Client: Township of Hamilton and several police officers
Court: US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
Brief Attorney: Charles Holmgren, Esq.
**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**
Matter Caption: Saintil v. Borough of Carteret, et al.
In the course of an investigation into a homicide and after obtaining a search warrant from a local magistrate, outside law enforcement contacted the Hamilton Police Department for assistance in detaining Ronald Saintil, a person of interest in their investigation. Outside law enforcement had advised the Hamilton PD of the search warrant and that Saintil had refused to answer his door or phone and had attempted to flee his home. The Hamilton PD activated their SWAT Team who breached Saintil’s door, and quickly detained him. After being cleared in the homicide investigation, Saintil filed suit in the District of New Jersey against various law enforcement defendants, including Hamilton Township and 16 Hamilton police officers, alleging a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights against an illegal search and seizure and the excessive use of force.
Following a successful summary judgment dismissal in the lower court and Saintil’s appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the Hamilton Defendants’ dismissal. The Court found that the Hamilton Defendants’ reliance on an apparently valid search warrant was reasonable to support their legal search and seizure and, considering the totality of the circumstances (including the fact that it was in the course of a murder investigation, the possibility that Saintil was armed and dangerous, and they understood there was a valid search warrant), the Hamilton Defendants’ use of the SWAT Team to detain Saintil was an objectively reasonable use of force.
