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Legal Case Study Of Officer Dennehey's Case

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On February 20, 2013, after interfering with an arrest, Mr. Paul was arrested by Officer Marsha Dennehey, a thirteen-year veteran police officer of the Ann Arbor Police Department. (R. at 1, 6, and 14). Officer Dennehey has experience in identifying and handling drunk drivers because Ann Arbor is a college town and “heavily target[s] drunk drivers.” (R. at 14). She is also trained in recognizing and avoiding excessive force, as she chose to take training seminars on it almost every year it has been offered. (R. at 31).
Mr. Paul was a passenger in the car with his three children, his two daughters (who “were pretty wasted… [one] throwing back Jack and Cokes all night long… [while the other had about six beers that night, which is about five …show more content…

(R. at 15). The driver “patently refused and started yelling” at Officer Dennehey, screaming things such as, “I don’t have to blow into that. You can’t make me take any test!” and “Fine! We’ll see who’s drunk.” (R. at 9 and 15). Officer Dennehey arrested the driver. (R. at 15). As she explained, “[r]efusing to take a breathalyzer is immediate grounds for arrest.” (R. at 15). Officer Dennehey told the driver that he was arrested for driving while intoxicated and continued following “standard procedure,” including frisking the arrestee “to make sure that [the person does] not have weapons hidden on their person. (R. at …show more content…

at 25). Under a minute after the first Taser use, the Taser was used again while Mr. Paul was “noncompliant” with his arrest, allowing Officer Dennehey to struggle with him to get his wrist in the handcuffs (R. at 16 and 24). Officer Dennehey warned Mr. Paul, repeatedly telling him before handcuffing him, “Don’t move!” (R. 16). Mr. Paul says he “blurted out… ‘I can’t do this!’” and was heard shouting “to the two passengers still in the vehicle, ‘…Someone get her away from me!’” (R. at 16). The driver claimed he yelled at Office Dennehey, “Watch his shoulder,” but, at the time, he admits his sisters were “still crying and yelling” along with shrieking. (R. at 11). There were as many as four people at the scene yelling at Officer Dennehey all at once, including Mr. Paul himself, as she tried to arrest him. (R. at 11 and 16). Despite this, Mr. Paul admitted that, at that moment, nobody had expressed to the officer any excuse or reason as to why he was not complying with Officer Dennehey during handcuffing. (R. at 5 and

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