Lennox v. Miller, 968 F.3d 150

July 22, 2016: Jessica Lennox confronted her ex-boyfriend in Norwich while her 4‑year‑old son was in the car; police were called.
Officers Thomas Miller and Brandon Clarke arrived; Clarke approached, grabbed and handcuffed Lennox, causing the child to fall from her arms.
Lennox alleges that after she was handcuffed Clarke threw her face‑down, put his body weight/knees on her back, slammed her head into the ground, and left her in a police car; she sustained bruises, ear injuries, and asthma/anxiety symptoms.
Lennox sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force (Clarke) and failure to intervene (Miller), plus state claims; the district court denied qualified immunity to both officers.
Second Circuit granted interlocutory review of the denial of qualified immunity; it affirmed the denial as to Clarke and reversed as to Miller, remanding for further proceedings.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Excessive force (Clarke)	Clarke used significant, gratuitous force against a handcuffed, non‑resisting arrestee (kneeling, head‑bashing).	Force was necessary to control resistance; in any event, law was not clearly established.	Denied qualified immunity: factual disputes about resistance and force preclude resolving entitlement as a matter of law; denial affirmed.
Failure to intervene (Miller)	Miller observed Clarke's takedown and had time/opportunity to intervene but did nothing.	Miller was engaged in crowd control and lacked a realistic opportunity to intervene; no clearly established duty to abandon his post.	Miller entitled to qualified immunity: no evidence of a realistic opportunity to intervene; denial reversed.

Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (objective‑reasonableness Fourth Amendment standard for force)
Brosseau v. Haugen, 543 U.S. 194 (2004) (reasonableness judged against legal backdrop at time of conduct)
Kisela v. Hughes, 138 S. Ct. 1148 (2018) (qualified immunity requires violation of a clearly established right)
White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (2017) (need for precedent closely governing specific facts to defeat qualified immunity)
Tracy v. Freshwater, 623 F.3d 90 (2d Cir. 2010) (gratuitous force against restrained, unresisting arrestee can be excessive)
Muschette ex rel. A.M. v. Gionfriddo, 910 F.3d 65 (2d Cir. 2018) (officers may not use taser or significant force against compliant or non‑threatening suspects)
Jones v. Treubig, 963 F.3d 214 (2d Cir. 2020) (it was clearly established that significant force against a secured, non‑resisting arrestee violates the Fourth Amendment)
Maxwell v. City of New York, 380 F.3d 106 (2d Cir. 2004) (refusal to grant summary judgment where officer allegedly shoved a handcuffed arrestee into car causing head injury)
Sullivan v. Gagnier, 225 F.3d 161 (2d Cir. 2000) (resistance may justify some force but does not permit unlimited force)
Figueroa v. Mazza, 825 F.3d 89 (2d Cir. 2016) (duty to intercede when officer observes excessive force and has realistic opportunity to prevent it)