Henderson v. City of Simi Valley

It is a sad state of affairs when police officers must stand between a mother and her minor daughter to keep the peace. The aftermath of such a situation brings this case before us. We must decide whether the defendant police officers violated the mother’s constitutional rights in their efforts to keep the peace, and whether they used excessive force in the process. We agree with the district court that the police officer’s entry into the residence did not run afoul of the Fourth Amendment. The district court reached its conclusion on the Fourth Amendment issue by employing a general reasonableness analysis. We affirm on the alternate ground that the search, such as it was, was reasonable under the definitive special needs exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. We also affirm the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants on Eleanor Henderson’s excessive force claim.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On August 10, 1999, pursuant to California’s Domestic Violence Prevention Act (“DVPA”), Eleanor Henderson’s former husband, Lantz Henderson, sought and received an Order to Show Cause and Temporary Restraining Order (the “Order”). See Cal. Fam.Code, § 6200…