Ruth Dempsey v. Gibson

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 17 2023
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
RUTH DEMPSEY, No. 21-16829
Plaintiff-Appellant, D.C. No. 4:19-cv-00243-JR
v.
MEMORANDUM*
GIBSON, CM, Deputy, #5165, in his
individual and official capacity; et al.,
Defendants-Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Jacqueline M. Rateau, Magistrate Judge, Presiding**
Submitted February 10, 2023***
Phoenix, Arizona
Before: GRABER, CLIFTON, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.
Ruth Dempsey appeals the district court’s entry of summary judgment in
favor of Deputy Christian Gibson, Deputy Jeffrey ten Elshof, and Sergeant Gosta
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The parties consented to proceed before a magistrate judge. See 28
U.S.C. § 636(c).
***
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Zetterberg of the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in a civil rights action alleging
violations of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We have jurisdiction
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo. United States v. Iwai, 930 F.3d
1141, 1144 (9th Cir. 2019); Sandoval v. Las Vegas Metro. Police Dep’t, 756 F.3d
1154, 1160 (9th Cir. 2014). We affirm.
The district court properly held that the deputies’ warrantless entry into and
search of Dempsey’s private room was justified under the emergency aid
exception. See United States v. Snipe, 515 F.3d 947, 952 (9th Cir. 2008) (holding
officers’ warrantless entry and search is justified if they have an objectively
reasonable belief that there is an immediate need to protect others or themselves
from serious harm and the scope and manner of entry and search are reasonable to
meet that need). The deputies presented “specific and articulable facts” justifying
their belief that a resident of the assisted-living care home may have needed
immediate medical assistance. Sandoval, 756 F.3d at 1164 (quoting United States
v. Ojeda, 276 F.3d 486, 488 (9th Cir. 2002) (per curiam)). The deputies knew that
there had been recent violence in the care home, the care home was in poor
condition, the residents appeared to speak only English but the sole caregiver
present spoke primarily Spanish, and the caregiver and Dempsey had lied to the
deputies. These undisputed facts, particularly when considering Dempsey’s
deceptive conduct, provided an objectively reasonable basis to conclude that there
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may have been injured, abused, or neglected residents in the area that Dempsey
marked private. See Ryburn v. Huff, 565 U.S. 469, 476–77 (2012) (per curiam)
(“[A] combination of events each of which is mundane when viewed in isolation
may paint an alarming picture.”); Michigan v. Fisher, 558 U.S. 45, 49 (2009) (per
curiam) (“Officers do not need ironclad proof of a likely serious, life-threatening
injury to invoke the emergency aid exception.” (citation and internal quotation
marks omitted)). The scope and manner of the deputies’ search was also
reasonable: they looked inside Dempsey’s room, saw no one there, and left. See
Snipe, 515 F.3d at 952.
AFFIRMED.
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