Denise Green v. City & County of San Francisco

Plaintiff-Appellant Denise Green appeals from the district court’s judgment granting summary judgment to Defendants-Appellees dismissing her § 1983 and state law claims for wrongful detention, false arrest, and excessive force. Green’s suit arose out of a vehicular stop performed by Sergeant Ja Han Kim of the San Francisco Police Department (“SFPD”) after the SFPD’s Automatic License Plate Reader (“ALPR”) mistakenly identified Green’s Lexus as a stolen vehicle. Without visually confirming the license plate, Sergeant Kim made a “high-risk” stop during which Green was held at gunpoint by multiple officers, handcuffed, forced to her knees, and detained for up to twenty minutes. She was released only after officers eventually ran her plate and discovered the ALPR mistake and that her vehicle was not stolen.

Green filed suit against the City and County of San Francisco, SFPD, and Sergeant Kim alleging Fourth Amendment violations for unreasonable search and seizure and unreasonable use of force, violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 52.1, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, and negligence. The Defendants moved for summary judgment, arguing that Sergeant Kim merely…