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KRAUSE v. COUNTY OF MOHAVE (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-04-28No. No. 20-16189

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment, holding that the officer's use of deadly force was objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment and that qualified immunity protected the officers from liability on both the excessive force and denial of medical care claims.

Ryan Krause appealed the dismissal of his federal civil rights lawsuit challenging the police shooting death of his son, Drey Krause. Officers responding to a 911 call about a shot fired encountered Drey holding a shotgun at his trailer door. After being ordered twice to drop the weapon, Drey ignored these commands and began raising the shotgun toward a horizontal position. Officer Selmanson fired three shots, two of which fatally struck Drey.

The appellate court upheld the trial court's decision, finding that no factual dispute existed regarding whether the officer's use of lethal force was constitutionally reasonable. Under the applicable legal standard, which requires evaluating an officer's actions from the perspective of a reasonable person in the moment rather than in hindsight, the court determined that Drey's armed defiance and aggressive weapon handling created an immediate threat justifying the shooting. The court also rejected arguments that the officer failed to provide adequate warnings, had a duty to retreat, or should have employed less forceful methods, and found that officers satisfied their medical care obligations by summoning help within one minute.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether officer's use of lethal force was objectively reasonable when subject ignored orders to drop armed weapon and raised shotgun toward horizontal position
  • Whether officer had duty to provide additional warnings, retreat, or employ less intrusive methods
  • Whether officers adequately provided or facilitated medical assistance after shooting

Procedural posture

Plaintiff appealed from the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of law enforcement defendants in a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights action alleging excessive force and wrongful death.

Authorities cited

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Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

In this appeal, Plaintiff/Appellant Ryan Andrew Krause challenges the district courts grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants in his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review the grant of summary judgment de novo. Bravo v. City of Santa Maria, 665 F.3d 1076, 1083 (9th Cir. 2011). We affirm.

This case arose out of the shooting death of Drey Gerald Krause during a police investigation of a 911 call regarding a shot fired from the direction of Krauses trailer in the direction of a neighbor. Officer Jordan Selmanson knocked on Krauses door and announced that he was from the sheriffs office, twice. When Krause opened the door leading with the barrel of a shotgun, Selmanson backed away and told Krause loudly at least twice to drop the gun. Instead, Krause began raising the shotgun up towards a 90-degree angle, at which point Selmanson fired three shots, two of which hit and fatally wounded Krause.

A claim that law enforcement officers used excessive or deadly force is examined under the Fourth Amendment and the objective reasonableness standard. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). “The ‘reasonableness’ of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight.” Id. at 396, 109 S.Ct. 1865 (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20-22, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)). Courts recognize that the “calculus of reasonableness must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments – in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving – about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation.” Id. at 396-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865.

The district court correctly held that Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether Selmansons use of lethal force was objectively reasonable. By ignoring repeated lawful orders to drop the gun and instead bringing his left hand over to grip the shotgun with both hands and beginning to raise the barrel up to a ninety-degree angle, Krause created an immediate threat to Selmansons life. Although Plaintiff argued that there were several factual disputes (e.g., whether Krause was inside his trailer doorway or if he stepped out, whether he was facing Selmanson, whether Krause was trying to hand the rifle to Selmanson), we agree that Selmansons use of deadly force was objectively reasonable even under Plaintiffs version of the facts. See George v. Morris, 736 F.3d 829, 838 (9th Cir. 2013) (“If the person is armed – or reasonably suspected of being armed –a furtive movement, harrowing gesture, or serious verbal threat might create an immediate threat.”)

We reject as unpersuasive Plaintiffs contention that Selmansons repeated orders to drop the gun provided insufficient warning to Krause or that a more fulsome warning was practicable during the short duration of this event. See Harris v. Roderick, 126 F.3d 1189, 1201 (9th Cir. 1997) (requiring warnings “whenever practicable”). We also reject Plaintiffs arguments that Selmanson had a duty to retreat or use less intrusive methods to engage Krause, see Scott v. Henrich, 39 F.3d 912, 915 (9th Cir. 1994), or that firing shots at Krause violated his Fourth Amendment rights by allegedly putting Officer Richard Schiller in unreasonable danger.

The district court correctly granted summary judgment on Plaintiffs denial of medical care claim because the officers fulfilled their due process obligation by calling for medical assistance within one minute of Krause being shot. See Contra Maddox v. City of Los Angeles, 792 F.2d 1408, 1415 (9th Cir. 1986) (“Due process requires that police officers seek the necessary medical attention for a detainee when he or she has been injured while being apprehended by either promptly summoning the necessary medical help or by taking the injured detainee to a hospital.”).

In the alternative, the district court correctly found that the police officers were entitled to qualified immunity on the excessive force and denial of medical care claims because Plaintiff does not point to any controlling case law that “squarely governs the specific facts at issue,” City of Escondido v. Emmons, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 500, 503, 202 L.Ed.2d 455 (2019) (per curiam), such that the police officers would have had notice that alleged unlawfulness is “apparent” in “light of pre-existing law[.]” Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 640, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987).

We affirm summary judgment of Plaintiffs state law wrongful death claims for the same factual reasons as his federal claims.

AFFIRMED.