A.B.

facts and circumstances. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 397 (1989). “The

[legal] precedent must be clear enough that every reasonable official would

interpret it to establish the particular rule the plaintiff seeks to apply.” District of

Columbia v. Wesby, 138 S. Ct. 577, 590 (2018).

2 Plaintiffs argue that the deputy defendants violated Birtcher’s Fourth

Amendment right to be free of excessive force because: (1) deputy Roland Garza

used his body weight to take down Birtcher as Birtcher first attempted to resist

detention; (2) deputy Garza and deputy John Robledo deployed tasers on Birtcher

four times; (3) Robledo struck Birtcher with his fist and sap baton multiple times;

and (4) deputy defendants used a forceful prone restraint on Birtcher after backup

deputies arrived.

The first three actions represent the use of force only after and in response to

Birtcher’s active resistance to lawful detention. During that part of the encounter,

Birtcher appeared to be under the influence; wrestled with Garza and refused to be

handcuffed; lunged at Garza despite being shot by a taser in probe mode; fled to

the busy Hobby Lobby parking lot; and briefly got hold of Robledo’s…