Hemry v. Ross, 62 F.4th 1248

Park employee mistakenly identified vacationer Brett Hemry as fugitive Michael Bullinger and reported a white Toyota with a matching plate leaving Yellowstone.
Two National Park rangers spotted the Hemry vehicle, followed it, and the driver pulled over near a campground; rangers and later county deputies held the occupants at gunpoint and ordered compliance.
Officers separated and placed Mr. and Mrs. Hemry in separate patrol cars; they were detained for about 20 minutes in the cruisers (the overall encounter lasted up to ~50 minutes) until Mr. Hemry produced ID showing he was not the fugitive; the family was released.
The Hemrys sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for false arrest/false imprisonment and excessive force; the district court denied qualified immunity on Mrs. Hemry’s false-arrest claim and on both Hemrys’ excessive-force claims.
On interlocutory appeal, the Tenth Circuit reversed, holding that the law was not clearly established (so qualified immunity applied) as to (1) whether the investigatory stop constituted an arrest of Mrs. Hemry without probable cause, and (2) whether the rangers’ use of force was clearly excessive.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the investigative detention of Mrs. Hemry escalated to a Fourth Amendment arrest requiring probable cause	Hemry: pointing guns, orders, handcuffing and placement in patrol car show an arrest, not a Terry stop	Rangers: had reasonable suspicion from a contemporaneous tip about a fugitive in a matching vehicle; firearms and delay for backup were reasonable for officer safety	Reversed district court; qualified immunity granted—law was not clearly established that the stop was an arrest rather than a Terry stop
Whether pointing guns at and detaining Mr. and Mrs. Hemry was unconstitutional excessive force	Hemrys: force was unnecessary and disproportionate given compliance and lack of individualized reason to fear Mrs. Hemry	Rangers: Graham factors support reasonableness—serious alleged crime, potential immediate threat, uncertain facts justified force and caution	Qualified immunity granted—existing precedent did not place the constitutional question beyond debate

District of Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577 (2018) (standard for when law is "clearly established" for qualified immunity)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective-reasonableness test for excessive force)
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) (distinguishing consensual encounters, investigative detentions, and arrests)
Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491 (1983) (scope of detention must be tailored to its justification)
United States v. Sharpe, 470 U.S. 675 (1985) (assessing reasonableness of stop length by context and purpose)
Cortez v. McCauley, 478 F.3d 1108 (10th Cir. 2007) (force against non-targeted individuals may be excessive where no reason to suspect danger)
Merritt v. United States, 695 F.2d 1263 (10th Cir. 1982) (guns drawn reasonably permissible when officers reasonably believe suspects may be armed)
Maresca v. Bernalillo County, 804 F.3d 1301 (10th Cir. 2015) (holding family at gunpoint without reason to believe they were armed can support excessive force claim)