Alejandro Velazquez v. City of Long Beach

Alejandro Velazquez' was arrested in front of his home in Long Beach, California, for violating California Penal Code § 148, which prohibits resisting or obstructing a police officer. In making the arrest, a Long Beach police officer struck Velazquez with a police baton about eleven times, injuring him. No charges relating to this incident were ever brought against Velazquez.

Velazquez sued the city of Long Beach (“the City”) and several police officers (collectively, the “Officers”) under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and California law, contending that he was, among other things, unlawfully arrested and subjected to excessive force. The case went to trial. After the parties finished' putting on evidence, the district court granted the City’s and the Officers’ Rule 50(a) motion for judgment as a matter of law as to Velazquez’s § 1983 unlawful arrest and municipal liability claims. The district court then dismissed Velazquez’s state law claims without prejudice. Velazquez’s excessive force claim went to the jury, which returned a defense verdict.

We conclude that the district court incorrectly applied the Rule 50(a) standard, erroneously excluded relevant Monell evidence, and…