Croom v. Balkwill, No. 09-16315 (11th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff, a 63-year-old, was gardening at her son's house when an officer, disguised as a mailman, delivered a package containing ketamine. She spoke to the officer and accepted the package. Officers executed a warrant 30 minutes later. Plaintiff, unable to get up and down because of arthritis, was pushed to the ground and held down for 10 minutes and heard the click of a gun. A friend of plaintiff's son, a guest in the house, admitted that the package was his; he was removed. Plaintiff was detained for about two hours while the house was searched. The district court and Eleventh Circuit rejected plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claims. Although the warrant referred to persons within the dwelling, and plaintiff was outside, the initial detention was reasonable in light of the facts known to officers at the time. After officers determined that plaintiff was no threat, continued detention in the house was reasonable during the diligently-pursued search. The force employed was minimal and reasonable despite officers' knowledge that plaintiff was an elderly woman, wearing only a one-piece bathing suit, and was known by officers to be infirm.
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