Clark v. Campbell, 3:14-cv-00333

On June 23, 2012, Lander County deputies Gary Campbell and Alex Rangel responded to a neighbor complaint about Ben Clark’s alarm and barking-dog countermeasures; they conducted a knock-and-talk at Clark’s open rear door.
Clark confronted the deputies holding a loaded .357 Magnum, refused repeated commands (over 60) to drop the gun, shouted and used profanity, and moved toward officers after Rangel attempted taser deployment.
Campbell shot Clark once in the abdomen; Clark retreated into his home and later exited after an hours-long standoff, then was subdued by Humboldt County Deputy Kyle Negus with two bean-bag rounds after failing to follow arrest commands.
Clark sued under a second amended complaint asserting 17 claims, including 42 U.S.C. § 1983 excessive-force (deadly force and taser), First/Second Amendment retaliation, battery, IIED, trespass, malicious prosecution/false arrest/false imprisonment, Monell and related state tort claims.
Defendants moved for summary judgment; Clark conceded dismissal of some claims and admitted that a prior judicial order established probable cause for arrest (issue preclusion).
The district court granted summary judgment to defendants on all remaining claims, concluding officers’ intermediate and deadly force were objectively reasonable and other tort and constitutional claims failed for lack of evidence or were precluded.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Fourth Amendment—deadly force	Clark: use of deadly force was excessive; he did not point gun or verbally threaten	Officers: Clark posed an immediate threat—armed, belligerent, refused commands, moved after taser	Court: force (taser and shooting) reasonable under Graham; summary judgment for defendants
First/Second Amendment retaliation	Clark: officers used force to chill his speech (including Second Amendment talk)	Officers: no evidence of retaliatory motive; probable cause established; temporal proximity insufficient	Court: no causal evidence of retaliation; summary judgment for defendants
State torts—battery and IIED	Clark: officers intended harmful/offensive contact; conduct was outrageous	Officers: force privileged and reasonably necessary; not extreme/outrageous	Court: battery and IIED dismissed—force justified; summary judgment for defendants
Arrest-related torts and conspiracy (false arrest, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, unlawful arrest, conspiracy with neighbors)	Clark: officers conspired with neighbors and effected unlawful detention/prosecution	Officers: they investigated a citizen’s arrest claim and independent probable cause exists (issue preclusion)	Court: probable cause established; conspiracy and arrest-related claims dismissed; summary judgment for defendants

Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective reasonableness test for excessive force under the Fourth Amendment)
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985) (deadly force permissible where officer has probable cause to believe suspect poses significant threat of death or serious injury)
Scott v. Henrich, 39 F.3d 912 (9th Cir. 1994) (officers need not use least intrusive means; assess reasonableness from officer’s on-scene perspective)
Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317 (1986) (moving party’s summary judgment burdens and showing absence of genuine issue of material fact)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242 (1986) (standard for genuine issues of material fact at summary judgment)
Skoog v. County of Clackamas, 469 F.3d 1221 (9th Cir. 2006) (elements and causation standard for First Amendment retaliation claims)
Dietrich v. John Ascuaga's Nugget, 548 F.3d 892 (9th Cir. 2008) (probable cause has high probative force against retaliation claims at summary judgment)
United States v. Perea-Rey, 680 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 2012) (permissibility of knock-and-talk and approaching curtilage for consensual contact)
Hopkins v. Bonvicino, 573 F.3d 752 (9th Cir. 2009) (officers must conduct independent investigation before effectuating a citizen’s arrest)
Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547 (1967) (probable cause negates unlawful arrest/false arrest civil liability)