No. 21-1552 ___________________________

Trenisha Webster

Plaintiff - Appellee

v. Jennifer Westlake, Individually and in capacity of a law enforcement officer; Lori Kelly, Individually and in capacity of a law enforcement officer; City of Des Moines, Iowa

Defendants - Appellants ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________

Submitted: March 16, 2022 Filed: July 27, 2022 ____________ Before GRASZ, STRAS, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ KOBES, Circuit Judge.

Des Moines detectives arrested Trenisha Webster on her porch after she refused to comply with their requests to check on her daughter’s welfare. Webster sued them under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Iowa tort law. The district court 1 granted summary judgment to Webster on her § 1983 claim and denied qualified immunity to the detectives. They appeal; we affirm.

I.

School officials contacted the Iowa Department of Human Services after a school nurse found marks, abrasions, and bruising on seven-year-old L.B.’s legs. L.B. explained that her father, Robert Rushing, caused the injuries when he disciplined her with a belt after she got in trouble at school. L.B. said that her mother, Trenisha Webster, is usually in charge of punishment, but that night Rushing took over because Webster was feeling sick. DHS opened a child abuse investigation and assigned it to Melissa Krug, a social worker. Krug interviewed L.B. at school and took several photographs. Then she went to speak with Webster. Webster refused to talk to Krug, allow her inside the house, or let her check on her two children. Afterwards, Krug’s supervisor told her to return to Webster’s house with police. Krug came back later that day with four law enforcement officials: two Des Moines police officers and two detectives from the family conflict unit, Jennifer Westlake and Lori Kelly.

The entire exchange between Webster and the detectives was captured by body camera.2 When Webster answered the door, Detective Westlake confronted her with pictures of L.B. Webster denied that they depicted injuries, instead calling them “a marking of a punishment.” Webster v. Westlake, No. 4:19-CV-00302-RP- HCA, 2021 WL 3566432, at *2 (S.D. Iowa Feb. 24, 2021). She also disagreed that the marks were evidence of excessive punishment. When Westlake asked to see L.B., Webster said that she was “fine” and “with me.” Id. at *2, *4. Westlake

1 The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. 2 A complete transcript was included in the district court’s summary judgment order. Webster v. Westlake, No. 4:19-CV-00302-RP-HCA, 2021 WL 3566432, at *2–*5 (S.D. Iowa Feb. 24, 2021). -2- explained that she needed to check on L.B. and form a safety plan with the parents. Webster said Westlake could come inside and discuss the incident at her dinner table, but she insisted that the other officers remain outside because she didn’t trust DHS. Westlake declined and asked Webster, Rushing, and the kids to come to the police station instead. After about six minutes of arguing in circles, Westlake arrested Webster for “interference in [her] investigation.” Id. at *4. Webster was charged with interference with official acts the next day. The charges were later dismissed with prejudice.

Webster sued Westlake and Kelly under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating her Fourth Amendme