the facts and circumstances confronting
them, without regard to their underlying intent or motivation.”
Id. at 397 (citation omitted).
In the case now before us, the trial judge, albeit succinctly,
found that the video relied on by both parties was ambiguous.
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Interpreted most favorably to Eggleston, the video could support a
reasonable conclusion that the force employed was excessive. Short
challenges

that

interpretation

on

appeal.

His

proffered

interpretation is that the force used was reasonable considering
all the surrounding circumstances, including the seriousness of the
offense, the necessity of getting the vehicle under control for
protection of the public, and the fact that Short had no backup.
See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396 (1989); Burgess, 735 F.3d
at 472–73; Campbell, 700 F.3d at 787.
We have reviewed the video and, like the district court,
conclude that it is ambiguous and does not allow us to determine as
a matter of law whether Short’s use of force was reasonable under
the circumstances.

Accordingly, this court lacks jurisdiction.

Younes, 739 F.3d at 888–89. Moreover, because viewing the video in
Eggleston’s favor could reasonably lead to a finding of excessive
force, this case does not fall within the limited exception under
which the plaintiff’s account may be disregarded because it is “so
utterly discredited by the record as to be rendered a visible
fiction.”

Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380 (2007).
IV.

Therefore, it is ordered that the appeal is DISMISSED for lack
of appellate jurisdiction.

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