Page 42 - TPA Journal November December 2024

safety threat, and he was not resisting arrest or excessive under the circumstances. Summary
attempting to flee. A review of the video evidence, judgment was properly granted on Plaintiffs’
however, shows that this recollection is inaccu- Fourth Amendment excessive force claims.
rate.
Determining whether the force used to carry out For the foregoing reasons, the district court’s
an arrest is reasonable requires a fact intensive summary judgment is AFFIRMED.
inquiry that turns on the totality of the circum-
stances, “including the severity of the crime at Grisham v. Valenciano, 5 th Cir., No. 22-50915,
issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate Feb. 26, 2024.
threat to the safety of the officers or others, and
whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempt- **************************************
ing to evade arrest by flight.” *********************
The magistrate judge determined that Grisham did
not put his hands behind his back when ordered
but instead kept them within reach of his handgun.
Given these circumstances, it was not unreason-
able for Chief Valenciano to believe—at the time
he deployed the taser—that Grisham was both a
safety threat and resisting arrest. The officers are
entitled to qualified immunity because neither
Everard nor Grisham can point to any clearly
established law that such force was unreasonably

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