Muhammad al-Lamadani v. Keith Lang

624 F. App'x 405
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedAugust 26, 2015
Docket14-3910
StatusUnpublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 624 F. App'x 405 (Muhammad al-Lamadani v. Keith Lang) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Muhammad al-Lamadani v. Keith Lang, 624 F. App'x 405 (6th Cir. 2015).

Opinions

[406]*406OPINION

COLE, Chief Judge.

After Ruby al-Lamadani called 911 to report that her husband was in their home in violation of a protection order, two officers from the Indian Hill Rangers arrived at the al-Lamadani house. After speaking with Mrs. al-Lamadani, they detained and handcuffed plaintiff-appellee Muhammad al-Lamadani, her husband, in the living room for fifteen minutes. One of the officers called the county clerk’s office, which could find no record of any protection order, so the officers released Mr. al-Lama-dani from the handcuffs.

Mr. al-Lamadani brought excessive-force and unlawful-seizure claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against defendant-appellant Keith Lang, the officer who handcuffed him, and the Village of Indian Hill. The district court denied qualified immunity to Officer Lang because there was evidence in the record that Officer Lang knew that Mr. al-Lamadani had not yet been served with the protection order and therefore he lacked probable cause to seize Mr. al-La-madani. The district court also held that Mr. al-Lamadani had established a factual dispute about whether Officer Lang used excessive force in handcuffing Mr. al-La-madani. Finally, the district court denied the village’s motion for summary judgment on the municipal-liability claim, finding a genuine issue of material fact about whether the village had failed to train its officers on the detention of suspects in domestic-violence matters and the excessively-forceful use of handcuffs.

We affirm the denial of qualified immunity and dismiss the appeal of the municipal-liability claim for lack of jurisdiction.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 25, 2011, Indian Hill Rangers Keith Lang and Ray Manning responded to a 911 call from Ruby al-Lamadani. The call was precipitated by the arrival of her husband of more than thirty years, Muhammad al-Lamadani. Mr. al-Lamadani had been traveling abroad for his job as an executive at General Electric and had not been able to reach his wife for two weeks. After flying from London to Cincinnati and driving to the al-Lamadanis’ home in Indian Hill, Mr. al-Lamadani attempted to unlock the front door, but his keys failed to open it. He then entered the house through the unlatched back door and found his wife sleeping on the coueh. After he woke her up, she asked him what he was doing there and then told him to leave the house. He refused. She then called the police while he sat in the living room. She did not tell him that she had filed a protection order against him or filed for divorce while he was gone.

On the 911 call, which Mr. al-Lamadani later testified was inaudible to him, Mrs. al-Lamadani told the dispatcher that her husband was in the home in violation of a protection order, and that he was threatening her but had not been violent. In response to the dispatcher’s question, she said she did not know if her husband was armed. The dispatcher relayed to Officers Lang and Manning that Mr. al-Lamadani was in the house in violation of a protection order, that there was “not a lot of activity” at the x-esidence, and that the “husband [was] just watching the wife’s actions right now.” 911 call, R. 25-1, Track 3. He also said it was unknown whether Mr. al-Lamadani was armed and that both the al-Lamadanis were in the living room of the house. The dispatcher remained on the phone with Mrs. al-Lamadani until Officer Lang knocked at the door.

Officer Lang arrived at the al-Lamadani residence approximately two minutes after the 911 call. Officer Lang later testified that at the start of his shift that night, he [407]*407had seen a newly docketed protection order, which stated that Mr. al-Lamadani was prohibited from entering the house without the advance invitation of his wife. The Indian Hill Rangers had a policy before each shift to place such protection orders in follow-up files for the officers who would be on patrol so that they would be aware of the orders in case of calls regarding violations of them.

When Officer Lang arrived at the residence, Mrs. al-Lamadani met him at the front door and told him that she had been asleep on the couch and was awakened by her husband, who was standing over her. She told Officer Lang that she had changed the locks on the house but had accidentally left the back door unlatched, which allowed Mr. al-Lamadani to enter. Officer Lang testified that she seemed very upset and afraid of her husband. Mrs. al-Lamadani also informed Officer Lang that her husband had not been inside the residence since October 2010,1 that he had been violent with her in the past, and that she did not know if he had any weapons. She confirmed that he had not been violent that evening. She also told Officer Lang that she had not expected Mr. al-Lamadani to be in the house because she thought he was in London. While he was speaking with Mrs. al-Lamadani, Officer Lang could see through the window that her husband was seated in a chair in the living room, staring straight ahead, which Officer Lang testified he considered “strange behavior.” Lang Dep., R. 25, PagelD 124. Mrs. al-Lamadani also told Officer Lang that she did not know if Mr. al-Lamadani was served with the protection order and that it was filed just that morning.

A few minutes later, Officer Manning arrived at the residence and Officer Lang entered the house with Mrs. al-Lamadani’s consent. Officer Lang walked into the living room, ordered Mr. al-Lamadani to stand, and handcuffed him. Officer Lang testified that Mr. al-Lamadani raised his voice and was “pretty vocal” in demanding to know why the officers were in his home. Lang Dep., R. 25, PagelD 127. Mr. al-Lamadani testified that Officer Lang told him to shut up after he asked: “What did I do? It’s my home.” Al-Lamadani Dep., R. 22, PagelD 77. As Officer Lang was handcuffing Mr. al-Lamadani, he commented that Mr. al-Lamadani’s hands seemed stiff. According to Mr. al-Lama-dani, in response to further questions about why the officer was handcuffing him, Officer Lang told him to shut up and said, “You people don’t hear. You people don’t understand.” Id. at 85. After applying the handcuffs, Officer Lang patted down Mr. al-Lamadani to check for weapons and also asked him if he had a gun, to which Mr. Al-Lamadani responded emphatically that he had never owned or used a gun. Officer Lang directed Mr. al-Lamadani to sit down in'a chair in the living room, and he complied.

After he was handcuffed, Mr. al-Lama-dani complained that the handcuffs hurt him. Officer Lang responded that “handcuffs always hurt.” Lang Dep., R. 25, PagelD 130. Officer Lang testified that he did not loosen the handcuffs, although he could not remember whether he had checked them to make sure they were not too tight or whether he simply told Mr. al-Lamadani that he did not think they were too tight. According to Mr. al-Lamadani, the cuffs left a red mark on his wrist that [408]*408turned blue and then disappeared the next day.

While Mr. al-Lamadani was seated, handcuffed, on the chair in his living room, Officer Manning entered the residence and told him that Mrs. al-Lamadani had a protection order against him. Mr. al-Lama-dani responded that he had just returned from London and was unaware of any restraining order. After Officer Manning showed him a copy of the order that'Mrs. al-Lamadani had given to the officers, Mr. al-Lamadani said that he had never seen it.

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