Posted September 19, 2006

 Tekle v. US (9^th Cir. 2006) 457 F.3d 1088

 Ninth Circuit Rules that Handcuffing and Pointing Guns at 11-Year-Old Child During Warrant Execution Supports Civil Liability Claims 

          An eleven-year-old boy's parents were suspected of drug and tax crimes. A local-federal task force of 23 officers executed search and arrest warrants when the boy and his father were home. According to the complaint, the boy (Tekle) was handcuffed for 15 minutes outside the home while multiple officers pointed loaded firearms at him, although he had not resisted or threatened the officers.

          Reversing the district court's grant of summary judgment for the officers, the Ninth Circuit ruled that a jury could find the officers liable for excessive force and unreasonable manner of detention.

          "There were over twenty officers present at the scene, and Tekle was not suspected of any crime. He was cooperative and unarmed and. most importantly, he was eleven years old. A reasonable agent confronted with these circumstances should have known that there was no need to use guns and handcuffs."

          The Ninth Circuit has previously ruled that pointing a loaded firearm when unnecessary can constitute "excessive force," Robinson v. Solano County (9th Cir. 2002) 278 F.3d 1007, and cautioned that detentions of children must not be accomplished in an unreasonable manner. Franklin v. Foxworth (9th Cir. 1994) 31 F.3d 873. Because these points of law were "clearly established," the officers who detained Tekle were not entitled to qualified immunity from suit.

Posted September 1, 2006

 Copley Press v. Superior Court of San Diego Co., 2006 WL 2506369

 California Supreme Court Rules that Records and Identity of Officer Who Appeals Discipline to Civil Service Commission Are Confidential

          A San Diego County Deputy Sheriff was disciplined for employment misconduct. The deputy filed an administrative appeal, which was heard by the County Civil Service Commission. Copley Press, publisher of the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper, filed a Public Records Act request for the Commission's records, and sought disclosure of the deputy's identity. The Court of Appeal ordered the disclosure, and the SDPOA and SDCSA intervened and appealed to the California Supreme Court.

           Disapproving this and two other appellate decisions (Bradshaw v. City of Los Angeles (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 908 and New York Times v. Superior Court (1997) 52 Cal.App.4^th 97), the Supreme Court reversed the order and held that the information is confidential under GC § 6254(k) and PC § 832.7. The court ruled that the Civil Service Commission, although an outside agency, is subject to the same restrictions on disclosure that apply to the employing agency that uses the Commission to meet its obligation to provide for administrative review of peace officer discipline.

           Despite the general presumption that official records should be accessible to the public, "There are, of course, competing policy considerations that may favor confidentiality, such as protecting complainants and witnesses against recrimination or retaliation, protecting peace officers from publication of frivolous or unwarranted charges, and maintaining confidence in law enforcement agencies by avoiding premature disclosure of groundless claims of police misconduct.... '[Enactment of 832.7 demonstrates] that the desirability of confidentiality in police personnel matters does outweigh the public interest in openness'." (Citation.)