Aleena Nikel: Outrageous Conduct

1475 Words3 Pages

Yes, Officer Manden engaged in outrageous conduct when he interacted with Aleena Nikel. Conduct can be determined as “outrageous” by these five factors: (1) if there was a “special relationship” between the parties, (2) if the offended upon was “vulnerable,” (3) if the offender had an “ulterior motive,” (4) if the conduct was in a “public venue,” and (5) if the “character of the conduct” was sufficiently outrageous. House v. Hicks, 218 Or App 348, 363 (2008). Our client was in a special relationship with Aleena, she was vulnerable, and he appeared to have had an ulterior motive in his actions, so he will probably not be able to prove his conduct was appropriate.
FACTS
While several officers arrested a struggling suspect on the ground during …show more content…

Smithson v. Nordstrom, Inc., 63 Or App 423, 427 (1983). Five factors help determine if conduct was “outrageous”: (1) if there was a “special relationship” between the officer and Aleena Nikel, (2) if Aleena was a “vulnerable” person, (3) if Officer Manden had “ulterior motive,” (4) if the incident took place at a “public venue,” and (5) the “character [or nature] of the conduct.” House v. Hicks, 218 Or App at 363 …show more content…

Johns v. City of Eugene, No. 6:16-cv-00907-AA, 2017 US Dist. LEXIS 22768, at *26-27 (D Or Feb. 15, 2017). Johns, a federal case applying Oregon law, held that officer-citizen’s special relationships gave the officers “a greater obligation” to abstain from exposing the victim to abuse, fright, or shock while “in arm’s length” encounters among strangers when forcibly removing a citizen from his[/her] home. Id. at 27. Similarly, Officer Manden, due to his status as a police officer and hers as a citizen, was in a “special relationship” that required a “greater obligation” toward Aleena Nikel. Officer Manden pepper-spraying Aleena is comparable to the Johns police officers’ forcible removal of Johns from his home during his arrest because both involve a police officer exposing a citizen to abuse, fright or shock “in [an] arm’s length” encounter. Officer Manden violated these greater obligations when he sprayed her face from “twelve inches away”; well within “arm’s length.” Nikel, Aff. ¶

Open Document