Petri Antero Ahonen v. Enrique Varela

53 F.3d 337 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. Petri Antero AHONEN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Enrique VARELA, Defendant-Appellee. No. 93-56523. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted April 5, 1995. * Decided May 3, 1995. Before: NOONAN, O'SCANNLAIN, and LEAVY, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM ** 2 Petri Antero Ahonen brought 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and state tort claims alleging that Deputy Sheriff Enrique Varela used excessive force in arresting him. Following a pretrial evidentiary hearing, the district court granted qualified immunity to Varela. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1291 . 1 We reverse the district court's grant of qualified immunity and remand. 3 * Officer Varela stopped Ahonen after he observed Ahonen driving his truck at high speed through a parking lot and, without stopping, through a stop sign. The events that transpired after this stop are in dispute. 4 According to Ahonen, after he exited his car, he asked Officer…