Will Aguilar v. Williamson County, Texas

512 F. App'x 444
Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit·Decided February 19, 2013·No. 11-51069·Unpublished·Cited by 6 cases

Opinions

PER CURIAM: *

This is a Section 1988 suit brought by Will Aguilar, a motorcyclist who was injured in a traffic stop. He claims two deputies in the Williamson County Sheriffs Office, Daniel Robertson and Michael Baxter, used excessive force to arrest him. The district court denied the deputies’ motions that had sought summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The deputies appeal. We REVERSE as to Deputy Robertson, AFFIRM as to Deputy Baxter, and REMAND.

FACTS

On April 9, 2009, Will Aguilar was riding his motorcycle on a rural road in Williamson County, Texas. His affidavit states that as he rode around a turn, he saw Deputies Daniel Robertson and Michael Baxter standing in the middle of the road waving for him to stop. Aguilar states that upon seeing the deputies, he used his brakes and had almost stopped when he reached Deputy Robertson.

The details of what Aguilar and the deputies each did is disputed, though whether those disputes are material is a question we will address later. At this point, it is enough to say that Aguilar was knocked from his motorcycle to the pavement and suffered injuries. He was transported to a hospital and was diagnosed with a broken clavicle.

Aguilar was charged with aggravated assault of an officer with a deadly weapon (i.e., the motorcycle). The case was presented to a grand jury, which did not indict him.

Aguilar brought this suit against Williamson County and the two deputies, Robertson and Baxter, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, relying on 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Aguilar alleged the deputies used excessive force in stopping him for speeding. Robertson and Baxter filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity, which the district court denied. Robertson and Baxter appealed.

During the pendency of this appeal, the county moved for summary judgment. The district court denied the motion as premature, as that court is awaiting the ruling of this court on the appeal.

DISCUSSION

A district court’s order denying qualified immunity is a collateral order that is immediately appealable “to the extent that it turns on a question of law rather than a factual dispute.” Elizondo v. Green, 671 F.3d 506, 509 (5th Cir.2012). Qualified immunity should be granted to a deputy unless, first, the deputy’s “conduct would, [446] as a matter of law, be objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law,” and, second, at least “a genuine issue of fact exists regarding whether the [deputy] did, in fact, engage in such conduct.” Cantrell v. City of Murphy, 666 F.3d 911, 921 (5th Cir.2012) (quotation marks omitted). This court’s review is limited to whether the deputies’ conduct was “objectively unreasonable in light of clearly established law.” Id. at 922.

Ordinarily, this court reviews a district court’s denial of summary judgment de novo. Kinney v. Weaver, 367 F.Bd 337, 347 (5th Cir.2004). In an interlocutory appeal, though, “we lack the power to review the district court’s decision that a genuine factual dispute exists.” Id. at 348. Therefore, we “consider only whether the district court erred in assessing the legal significance of the conduct that the district court deemed sufficiently supported for purposes of summary judgment.” Id.

Aguilar’s claim is that these deputies used excessive force to arrest him. The claim is analyzed under the Fourth Amendment’s reasonableness standard, which requires “two overlapping objective reasonableness inquiries.” Lytle v. Bexar Cnty., Tex., 560 F.3d 404, 410 (5th Cir. 2009) (quotation marks omitted). First, a constitutional violation occurs if the plaintiff demonstrates (1) an injury (2) which “resulted directly and only from the use of force that was excessive to the need” and (3) the force used was objectively unreasonable. Bush v. Strain, 513 F.3d 492, 500-01 (5th Cir.2008). Then, “we must ask the somewhat convoluted question of whether the law lacked such clarity that it would be reasonable for an officer to erroneously believe that his conduct was reasonable.” Lytle, 560 F.3d at 410. Aguilar was injured as a result of the arrest, but the deputies claim the force was not excessive and no clearly established constitutional duty existed to refrain from the actions they took to stop and detain Aguilar.

We first determine what must be accepted at this point as the relevant facts. Aguilar’s version of events was set out in his affidavit. After seeing the deputies, Aguilar began to slow his motorcycle. He estimates he was still traveling one to three miles per hour and not yet completely stopped when “Defendant Robertson then hit [Aguilar’s] left shoulder with his left hand, fracturing [Aguilar’s] clavicle in [his] left shoulder. It was obvious to [Aguilar] that it was an intentional strike on his part on [Aguilar’s] shoulder.”

Robertson’s version, most of which is not disputed by Aguilar, is basically consistent. Robertson stated that Aguilar was traveling at 65 miles per hour in a 40 miles-per-hour zone. Aguilar had an unobstructed view of the deputies, who were both wearing uniforms. Baxter and Robertson began waving their arms to cause Aguilar to stop. As Aguilar approached, Robertson took a step into the path of the motorcycle and put his hands out. Robertson agrees that Aguilar was braking hard, but contends Aguilar was not stopping fast enough. Robertson continued waving his arms while stepping out of the way. When Aguilar passed, Robertson alleges his “left hand caught the [driver’s] left shoulder.” This caused Robertson to “spin around and hit the ground causing abrasions to [his] right hand, pain in [his] right ankle and [a] rip in [his] pants under the right knee.”

As to Baxter, Aguilar stated that a few seconds after Robertson hit Aguilar on the shoulder, Baxter tackled Aguilar, knocking him off the motorcycle onto the ground, causing further injury to his shoulder. Aguilar stated Baxter took out his gun and hit him in the front of the head with it, then poked him with it on his face shield, [447] and kicked him in the leg. Aguilar maintains that he did not resist arrest or take actions that would indicate he intended to flee. He states he kept his hands in the air to indicate he was not a threat to the deputies.

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Will Aguilar v. Williamson County, Texas, 512 F. App'x 444 (5th Cir. 2013).

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