Linson v. City of New York, 951 N.Y.S.2d 167

Plaintiff apartment searched under a lawful warrant; occupants not suspects or narcotics present.
Sole claim was assault based on an officer pointing a weapon at plaintiff during the search.
ESU officers were the only ones with guns drawn; others entered with no weapon pointed at plaintiff.
Jury found defendant liable for assault and awarded PTSD damages.
Court held officer's use of force during detention was reasonable and affirmed dismissal under CPLR 4404(a) to set aside verdict.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Was the officer's pointed weapon during the search objectively unreasonable?	Pointing was unnecessary after securing the apartment.	Detention was necessary; reasonable force to ensure safety.	No valid line of reasoning supports assault finding.

Cohen v. Hallmark Cards, 45 N.Y.2d 493 (N.Y. 1978) (standard for setting aside verdicts under CPLR 4404(a))
Courtney v. Port Auth. of N.Y. & N.J., 45 A.D.3d 801 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2007) (standard for JMOL on similar grounds)
Desbonnet v. Desbonnet, 34 A.D.3d 625 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2006) (evidentiary sufficiency standards under 4404(a))
Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692 (U.S. 1981) (probable cause warrant carries limited detention authority)
Muehler v. Mena, 544 U.S. 93 (U.S. 2005) (detention authority during searches; use of reasonable force)
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (U.S. 1989) (reasonableness of police use of force viewed on-scene)
Eckardt v. City of White Plains, 87 A.D.3d 1049 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2011) (application of detention/force standards to municipalities)
Moore v. City of New York, 68 A.D.3d 946 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2009) (police conduct during searches; related precedents)
Los Angeles County v. Rettele, 550 U.S. 609 (U.S. 2007) (illustrates reasonable-on-scene assessment of police conduct)
Baird v. Renbarger, 576 F.3d 340 (7th Cir. 2009) (federal examples on force during detentions)