Estate of Clemente N. Aguirre v. County of Riverside

I. Background

On April 15, 2016, Sergeant Dan Ponder of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department received radio reports that someone in Lake Elsinore, California, was destroying property with a bat-like object, and had threatened a woman with a baby. Crucially, key facts are disputed in this summary judgment record: whether the officer saw bystanders bleeding; how close Najera stood to the bystanders; whether Najera was retreating from the property; and whether, as he interacted with observers and the police, Najera was holding his stick upright in a batter’s position in an ostensibly threatening manner, or with the tip pointed down in a way that did not pose a threat.

Upon arriving, Ponder exited the patrol car with his gun drawn and confronted Najera. Ponder motioned for Najera to back away and demanded that he drop the stick. Najera did not drop it, and by some accounts verbally refused to do so. Ponder next tried to pepper-spray Najera, but the spray blew back in Ponder’s face, and Najera appeared largely

ESTATE OF NAJERA AGUIRRE V. CNTY. OF RIVERSIDE

unaffected. Ponder pointed his gun at Najera and again ordered him to drop the stick, but Najera did not…