Sixth Circuit Axes Excessive Force Suit, Says Officers 'Did Not Violate Clearly Established Rights'

Aaron, a 6'4", 280-pound man with autism, was arrested at a Sunoco gas station after being identified in photo lineups for a violent robbery and home invasion. Body camera footage showed that when officers attempted to handcuff Aaron, he repeatedly pulled his hands away and asked "What's going on?" despite officers' orders to put his hands behind his back. The confrontation escalated when officers took Aaron to the ground, where Officer Edward Pawlowski struck him three times in the side with his knee before Aaron finally complied with handcuffing when an officer threatened to break his arm.

Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton emphasized that given Aaron's size, the violent nature of the suspected crimes, and his active resistance, the officers' response was reasonable. "This was 'a physical struggle to maintain control' of the suspect's limbs, what amounts to the kind of 'volitional and conscious defiance' that permits increasing exercises of force by the officers to subdue the suspect," Sutton wrote, distinguishing Aaron's case from prior precedents involving compliant arrestees or suspects charged with minor crimes. The court noted that Aaron "tensed his body and locked his arms to prevent the officers from pulling his hands behind his back."

Aaron sued the officers under Section 1983 three years after the arrest, alleging Fourth Amendment violations for excessive force and failure to intervene. A Michigan federal judge denied qualified immunity on the excessive force claims but granted it on the failure-to-intervene claims. The officers appealed the denial of qualified immunity on the excessive force claims to the Sixth Circuit.

The reversal reinforces the high bar for overcoming qualified immunity in excessive force cases, particularly when suspects actively resist arrest for violent felonies. The ruling could impact similar cases where officers use force against large suspects who physically resist handcuffing during arrests for serious crimes. Aaron's criminal charges were later dropped or dismissed, possibly due to his autism diagnosis, which was unknown to officers during the arrest.