Maria Sandoval v. Peter Hish

MEMORANDUM

Defendants-Appellants are individual law enforcement officers for the County of Los Angeles who appeal the district court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity. Plaintiff-Appellee, Maria Sandoval, brought an action on behalf of herself and the Estate of Victor Sandoval, the decedent, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 . Victor Sandoval, a mentally ill individual, died as a result of positional asphyxia associated with restraint after Defendants used pepper spray and physical restraints to purportedly subdue him. The material facts were disputed, and the district court ruled that if the jury accepted Plaintiffs version of events, Defendants violated the decedent’s clearly established right to be free from excessive force.

Contrary to Defendants’ suggestion, all of the facts relied upon by the district court and in the Plaintiffs appellate brief are supported by evidence in the district court record. The district court, for purposes of considering immunity, properly assumed that Plaintiffs version of events was correct. Jeffers v. Gomez, 267 F.3d 895, 903 (9th Cir.2001). Given that assumption, Defendants’ use of pepper spray and…