OPINION
This case involves the question of whether a deputy sheriff used excessive force in tasing a combative and disoriented diabetic suffering a hypoglycemic episode in order for the attending paramedics to stabilize his life-threatening condition. The district court denied the deputy’s motion for qualified and governmental immunity. For the reasons set forth below, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court, and REMAND the case with instructions to dismiss the complaint with prejudice.
I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual background
In June 2013, Corey Hill suffered a diabetic emergency in his home due to his low blood-sugar level. Paramedics with Star Emergency Medical Service were dispatched to Hill’s home at 3:20 p.m. after Hill’s girlfriend, Melanie Worrall, called 911 for an ambulance. Two ambulance units and four paramedics, including Luke Streeter, arrived at the home and proceeded to the bedroom where Hill was lying down. Despite finding Hill very disoriented, the paramedics introduced themselves and tried to explain that they needed to check his blood-sugar level. Streeter attempted to prick Hill’s finger for this purpose, but an agitated and combative Hill pulled back from the paramedics. Eventually, Streeter managed to prick Hill’s finger, leading to the determination that Hill’s blood-sugar level was extremely low at 38. A normal blood-sugar range is anywhere between 60 and 110, and a blood-sugar level below that range can cause hypoglycemia. As blood sugar falls, the common effects are for a person to lose consciousness, become combative and confused, or suffer a seizure. A blood-sugar level of 38 is therefore considered a medical emergency and, if left untreated, can lead to prolonged seizure and death.
Deputy Christopher Miracle of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department arrived at Hill’s home at some point after Streeter measured Hill’s blood-sugar level. As a member of the road patrol, Miracle’s duties included responding to calls for emergency medical services. He had encountered over a dozen diabetic emergencies throughout his career and was aware that persons suffering from low blood-sugar levels are often disoriented and unaware of their surroundings. When Miracle arrived, the paramedics were attempting to intravenously administer dextrose to Hill in order to raise his blood-sugar level. Hill became increasingly combative in resisting the paramedics’ efforts to insert an IV catheter into his arm.
Streeter was finally able to insert the catheter while the other paramedics held Hill down to the bed. At this point, a completely disoriented Hill swung a fist towards Streeter and ripped the catheter from his arm, causing blood to spray from the open vein. Streeter managed to finally stop the bleeding, but Hill continued to kick, swing, and swear at the paramedics as they tried to hold him down.
Miracle, who at that point had not joined in the attempt to physically restrain Hill, ordered Hill to “relax.” When Hill continued to kick and swing, Miracle ■ informed Hill that he (Miracle) was going to use his taser. Miracle then deployed his taser in
To use a taser in drive-stun mode, an officer removes the hooks that spring from a taser and holds the device directly against a person’s skin. Drive-stun mode is usually not recommended because keeping the taser in contact with a person’s skin is difficult, yet necessary to render the taser effective. But Miracle did not want to shoot the hooks of his taser directly into Hill and, in addition, thought that deploying his taser in drive-stun mode was a better option than “hands-on stuff’ because Miracle wanted to “minimize [the] damage” and “didn’t really know everything that was going on medically.” After Miracle held the taser against Hill’s thigh for a few seconds, Hill calmed down long enough for Streeter to reestablish the IV catheter and administer dextrose. As noted by Streeter, Hill “became an angel” and was “very apologetic” after the dextrose kicked in.
Streeter then checked Hill’s blood-sugar levels and performed an electrocardiogram test. The results of both tests were normal. Hill denied being in any pain at the time, but the paramedics nonetheless transported Hill to McLaren Oakland Hospital, where his care was transferred to Dr. Brian Tweedle. Once again, Hill’s blood-sugar level was measured as being within normal range. Medical records from the hospital note a taser puncture wound on Hill’s right thigh, but Dr. Tweedle testified that no treatment was rendered for the wound because it was not infected. Hill claims that, as a result of this incident, he suffered burns on his right thigh and that his diabetes worsened.
B. Procedural background
Hill filed suit against Miracle in January 2015 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. He brought a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Miracle had used excessive force in violation of Hill’s Fourth Amendment rights when Miracle deployed his taser. Hill also brought state-law claims of assault and battery and of intentional infliction of emotional distress. In May 2015, Hill died due to complications from his diabetes. The court subsequently entered an order substituting Rudolph Hill as the personal representative of Corey Hill’s estate.
Miracle moved for summary judgment on all of Hill’s claims in March 2016. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Miracle on Hill’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress. But the court denied Miracle’s motion for summary judgment on the § 1983 and the assault-and-battery claims. The court held that, based on the facts as viewed in the light most favorable to Hill, Miracle violated Hill’s clearly established Fourth Amendment rights in deploying the taser. It therefore denied Miracle’s qualified-immunity defense. In addition, the court rejected Miracle’s argument that governmental immunity under Michigan law entitled him to summary judgment on Hill’s claim of assault and battery. Miracle has timely appealed the court’s rulings with respect to both the § 1983 and the assault-and-battery claims.
II. ANALYSIS
A. Standard of review
Our jurisdiction over orders denying qualified immunity is narrow. Harrison v. Ash,
Where jurisdiction is appropriate, we review de novo the denial of summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Martin v. City of Broadview Heights,
B. Miracle’s qualified-immunity defense
Qualified immunity shields “government officials ‘from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.’” Pearson v. Callahan,
Qualified immunity is an affirmative defense. Sheets v. Mullins,
We ask two questions in evaluating whether a law-enforcement officer is entitled to qualified immunity on an excessive-force claim: “(1) whether the officer violated the plaintiffs constitutional rights under the Fourth Amendment; and (2) whether that constitutional right was clearly established at the time of the incident.” Kent v. Oakland County,
1. Miracle did not violate Hill’s Fourth Amendment rights.
To evaluate whether an officer has used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment, we employ an objective-reasonableness test, asking “whether the officers’ actions are objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them, without regard to their underlying intent or motivation.” Graham v. Connor,
The district court determined that the Graham, factors “favor a finding that Defendant acted objectively unreasonable when he tasered Plaintiff.” Estate of Corey Hill v. Miracle, No. 15-CV-10079,
We fully sympathize with the district court’s dilemma, however, because no appellate court has previously provided any guidance on how to assess objective reasonableness in the present atypical situation of a medical emergency. In fact, most of the cases dealing with excessive force and taser use simply hold that an officer does not use excessive force by tasing a person who is actively resisting arrest, but does use excessive force if that person is not resisting arrest. See, e.g., Rudlaff v. Gillispie,
The closest case in our circuit is Caie v. West Bloomfield Township,
Caie began to run and flail his arms violently, but the officers eventually took him to the ground. When Caie refused to move his hands behind his back, an officer applied a taser in drive-stun mode to Caie’s back in order to handcuff him. Caie was eventually taken to an ambulance for transport to the hospital. The Caie court held that the officer’s “single use of the taser in drive-stun mode did not violate Plaintiffs constitutional rights.” Id. at 96.
While it is true that Plaintiff was not being arrested for a crime, his consumption of a large quantity of alcohol and drugs, his erratic behavior, and his self-proclaimed desire to provoke the officers into using deadly force could lead reasonable officers to conclude that he was a threat to officer safety. Plaintiff admits that he was suicidal, meaning that, at a minimum, he was a threat to his own safety. In addition, Plaintiffs attempts to flee — including getting behind the wheel of his car and trying to drive away — undoubtedly posed a risk of harm to others with whom he might come into contact. [The officer] had every reason .to believe that, in his highly agitated, suicidal, and intoxicated state, Plaintiff was potentially dangerous.
Id.
This eminently reasonable decision by the Caie court was reached despite the inapplicability of the Graham three-factor test. Rather than continuing to struggle with this dilemma, we suggest that a more tailored set of factors be considered in the medical-emergency context, always aimed towards the ultimate goal of determining “whether the officers’ actions are objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them.” See Graham,
(1)Was the person experiencing a medical emergency that rendered him incapable of making a rational decision under circumstances that posed an immediate threat of serious harm to himself or others?
(2)' Was some degree of force reasonably necessary to ameliorate the immediate threat?
(3) Was- the force used more than reasonably necessary under the circumstances (i.e., was it excessive)?
If the answers to the first two questions are “yes,” and the answer to the third question is “no,” then the officer is entitled to qualified immunity.
These questions and answers serve as a guide to assist the court in resolving the ultimate issue of “whether the officers’ actions are objectively reasonable in light of the facts and circumstances confronting them.” Id. The factors that we establish and apply today are, like the Graham factors, non-exhaustive, Livermore ex rel. Rohm v. Lubelan,
Applying the above factors to the present case, we conclude that, based on the facts as viewed in the light most favorable to Hill, Miracle did not use excessive force against Hill when Miracle deployed his taser in drive-stun mode. As to the first factor, Hill was experiencing a medical emergency and was incapable of making a rational decision due to his hypoglycemic episode. In resisting the paramedics’ attempts to save his life, Hill repeatedly kicked his feet and swung his fists in their direction. The paramedics were therefore put in immediate physical danger by Hill’s combative actions. In addition, the testimony from Streeter indicates that both the
And even if we were to assume that the safety risk from Hill’s blood did not justify Miracle’s use of a taser, Hill’s mental state and combative actions posed an immediate threat to himself. Hill’s extremely low blood-sugar level was in the hypoglycemic range and, if left untreated, would likely have led to a prolonged seizure and death. Like in Caie, therefore, Hill’s mental and physical state rendered him “at a minimum, ... a threat to his own safety.” See Caie,
Turning to the second factor, some degree of force was reasonably necessary to ameliorate the immediate threat to the paramedics and to Hill. Because of his hypoglycemic episode, Hill was violently resisting the paramedics’ attempts to render him life-saving assistance. The four paramedics were unable to gain physical control over Hill, who had already ripped an IV catheter out of his arm. Hill argues, and the district court agreed, that “any danger could have been eliminated by simply stepping away from [Hill].” See Estate of Corey Hill,
We turn now to the final factor— whether or not Miracle’s single use of a taser in drive-stun mode was excessive under the circumstances. Hill first argues that Miracle should have tried to handcuff or restrain Hill before deploying the taser, and that failing to do so was violative of Hill’s Fourth Amendment rights. In support of this argument, Hill points out that the officers in Caie attempted to handcuff Caie and encountered resistance before tasing him. But in the present situation where four paramedics were unable to restrain Hill, we are hard-pressed to fault Miracle for not joining the fray.
Hill also argues that the use of a taser in drive-stun mode is “not recommended” and therefore excessive. He fails to acknowledge, however, that this mode is discouraged because of the difficulty in keeping the taser in contact with a person’s skin, not because such use constitutes excessive force. Miracle in fact testified that he used his taser in drive-stun mode because this was the best option to “minimize [the] damage” in light of Hill’s medical emergency.
We are not holding that a law-enforce-' ment officer is always justified in using a taser to gain control over a person suffering from a medical emergency. But under the circumstances, Miracle’s use of force was objectively reasonable. Four paramedics were unable to physically restrain Hill, whose health was rapidly deteriorating and who was unresponsive to Miracle’s command to “relax.” We conclude that a reasonable officer on the scene, without “the 20/20 vision of hindsight,” would be justified in taking the same actions as Miracle. See Graham,
This court in Caie reached a similar conclusion, holding that using a taser in drive-stun mode was not violative of Caie’s
2. Hill’s Fourth Amendment right was not clearly established.
Our holding that Miracle did not violate Hill’s Fourth Amendment rights leaves no doubt that Hill’s § 1983 excessive-force claim also fails to show that the alleged right was clearly established. In order for a right to be clearly established for the purposes of qualified immunity, “[t]he contours of the right must be sufficiently clear that a reasonable official would understand that what he is doing violates that right.” Anderson v. Creighton,
At the time of the alleged violation, no reasonable officer would have known that using a taser on an individual who was undergoing a medical emergency, posed a risk to the responders’ safety, and needed to be subdued in order for medical personnel to render life-saving assistance violated that person’s constitutional rights. In other words, Hill has not pointed us to any caselaw that demonstrates a “prior articulation of a prohibition” against the type of force exerted against him. See Champion v. Outlook Nashville, Inc.,
A review of qualified-immunity cases dealing with excessive force in the context of taser use shows that this area is one in which “the result depends very much on the facts of each case.” Brosseau v. Haugen,
C. Miracle’s governmental-immunity defense
The other issue on appeal concerns the district court’s holding with respect to Hill’s state-law claim for assault and battery. Under Michigan law, “[a]n assault is defined as any intentional unlawful offer of corporal injury to another person by force, or force unlawfully directed toward the person of another, under circumstances which create a well-founded apprehension of imminent contact, coupled with the apparent present ability to accomplish the contact.” Espinoza v. Thomas,
As metaphorically noted above, the district court failed to see the forest for the trees in the qualified-immunity context. In the governmental-immunity context under Michigan law, the court failed to even see the trees. We say this because the court applied the wrong standard in assessing Miracle’s governmental-immunity defense. It applied the standard set forth in Brewer v. Perrin,
The Michigan Supreme Court in Odom held that a defendant did not need to show that his actions were “justified” or “objectively reasonable under the circumstances” in order to qualify for governmental immunity. Id. at 220, 229. Instead, an officer who commits an intentional tort is entitled to governmental immunity if he shows that “(a) the acts were undertaken during the course of employment and the employee was acting, or reasonably believed that he was acting, within the scope of his authority, (b) the acts were undertaken in good faith, or were not undertaken with malice, and (c) the acts were discretionary, as opposed to ministerial.” Id. at 228.
We can again understand how the district court might have been led astray by a number of cases decided after Odom, particularly arising out of the federal district courts in Michigan, that continue to cite and apply the standard for governmental immunity articulated in Brewer. See, e.g., Parchman v. Taylor, No. 12-CV-13094,
Under these circumstances, we would ordinarily remand the case for the district court to reconsider the governmental-immunity defense under the proper standard. See Pullman-Standard v. Swint,
III. CONCLUSION
For all of the reasons set forth above, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND the case with instructions to dismiss the complaint with prejudice.