Eric Darden v. City of Fort Worth, Texas
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14693
| 5th Cir. | 2017Background
- Officers Snow and Romero executed a no‑knock narcotics warrant at a private residence; multiple officers wore helmet cameras that captured parts of the encounter.
- Jermaine Darden, an obese Black man (~340 lbs), was at the front room; he raised his hands when officers entered.
- Video gaps and conflicting testimony exist about the first ~25 seconds after entry; witnesses say Darden was thrown to the floor and did not resist.
- Officers tased Darden twice, and Romero is alleged to have choked, punched, and kicked him; officers pushed Darden face‑down, pressed his face into the floor, and handcuffed him behind his back.
- Bystanders repeatedly shouted that Darden could not breathe and had asthma; Darden suffered a heart attack and died.
- Plaintiff (estate administrator) sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force against the officers and municipal failure to train against the City; district court granted summary judgment for defendants; Fifth Circuit reverses in part, vacates in part, and remands.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether officers used excessive force causing death | Darden was not resisting; officers used unnecessary force (throwing, Tasers, choke, punches/kicks, prone restraint) that caused death | Officers claim Darden resisted and force was reasonable to secure arrest; alternate causes (preexisting conditions) contributed | Genuine disputes of material fact exist; sufficient evidence to allege constitutional violations — summary judgment improper for both officers |
| Causation — "direct and only" cause requirement for excessive‑force death | Restraint (Taser, prone position, weight on back) directly caused hypoxia and heart attack; preexisting conditions do not bar liability under eggshell‑skull rule | Preexisting coronary and lung disease mean death was not caused solely by force | Court rejects district court’s reliance on preexisting conditions; eggshell‑skull rule allows liability where force was the direct/only immediate cause in light of expert opinion |
| Qualified immunity — clearly established law | Prior Fifth Circuit and other precedent clearly prohibit tasing, choking, punching, or kneeling/pressing on a nonresisting or obese arrestee | Officers argue split‑second judgments, uncertainty about whether Darden was resisting, and that law wasn’t clearly established for the precise facts | Right was clearly established; reasonable jurors could find officers violated clearly established law; qualified immunity denied on summary judgment for both officers |
| Municipal liability for failure to train | City’s policies warned about risks of prone restraint on obese arrestees; plaintiff alleges inadequate training/supervision contributed | District court had dismissed municipal claims based on its immunity ruling for officers | Because the panel finds factual disputes showing constitutional violations, district court’s dismissal of City claims is vacated and remanded for further proceedings |
Key Cases Cited
- Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223 (qualified immunity two‑step analysis)
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (objective reasonableness test for force)
- Deville v. Marcantel, 567 F.3d 156 (fact‑intensive excessive force analysis)
- Richman v. Sheahan, 512 F.3d 876 (eggshell‑skull rule and positional asphyxia risk for obese arrestees)
- Hanks v. Rogers, 853 F.3d 738 (clearly established law standard in Fifth Circuit)
- Autin v. City of Baytown, 174 Fed.Appx. 183 (tasing nonresisting suspect can be excessive force)
- McCaleb v. [unnamed], 480 Fed.Appx. 768 (continuing to Tase a subdued, nonresisting suspect unreasonable)
- City of Los Angeles v. Heller, 475 U.S. 796 (no municipal liability if no individual constitutional violation)