This case arises from officers’ alleged excessive use of force during an investigation of a 911 call regarding Plaintiff Henry Barnhill (“Barnhill”).
Defendants City of Hemet, Brett Maynard, Joshua Bishop, Pedro Aguila, Douglas Klinzing, Jamie Gonzalez, and Catherine Tipton (collectively, “Defendants”) filed two motions (1) to exclude certain opinion and testimony of expert Dr. Ryan O’Connor and (2) to exclude certain opinion and testimony of expert Roger Clark.
Emergency Medicine Expert Witness
Ryan Scarritt O’Connor is a 20-year attending ER physician who is board-certified and has completed several clinical rotations in neurology, ophthalmology, biomechanics, general surgery, and traumatic medicine, among others, and holds a Master of Science in criminalistics with education in crime scene reconstruction.
Law Enforcement Expert Witness
Roger Alma Clark is a retired law enforcement professional with 27 years of experience in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD). He was hired on December 1, 1965, and served until his retirement on March 31, 1993. Throughout his distinguished career, he held several key positions, including six years as a Deputy Sheriff, six years as a Sergeant, and 15 years as a Lieutenant. Roger retired with a California Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Advanced Certificate and is a graduate of the POST Command College, class #5, 1988.
Discussion by the Court
Ryan O’Connor
Defendants sought to exclude the opinions of Barnhill’s medical expert, O’Connor, regarding his conclusions that the incident resulted in Barnhill sustaining certain injuries.
Defendants based their arguments on the fact that (1) O’Connor is an ER doctor, rather than a specialist in ophthalmology; (2) O’Connor relied more heavily on the officers’ statements as opposed to the video evidence; and (3) O’Connor failed to take into consideration all of Barnhill’s medical history. However, given O’Connor’s education, credentials, and experience, the Court held that Defendants’ concerns speak to the weight, rather than admissibility under FRE 702 and Daubert.
Roger Clark
To begin with, Defendants sought to exclude opinions by Barnhill’s police-practices expert, Roger Clark, regarding his “legal conclusions concerning the officers’ use of force, standards within the City of Hemet and the Hemet Police Department, the officers’ mental and emotional states and intentions, interpretations of the videos taken from officers’ body cameras, and all other conclusions and opinions based on Clark’s flawed methodology, which omits important information contained in the footage and is admittedly impermissibly intertwined with Plaintiff’s counsel’s opinions.”
To the extent that Clark offered legal conclusions, such as that the officers used unreasonable or excessive force during the incident, the Court granted the motion to exclude. Clark was also precluded from opining on the officers’ intent or emotional states and on the medical cause of Barnhill’s injuries.
However, to the extent that Clark’s testimony was limited to whether the officers’ conduct was consistent with California Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”) standards governing the use of force, the Court denied the motion. This basically included determinations based on Clark’s review of the video evidence demonstrating how Barnhill was responding during the incident, which were relevant to whether the officers’ conduct comported with POST standards in light of Barnhill’s actions.
Held
- The Court denied Defendants’ motion to exclude the testimony of Ryan O’Connor.
- The Court granted in part and denied in part the motion to exclude the testimony of Roger Clark.
Key Takeaway
In conclusion, a jury could rely on expert testimony as to whether police conduct comported with POST standards.
Case Details:
| Case Caption: | Henry Barnhill V. City Of Hemet |
| Docket Number: | 5:23cv589 |
| Court Name: | United States District Court, California Central |
| Order Date: | June 03, 2026 |
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