Facts
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Tracy Langiano was accused of sexually abusing two children, who were his step-granddaughters. Police began investigating the accusations, and Langiano vacated the home so that Child Protective Services would not remove the children. Langiano penned a suicide note but threw it away before he left the house. The note was found in the trash by one of his sons. Langiano subsequently sent a text message to another son, directing what should be done with some of his possessions. A similar text was sent to a cousin. Langiano checked into a motel room. A police report reflects that Langiano recounted that he lay down on a bed, and held a loaded handgun with which he planned to shoot himself when it was nighttime.
Langiano’s son called the police to tell them that his father had left a suicide note, to describe the car his father was driving, and to tell them that Langiano had a handgun. Then, the police sent out a city-wide alert. A team of police officers, including Landon Rollins, spoke with Langiano’s son who again explained that Langiano had a handgun and was planning to kill himself. According to Officer Rollins, locating Langiano was a priority because “it’s been our experience that people that have been involved in allegations made by their own family members, especially ones that are sexual in nature, are a much higher risk for not only suicide, but murder/suicide with the family.”
A team of police officers determined Langiano’s vehicle was at a motel and went to that location. The police called Langiano’s cellphone, but he did not answer. Although Langiano initially alleged in district court that Officer Rollins had been informed by Langiano’s family members that he was doing better, he later corrected the misstatement and admitted this was untrue. Without knocking, Officer Rollins went into the motel room first with backup behind him. Although Officer Rollins was not wearing a body camera because earlier work required plain clothes, Officer Guadarrama, who entered the motel room after Officer Rollins, wore one.
When he opened the door, Officer Rollins alleges that he immediately saw that Langiano’s gun was pointed at him. Langiano disputes this. In an interview by police while Langiano was in the hospital, a day after the shooting, Langiano recounted that when Rollins came through the door of the motel room, “I had the pistol in my hand and—I didn’t point it at him. But, he shot me twice, and at that time, then, he popped around, behind the door, shot me three more times for good measure. And at that time I didn’t have a hold of the pistol up anymore.”
Later in the same interview, Langiano recalled details somewhat differently, saying:
[Langiano]: I don’t blame him for shooting me the first two times. But the three for good measure was a little overboard. I wasn’t planning on him, uh, you know, like I said, it wasn’t for any cop, it was for me. You know. And, just, I had gone back to sleep, I was going to wait until nighttime. And I was telling myself what I was going to do, and it’s over in a flash. It’s over in a flash. I kept telling myself that. Yeah, and I had just fallen asleep when they came in through the door. And I, sit up, the gun—the first two—I don’t blame him. You know, I had the gun in my hand, I don’t think I was pointing it at him. I—I think I was surprised—
[Detective]: Maybe kinda raised up like—whoa.
[Langiano]: Yeah. He shot me twice. And, uh, you know, I get that. And then he jumped back behind the door, and I was woozy, falling down. He came over, came back from behind the door, gun was still in my hand cause it was tangled up. But I was falling down, and he shot me three more times in the ass. And . . . I don’t think he needed to do that.
[Detective]: Was that when the gun fell, after that?
[Langiano]: The gun was tangled up in my hand after the first two.
[Detective]: I gotcha.
[Langiano]: You know, and I was falling over. You know, I don’t hold no ill will against him, but I don’t think he needed the three for good measure.
An audio recording from Officer Guadarrama’s body camera recorded Rollins saying, “Tracy—no, no, no!” and “Gun!” before shots were fired. It is undisputed that Rollins fired six non-fatal shots, five of which hit Langiano in his buttocks and one of which missed. The police officers then called for medical assistance, and Langiano was transported to a hospital. The body camera footage from the other officers did not capture Langiano or the position of his gun when Officer Rollins shot him.
The matter was submitted to a grand jury, but the grand jury voted not to take criminal action based on Officer Rollins’s alleged use of deadly force. While the criminal case involving his step-granddaughters was pending, Langiano filed this § 1983 suit against Officer Rollins. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Officer Rollins. The 5th affirmed.
Analysis
A. Excessive force
The evidence clearly indicates that, at a minimum, Langiano was holding a gun when Officer Rollins entered the motel room. First, Rollins has consistently testified that Langiano pointed a gun at him. Second, the audio recording from Officer Guadarrama’s body camera supports Officer Rollins’ testimony that Langiano was pointing a gun at him. When Officer Rollins first enters the hotel room, he can be heard shouting “Tracy—no, no, no! Gun!” Third, Langiano admitted he was holding a gun when Officer Rollins entered the motel room. In the minutes following the shooting, Officer Rollins told Langiano that Langiano had pointed a gun at him and Langiano responded that he “didn’t mean to.” Similarly, the day after Langiano was shot, detectives interviewed him, and he stated that when the officers entered his motel room he had the gun in his hand and did not think he pointed it at the officers. Although, at another point in the interview Langiano stated, “I had the pistol in my hand and—I didn’t point it at him. But, he shot me twice, and at that time, then, he popped around, behind the door, shot me three more times for good measure,” the footage from Officer Guadarrama’s body camera shows that Langiano was incorrect about the pause between the shots, calling into question this portion of his testimony. Finally, Langiano’s shooting reconstruction expert’s account of how the shooting occurred does not preclude Langiano pointing a gun at Officer Rollins.
In light of the evidence, Officer Rollins reasonably perceived a threat of harm. Especially because a police officer need not allow an individual to aim his weapon before applying deadly force to ensure their safety, no reasonable jury could find that Officer Rollins’s use of force was not reasonable. See Salazar-Limon. The district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of Officer Rollins.
B. Exigent
Langiano also alleges that Officer Rollins violated his Fourth Amendment rights by entering his motel room without a warrant. Although searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable, if an individual poses a threat to himself, that may create an exigency that makes the needs of law enforcement so compelling that a warrantless entry is objectively reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. See SCOTUS Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006). Here, Langiano admits his son called the police to tell them Langiano was suicidal and armed. Moreover, Langiano can be heard on the audio of Officer Guaderrama’s body camera stating that he planned to use the handgun on himself. Finally, Langiano admitted that he planned to shoot himself when it was nighttime. Given the threat Langiano posed to himself, the warrantless entry was objectively reasonable.
https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/22/22-10974-CV0.pdf