Getzen v. Long
9th Cir. No. 21-16437
Rights Behind Bars and the Legal Defense Fund represent David Getzen. Mr. Getzen was sitting alone on the bathroom floor in his apartment when Deputy Jeff Long electrocuted him with a Taser in dart mode, pepper sprayed him in the face, directly applied the Taser to his leg, and then pepper sprayed him in the face again. Deputy Long then dragged Mr. Getzen out of the bathroom by his legs, causing his head to strike the door and sustain a laceration that required medical attention. It is undisputed that at the time Deputy Long found him, Mr. Getzen was unarmed, was not suspected of any serious crime, and remained seated with his hands behind his neck until Deputy Long began to electrocute him. Indeed, Deputy Long concedes that Mr. Getzen remained stationary and that the only words Mr. Getzen spoke throughout the entire encounter were a “calm[]” request that Deputy Long stop tasing him after getting tased twice but before getting pepper sprayed a second time. Mr. Getzen filed a pro se suit, alleging that Deputy Long violated his right to be free from excessive force throughout their encounter. Deputy Long filed a motion for summary judgment, which the District Court denied. Relevant to this appeal, the District Court conducted a detailed analysis of the facts under this Court’s Fourth Amendment precedent and found that every factor used to determine whether force was excessive weighed in Mr. Getzen’s favor. The District Court then denied Deputy Long qualified immunity, pointing to an extensive line of authority that clearly established the unlawfulness of using nontrivial force on an individual who was, at most, engaged in passive resistance. Deputy Long appealed this decision to the the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which again ruled in Mr. Getzen’s favor.
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