LOS ANGELES (CN) - Officers with the Garden Grove, California, police department failed to persuade a federal judge to dismiss the unlawful arrest claim by a man who says he was apprehended while lying in bed after his 10-year-old daughter called 911 because she thought he was having a medical emergency.

U.S. District Otis Wright II denied in part the police officers motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Christian Alcala, a plumber who was at home with his minor children the evening of his arrest while his wife worked a night shift.

On March 8, 2024, Alcala's daughter noticed that he was making strange noises in his sleep and that he looked unusual. She called 911 because she thought her father was in need of emergency medical attention.

When the Garden Grove police officers arrived at the home, they went in Alcala's bedroom and found him lying motionless on the bed. They erroneously thought that he had overdosed or was under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol, and they arrested and charged him with child endangerment and being under the influence.

In his complaint, Alcala argues that, unbeknownst at the time, he was suffering from severe diverticulosis.

When they arrested him, the officers turned Alcala over on his stomach, climbed on top of his back and used "violent control holds" to restrain him.

Alcala claims he lost his job because of the arrest, while his children were temporarily removed into the care of Child Protective Services.

The judge, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected the police officers' bid to dismiss Alcala's claim that the arrest violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable seizures because, the judge said, they hadn't shown that there was probable cause for the arrest.

"The officers inferred drug use based solely from ambiguous physical symptoms that are at least equally consistent with symptoms denoting a legitimate medical concern," Wright said. "These symptoms are susceptible to a variety of credible interpretations not necessarily compatible with nefarious activities and thus fall short of satisfying the Fourth Amendment's objective probable cause standard."

Likewise, the judge allowed Alcala to proceed with excessive force claim against the officers.

On the other hand, Wright agreed with the officers that Alcala had failed to state a sufficient claim that the officers had denied him medical care because his after-the-fact argument that he suffered from extreme diverticulosis lacked any details about the nature, extent and severity of this condition or how the officers should have known about any medical emergency.

The judge also agreed with the officers that Alcala couldn't sue them for being separated from his children because this was an independent decision made by Child Protective Services.

Attorney for Alcala and for Garden City and its police officers didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

Source: Courthouse News Service