CA6: Def let a man into his house to talk to his wife; he was a plainclothes officer who didn’t ID himself and saw def handle a firearm, and def was a felon; no deception for entry

“While at home on a cold November morning, William Wooden heard a knock at the door. Upon opening it, Wooden was greeted by a man asking to speak with Wooden’s wife. Wooden went to get her. And he allowed the man to enter the home, to stay warm while waiting for Wooden to return. [¶] But Wooden’s humane gesture soon became his undoing. As from there, things began to unravel. Wooden picked up a firearm. The man at the door turned out to be a plainclothes police officer. And the officer knew that Wooden was a convicted felon who could not lawfully possess a firearm. Wooden was thus taken into custody.” The officer never misrepresented his identity, and he did not enter by deception. Defendant consented to the entry. United States v. Wooden, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37708 (6th Cir. Dec. 19, 2019).

The totality of circumstances showed that plaintiff was a threat to others when the police encountered him and used force. Therefore it was reasonable, and the officers get qualified immunity. Even if the officers did use excessive force, it wasn’t clearly established in cases like this. Reich v. City of Elizabethtown, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37712 (6th Cir. Dec. 19, 2019).*

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