Use of Force in Making an Arrest

Use of Force and Civil Liability

Use of a Beanbag Shotgun

Kneeling on a Suspect’s Back

(1) The use of a beanbag shotgun on a suspect is constitutionally justified where it is believed that the suspect had just committed a dangerous crime, is armed with a knife, and fails to follow orders to keep his hands up and away from the knife in his pocket.  (2) Kneeling on the back of a suspect prone on the ground in order to facilitate his handcuffing when the suspect is no longer resisting and complied with orders to lay on the ground, is constitutionally illegal.

Plaintiff Ramon Cortesluna had a drinking problem; getting violent and abusive with his live-in girlfriend and her two daughters (ages 12 and 15) when he drank.  On the evening of November 6, 2016, he did just that, chasing his family into a back room with a chainsaw.  Twelve-year-old I.R. called 911, telling the operator that they were all barricaded in a room because plaintiff was “always drinking,” had “anger issues,” was “really mad,” and was breaking up the house with a chainsaw and was going to hurt them.  I.R. further reported that her mother was holding the door closed to prevent plaintiff from entering and hurting them.  I.R.’s older sister then came on the line, telling the operator that plaintiff was “sawing on the door knob” as they spoke.  The 911 operator could hear a sawing sound as she talked to the two girls.  This information was passed onto Union City police units in the area, resulting in five officers—including the eventual civil defendants; Officers Manuel Leon, Daniel Rivas-Villegas, Robert Kensic—responding to the scene.  Upon their arrival, the officers found the ....