902 F.3d 552
6th Cir.2018Background
- On May 3, 2014, Paris Ainsworth was shot by two assailants she described as "two black males wearing all black." Derrick Bunkley (22), wearing black, was later at Sinai Grace Hospital attending to his father and posted timestamped Facebook photos corroborating his presence at home during the shooting.
- Officers Dennis, Tanguay, and Washington, and Sergeant Lucas investigated; without investigating the Knox shooting scene or questioning Knox, they confronted Bunkley in the hospital waiting room, obtained his ID, left to consult Lucas, then arrested him—falsely stating the reason was a probation violation.
- Investigator Latonya Moses later conducted photo arrays; Ainsworth picked Bunkley from the second array (after having rejected a Knox array). Moses met with the prosecutor, recommended charges, omitted exculpatory Facebook-alibi evidence, and made false factual assertions to the prosecutor and at trial.
- A jury convicted Bunkley of assault with intent to commit murder; post-conviction forensic testing verified the Facebook alibi, charges were dismissed, and Bunkley sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (false arrest, malicious prosecution, failure to intervene) and Monell against Detroit.
- The district court denied summary judgment to the individual defendants, finding genuine disputes about probable cause, Moses’s influence on prosecution, and officers’ duty/opportunity to intervene; it also denied qualified immunity. The City obtained summary judgment. The defendants appealed the denial of qualified immunity.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether arresting officers had probable cause for false arrest | Bunkley: officers lacked probable cause given vague description, differences in age/complexion/distance, no investigation, and fabricated pretext for arrest | Officers: had reasonable basis and were following Sergeant Lucas’s order; arrest justified by investigators’ observations | Court: Probable cause disputed; denial of summary judgment upheld (fact questions for jury) |
| Whether defendants are entitled to qualified immunity for false arrest | Bunkley: officers violated clearly established right against arrest without probable cause | Defendants: entitled to immunity when reasonably following supervisor orders or lacking notice of illegality | Court: Denied qualified immunity; reasonable officers could not objectively conclude probable cause existed under these facts |
| Whether Moses is immune for malicious prosecution | Bunkley: Moses knowingly withheld exculpatory evidence and made false statements, influencing prosecution | Moses: photo-array ID established probable cause; she need do nothing more | Court: Denied qualified immunity; jury could find she withheld key exculpatory facts and misled prosecutor, undermining probable cause |
| Whether officers had a duty/opportunity to intervene | Bunkley: officers present or assenting to arrest had duty to prevent unlawful arrest | Officers: no clear obligation in this context or no realistic opportunity to stop arrest | Court: Denied immunity—Sixth Circuit precedent establishes duty to intervene for unlawful arrests; genuine issues of material fact about opportunity to intervene remain |
Key Cases Cited
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (Sup. Ct.) (establishes modern qualified immunity framework)
- Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (Sup. Ct.) (denial of qualified immunity is immediately appealable to extent it involves legal questions)
- Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (Sup. Ct.) (appellate court may disregard plaintiff’s version of events when record incontrovertibly contradicts it)
- Johnson v. Jones, 515 U.S. 304 (Sup. Ct.) (limits interlocutory appeals that challenge only factual sufficiency)
- Behrens v. Pelletier, 516 U.S. 299 (Sup. Ct.) (clarifies scope of interlocutory appeals from qualified immunity rulings)
- DiLuzio v. Vill. of Yorkville, 796 F.3d 604 (6th Cir.) (discusses separating legal from factual questions on interlocutory qualified-immunity appeals)
- Quigley v. Tuong Vinh Thai, 707 F.3d 675 (6th Cir.) (plaintiff’s burden at summary judgment to show genuine factual dispute defeating qualified immunity)
- Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, 477 U.S. 242 (Sup. Ct.) (standard for genuine issue of material fact at summary judgment)
- Wesby (cited in opinion by S. Ct. reporter) was discussed for clearly established law on arrest without probable cause but is not listed here because it lacks an official reporter citation in this summary