An Adams County sheriff’s deputy who pulled a man out of his pickup truck and fractured his ribs after smelling marijuana is not liable for excessive force, the federal appeals court based in Denver ruled last week.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit agreed Jeffrey Helvie’s refusal to exit the vehicle and Deputy Chad Jenkins’ observation, at some point, that a gun was nearby both weighed in favor of finding Jenkins’ force was reasonable. A three-judge panel based its decision on assumptions about what Helvie “could” have done if not subdued.

An “objective officer in Deputy Jenkins’s position could have suspected Helvie of driving while impaired, thus presenting a possible danger to the public if he were to flee and also suggesting that Helvie might have been acting with impaired judgment, which might lead him to try to flee,” wrote Senior Judge David M. Ebel in the May 9 opinion.

The 10th Circuit’s decision came nine months after another federal court found Jenkins could not be held liable for the deaths of two teenage girls. In that case, Jenkins ordered the girls, who did not have licenses, to drive a malfunctioning commercial vehicle home on a dark highway in rural Adams County. A tractor trailer truck slammed into them and killed them shortly afterward.

In Helvie’s case, Jenkins pulled him over close to midnight in August 2018 after he saw Helvie’s vehicle driving erratically. Jenkins noticed two other people in the truck and also smelled marijuana. Helvie declined to answer Jenkins’ questions about the “white ash” allegedly on Helvie’s lap.

Jenkins opened the truck door and ordered Helvie out, but Helvie did not comply, saying later that he was afraid. The deputy then physically pulled Helvie out, causing Helvie to land on his back. Jenkins claimed he saw a handgun in the driver door at that point, prompting him to drag Helvie away from the truck.

“And that’s when I then kneeled down on him on his – on his, like, rib cage,” Jenkins, who weighed 265 pounds, later testified, with Helvie continuing to physically resist. There was no body-worn camera footage of the encounter.

Jenkins then handcuffed Helvie and placed him in the patrol car. He searched the pickup truck and found the handgun and marijuana. Although prosecutors charged Helvie with a range of offenses, including resisting arrest and obstruction, court records show he pleaded guilty only to reckless driving. Helvie required treatment for his fractured ribs.

He then sued Jenkins, alleging excessive force. Jenkins argued he was entitled to qualified immunity, which is a judicial doctrine that generally shields government employees from liability unless they violate a person’s clearly established rights.

In April 2022, U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak sided with Jenkins, agreeing no prior court cases under similar circumstances had deemed the deputy’s conduct unreasonable.

“Plaintiff was refusing Deputy Jenkins’ commands and a reasonable officer could conclude that Plaintiff – potentially under the influence and in close proximity to a firearm – posed an immediate threat,” Varholak wrote.

Helvie then appealed to the 10th Circuit, asserting Varholak wrongly assumed Jenkins saw the firearm right before he fractured Helvie’s ribs, relying only on Jenkins’ testimony after the fact.

“A juror could conclude that Deputy Jenkins never noticed a firearm in the pocket of the driver side door until he searched the vehicle subsequent to the arrest. For example, when Deputy Jenkins pulled Mr. Helvie out of the vehicle, he never mentioned anything about a firearm in the driver side door,” wrote attorney Sean M. McDermott.

During oral arguments in March, some members of the 10th Circuit panel appeared doubtful that Jenkins’ force was proportional.

“Even if there was marijuana smell in the car, that doesn’t necessary connect to the driver,” Ebel observed. “And marijuana is legal in Colorado.”

“The point that he drops the knee to both his chest and to his back,” said Judge Robert E. Bacharach, “those take place at the back of the vehicle. (Helvie) no longer has access to the driver’s seat so he can’t take off and continue to drive. Nor can he access the gun.”

“What Deputy Jenkins did was incrementally and proportionally respond to the situation in front of him,” countered Assistant County Attorney Michael A. Sink.

Ultimately, the panel elected to view Jenkins’ actions with the understanding that he had seen the gun when he pulled Helvie out of the truck.

“There is nothing inconsistent between Deputy Jenkins observing the gun during the process of arresting Helvie but not mentioning that fact,” Ebel wrote.

Consequently, Jenkins did not violate Helvie’s constitutional rights by using excessive force. Ebel wrote that Helvie “quickly escalated the situation” by resisting. Futher, Jenkins needed to address the gun that was “within reach of the uncooperative Helvie.”

“Based on these factors,” Ebel continued, “we conclude that it was reasonable for Deputy Jenkins both to drag Helvie toward the back of his truck and then to place his knee on Helvie’s chest to subdue and handcuff him.”

The case is Helvie v. Jenkins.