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3 FILED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 4 Jun 29, 2026 5 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 CLINTIN G. HICKMAN, No. 4:26-CV-05012-RLP
9 Plaintiff, ORDER OF DISMISSAL 10 v.
11 CITY OF PASCO, JOSHUA DIERTRICH, in his individual capacity, 12 and AALIYA VARGAS, in her individual capacity, 13 Defendants. 14
15 Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff Clintin 16 Hickman’s Amended Complaint, ECF No. 22. Mr. Hickman initiated this action 17 pro se. See ECF No. 1. By separate Order the Court granted Mr. Hickman leave to 18 proceed in forma pauperis. ECF No. 5. 19 For the reasons set forth below, Mr. Hickman’s Amended Complaint is 20 dismissed with prejudice. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is therefore granted. 1 DISCUSSION 2 This action arises out of an interaction between Plaintiff Clintin Hickman
3 and City of Pasco police Officers Joshua Dietrich and Aaliyah Vargas on 4 September 20, 2025. ECF No. 21. On that day, Mr. Hickman was filming a public 5 sidewalk, which included nearby businesses. ECF No. 21, ¶10. While not stated
6 explicitly, it can be inferred that minors were present in his general surroundings. 7 Id. at ¶15. 8 The Amended Complaint alleges that officers approached Mr. Hickman and 9 informed him that people had made police reports of his activity, which was
10 causing a domestic disturbance. Id. at ¶¶22, 23. As in his original Complaint, Mr. 11 Hickman alleges he “was not detained, arrested, or cited, and Defendants 12 ultimately disengaged and returned to their patrol vehicles.” Id. at ¶26.
13 Mr. Hickman filed this action on January 26, 2026, against the City of Pasco 14 and Officers Dietrich and Vargas, alleging claims for violations of his First and 15 Fourth Amendment rights. ECF No. 1. The Court dismissed the original complaint 16 for failure to state a claim. See ECF No. 20 at 2. Mr. Hickman filed an Amended
17 Complaint on April 27, 2026. ECF No. 21. 18 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to include “a 19 short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
20 A complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on 1 its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007). A 2 complaint that fails to meet this standard may be dismissed pursuant to Federal
3 Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Under Rule 12, dismissal may be warranted 4 based on either the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of factual 5 support for a cognizable legal theory. Lawyers for Fair Reciprocal Admission v.
6 United States, 141 F.4th 1056, 1065 (9th Cir.). 7 In considering whether to dismiss a complaint, the Court must accept the 8 factual allegations of the complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light 9 most favorable to the nonmoving party. Wood v. Moss, 572 U.S. 744, 755 n.5
10 (2014); Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th 11 Cir. 2008). 12 Pro se pleadings are “to be liberally construed” and are held to a less
13 stringent standard than those drafted by a lawyer. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 14 94 (2007) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Hebbe v. 15 Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (“Iqbal incorporated the Twombly 16 pleading standard and Twombly did not alter courts' treatment of pro se filings;
17 accordingly, we continue to construe pro se filings liberally when evaluating them 18 under Iqbal.”). 19 Qualified Immunity
20 “The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from 1 liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly 2 established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would
3 have known.” Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808 (2009). 4 “Qualified immunity is applicable unless the official’s conduct violated a clearly 5 established constitutional right.” Id. at 232. Mr. Hickman alleges liability based on
6 violations of his First and Fourth Amendment rights. Each alleged constitutional 7 violation is addressed. 8 1. First Amendment Retaliation 9 To bring a First Amendment retaliation claim, a plaintiff must allege: “(1) he
10 was engaged in a constitutionally protected activity, (2) the defendant’s actions 11 would chill a person of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in the 12 protected activity, and (3) the protected activity was a substantial or motivating
13 factor in the defendant’s conduct.” O’Brien v. Welty, 818 F.3d 920, 932 (9th Cir. 14 2016) (quoting Pinard v. Clatskanie Sch. Dist. 6J, 467 F.3d 755, 770 (9th Cir. 15 2006)). 16 The First Amendment protects the right to film matters of public interest.
17 Fordyce v. City of Seattle, 55 F.3d 436, 439 (9th Cir. 1995). Not all filming is 18 protected. Solomon v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep't, 2025 WL 1678174 at *1 19 (9th Cir. June 12, 2025) (upholding dismissal of First Amendment retaliation claim
20 based on plaintiff’s filming sidewalk of Fashion Show Mall). 1 Mr. Hickman does not plead that he was filming matters of public interest. 2 Rather, his Complaint makes clear that officers approached him because of reports
3 he was filming minors and causing a domestic disturbance. While Mr. Hickman 4 may attempt to make a case for why his activity on the date in question warranted 5 constitutional protection, this right is not “clearly established.” Officers Dietrich
6 and Vargas are therefore entitled to immunity on Mr. Hickman’s First Amendment 7 Retaliation claims. 8 2. Fourth Amendment 9 The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful seizures. Mr. Hickman’s
10 Amended Complaint alleges that Defendants “attempted” to seize him but lacked 11 reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe he had committed any crime. He 12 alleges that because an ordinary person wouldn’t feel free to leave, this was an
13 “attempted seizure.” He alleges that he suffered harm, including intimidation and 14 interference with his liberty. 15 The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful seizures. Although a 16 seizure may occur where an individual is detained or believes he is “not free to
17 leave,” see Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567, 573, 105 S.Ct. 3439 (1988), by 18 Mr. Hickman’s own admission, “[n]o arrest or seizure ultimately occurred, and 19 Defendants disengaged and returned to their patrol vehicles.” ECF No. 1 at 6.
20 Having failed to plead the violation of a clearly established right, Officers Dietrich 1 and Vargas are entitled to immunity on Mr. Hickman’s Fourth Amendment 2 violation claims.
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3 FILED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 4 Jun 29, 2026 5 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK 6 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON 8 CLINTIN G. HICKMAN, No. 4:26-CV-05012-RLP
9 Plaintiff, ORDER OF DISMISSAL 10 v.
11 CITY OF PASCO, JOSHUA DIERTRICH, in his individual capacity, 12 and AALIYA VARGAS, in her individual capacity, 13 Defendants. 14
15 Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff Clintin 16 Hickman’s Amended Complaint, ECF No. 22. Mr. Hickman initiated this action 17 pro se. See ECF No. 1. By separate Order the Court granted Mr. Hickman leave to 18 proceed in forma pauperis. ECF No. 5. 19 For the reasons set forth below, Mr. Hickman’s Amended Complaint is 20 dismissed with prejudice. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is therefore granted. 1 DISCUSSION 2 This action arises out of an interaction between Plaintiff Clintin Hickman
3 and City of Pasco police Officers Joshua Dietrich and Aaliyah Vargas on 4 September 20, 2025. ECF No. 21. On that day, Mr. Hickman was filming a public 5 sidewalk, which included nearby businesses. ECF No. 21, ¶10. While not stated
6 explicitly, it can be inferred that minors were present in his general surroundings. 7 Id. at ¶15. 8 The Amended Complaint alleges that officers approached Mr. Hickman and 9 informed him that people had made police reports of his activity, which was
10 causing a domestic disturbance. Id. at ¶¶22, 23. As in his original Complaint, Mr. 11 Hickman alleges he “was not detained, arrested, or cited, and Defendants 12 ultimately disengaged and returned to their patrol vehicles.” Id. at ¶26.
13 Mr. Hickman filed this action on January 26, 2026, against the City of Pasco 14 and Officers Dietrich and Vargas, alleging claims for violations of his First and 15 Fourth Amendment rights. ECF No. 1. The Court dismissed the original complaint 16 for failure to state a claim. See ECF No. 20 at 2. Mr. Hickman filed an Amended
17 Complaint on April 27, 2026. ECF No. 21. 18 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2) requires a complaint to include “a 19 short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
20 A complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on 1 its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (2007). A 2 complaint that fails to meet this standard may be dismissed pursuant to Federal
3 Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Under Rule 12, dismissal may be warranted 4 based on either the lack of a cognizable legal theory or the absence of factual 5 support for a cognizable legal theory. Lawyers for Fair Reciprocal Admission v.
6 United States, 141 F.4th 1056, 1065 (9th Cir.). 7 In considering whether to dismiss a complaint, the Court must accept the 8 factual allegations of the complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light 9 most favorable to the nonmoving party. Wood v. Moss, 572 U.S. 744, 755 n.5
10 (2014); Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th 11 Cir. 2008). 12 Pro se pleadings are “to be liberally construed” and are held to a less
13 stringent standard than those drafted by a lawyer. Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 14 94 (2007) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Hebbe v. 15 Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 342 (9th Cir. 2010) (“Iqbal incorporated the Twombly 16 pleading standard and Twombly did not alter courts' treatment of pro se filings;
17 accordingly, we continue to construe pro se filings liberally when evaluating them 18 under Iqbal.”). 19 Qualified Immunity
20 “The doctrine of qualified immunity protects government officials from 1 liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly 2 established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would
3 have known.” Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808 (2009). 4 “Qualified immunity is applicable unless the official’s conduct violated a clearly 5 established constitutional right.” Id. at 232. Mr. Hickman alleges liability based on
6 violations of his First and Fourth Amendment rights. Each alleged constitutional 7 violation is addressed. 8 1. First Amendment Retaliation 9 To bring a First Amendment retaliation claim, a plaintiff must allege: “(1) he
10 was engaged in a constitutionally protected activity, (2) the defendant’s actions 11 would chill a person of ordinary firmness from continuing to engage in the 12 protected activity, and (3) the protected activity was a substantial or motivating
13 factor in the defendant’s conduct.” O’Brien v. Welty, 818 F.3d 920, 932 (9th Cir. 14 2016) (quoting Pinard v. Clatskanie Sch. Dist. 6J, 467 F.3d 755, 770 (9th Cir. 15 2006)). 16 The First Amendment protects the right to film matters of public interest.
17 Fordyce v. City of Seattle, 55 F.3d 436, 439 (9th Cir. 1995). Not all filming is 18 protected. Solomon v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep't, 2025 WL 1678174 at *1 19 (9th Cir. June 12, 2025) (upholding dismissal of First Amendment retaliation claim
20 based on plaintiff’s filming sidewalk of Fashion Show Mall). 1 Mr. Hickman does not plead that he was filming matters of public interest. 2 Rather, his Complaint makes clear that officers approached him because of reports
3 he was filming minors and causing a domestic disturbance. While Mr. Hickman 4 may attempt to make a case for why his activity on the date in question warranted 5 constitutional protection, this right is not “clearly established.” Officers Dietrich
6 and Vargas are therefore entitled to immunity on Mr. Hickman’s First Amendment 7 Retaliation claims. 8 2. Fourth Amendment 9 The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful seizures. Mr. Hickman’s
10 Amended Complaint alleges that Defendants “attempted” to seize him but lacked 11 reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe he had committed any crime. He 12 alleges that because an ordinary person wouldn’t feel free to leave, this was an
13 “attempted seizure.” He alleges that he suffered harm, including intimidation and 14 interference with his liberty. 15 The Fourth Amendment protects against unlawful seizures. Although a 16 seizure may occur where an individual is detained or believes he is “not free to
17 leave,” see Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567, 573, 105 S.Ct. 3439 (1988), by 18 Mr. Hickman’s own admission, “[n]o arrest or seizure ultimately occurred, and 19 Defendants disengaged and returned to their patrol vehicles.” ECF No. 1 at 6.
20 Having failed to plead the violation of a clearly established right, Officers Dietrich 1 and Vargas are entitled to immunity on Mr. Hickman’s Fourth Amendment 2 violation claims.
3 Municipal Liability 4 Under Monell, “[a] government entity may not be held liable under § 1983, 5 unless a policy, practice, or custom of the entity can be shown to be a moving force
6 behind a violation of constitutional rights.” Dougherty v. City of Covina, 654 F.3d 7 892, 900 (9th Cir. 2011) (citing Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs. of City of New York, 8 436 U.S. 658, 694, , 98 S. Ct. 2018 (1978). 9 To allege municipal liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must plead
10 “that (1) he was deprived of a constitutional right; (2) the municipality had a 11 policy; (3) the policy amounted to deliberate indifference to [the plaintiff's] 12 constitutional right; and (4) the policy was the moving force behind the
13 constitutional violation.” Lockett v. Cnty. of Los Angeles, 977 F.3d 737, 741 (9th 14 Cir. 2020). Policies that lead to liability under Monell can include “written 15 policies” and “unwritten customs and practices,” as well as a “failure to train” 16 employees. Benavidez v. Cnty. of San Diego, 993 F.3d 1134, 1153 (9th Cir. 2021).
17 “[D]eliberate indifference’ is a stringent standard of fault.” Connick v. 18 Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 61, 131 S.Ct. 1350 (2011) (internal citations omitted). 19 Liability requires proof that “the need for more or different training [was] so
20 obvious, and the inadequacy so likely to result in the violation of constitutional 1 rights, that the policymakers of the city can reasonably be said to have been 2 deliberately indifferent to the need.” City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 390,
3 109 S.Ct. 1197 (1989). 4 Mr. Hickman alleges the “City of Pasco failed to adequately train and 5 supervise its officers regarding citizens’ First Amendment right to record in public
6 and the limits of lawful detention and seizure.” ECF No. 21 at 6. He fails, however, 7 to allege specific facts showing that the City of Pasco was on actual or constructive 8 notice in their training program that would tend to cause violations of citizens’ 9 constitutional rights. Accordingly, the Amended Complaint fails to suggest an
10 obvious need for training that could support a theory of municipal liability. 11 Leave to Amend 12 “A district court should not dismiss a pro se complaint without leave to
13 amend unless it is absolutely clear that the deficiencies of the complaint could not 14 be cured by amendment.” Swearington v. California Dep't of Corr. & Rehab., 624 15 F. App'x 956, 959 (9th Cir. 2015). 16 For the foregoing reasons, the Court finds that amendment would be futile.
17 Even should Mr. Hickman be able to allege facts to cure pleading deficiencies, 18 amendment would not overcome immunity. See Dougherty v. City of Covina, 654 19 F.3d 892, 901 (9th Cir. 2011) (affirming district court's denial of leave to amend
20 because the proposed amendment would be futile where the proposed amended 1|| complaint failed to state a Monell claim against claim against the City of Covina). 2 ACCORDINGLY, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: 3 1. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss, ECF No. 22, is GRANTED. 4 2. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, ECF No. 21, is DISMISSED with 5|| prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted under 28 6|| U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). 7 3. The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal 8 || of this Order would not be taken in good faith and would lack any arguable basis in 9|| law or fact. 10 IT IS SO ORDERED. The Clerk of Court is directed to enter this Order, enter judgment, provide copies to Plaintiff and counsel, and CLOSE the file. 12 DATED June 29, 2026. 13 14 ~ REBECCA L.PENNELL | UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 15 16 17 18 19 20
ORDER OL NICNMICCAT _ @