Since SCOTUS made such a big deal about the dissenting judge’s opinion in the Ninth’s reversal of the first BPD win on Huff– which denied qualified immunity to these Burbank cops– we thought we’d look up the whole thing.
The judge put great weight on the cops’ trial court testimony, to the point of extracting this following exchange:
Q. So when she said “no,” did you decided [sic] to start questioning her as if you were inside the house?
A. Yes. And that’s why I asked if there was any weapons in the house.
Q. In targeted violence situations, does that question have a particular meaning to you?
A. Absolutely because of, again, the threat that he was going to blow up or shoot up the school. I wanted to make sure neither one of them could access any weapons from inside the house, and that’s where they normally get the weapons from is from either their parents or relatives or friends.
Q. Did Mrs. Huff say “no” to your question about whether there were guns in the house?
A. She didn’t say anything at all. She just turned around and went into the house.
Q. Did she say she was going to get her husband?
A. No.
Q. When Mrs. Huff turned and went into the house, were you concerned?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Were you scared?
A. I was scared because I didn’t know what was in that house and, again, I’ve seen too many officers killed in shootings. I did not want one of us to be injured. So I went in and followed her in the house.
Q. Did you go into the house to search for guns?
A. No.
Q. Why did you go into the house?
A. Because I didn’t want her to access a weapon or Vincent Huff accessing a weapon.
Q. Why didn’t you just grab her? Stop her?
A. It all happened so quick. As soon as I asked her about the weapons, she turned and ran into the house. I didn’t have a chance to. Caught me by surprise.
Ought oh!
Problem #1 is that Ryburn first said of the mother that, “She just turned around and went into the house.” But a minute later he told the court, “As soon as I asked her about the weapons, she turned and ran into the house.”
So which one was it? It seems that the story got cooked a little bit in the repeat. Now she was running away.
Bur problem #2 is much more serious for Burbank in the end, because it goes to his complete credibility as a witness. Here’s what he said right before that– and remember, it was Ryburn who said this, not us:
I was scared because I didn’t know what was in that house and, again, I’ve seen too many officers killed in shootings. I did not want one of us to be injured. So I went in and followed her in the house.
So how many has he seen get killed, you BPD defenders? And he even said it “again,” apparently, according to his own testimony. So he said it more than once to the court.
[UPDATE: for those who want to claim that Ryburn did not mean this literally, you might want to ask why both the Ninth dissent and the SCOTUS per curiam quoted it literally as a factor in his experience. Why did both courts feel that these exact words were important enough to quote? Any reasonable person hearing this testimony would also conclude that he had direct experience with these death situations-- as would have many cops outside of Burbank.]
As to why the trial attorney for the Huffs didn’t “catch” this absurd goof, or make a point of this Burbank officer’s rectitude or capacity for exaggeration, have you ever seen Leo Terrell in action? And if he did, then why did the later courts still quote it verbatim, literally, as prior experience going to his judgment on the scene?
So if Ryburn exaggerated this claim, then what else did he exaggerate to the court? And that’s the nice word for it.
BTW, anyone else notice that this citation doesn’t even make any sense? Ryburn’s afraid, so he immediately goes in? Without calling for backup? He just follows her in not knowing what’s there, by his own admission?
Only idiots would fall for these stories. The courts have to defer, that’s their excuse.
And so how then does the BPD explain their longtime policy of busting up loud parties by going onto the premises and telling people to leave? Disrespect, or fear of guns?
Yeah, we grew up here too. And it still happens.
They’ve done this before?