Patrick Nichols v. N. Bumgarner

── Patrick Nichols v. N. Bumgarner ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: April 22, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-7215 Doc: 54 Filed: 04/22/2026 Pg: 1 of 19 PUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-7215 PATRICK NICHOLS, a/k/a Abdullah Rahin, Plaintiff – Appellant, v. N. BUMGARNER, Montgomery County Police Officer, Defendant – Appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland at Baltimore. Brendan A. Hurson, District Judge. (1:23-cv-00014-BAH) Argued: March 18, 2026 Decided: April 22, 2026 Before GREGORY, WYNN, and BERNER, Circuit Judges. Vacated and remanded by published opinion. Judge Gregory wrote the opinion, in which Judge Wynn and Judge Berner joined. ARGUED: Christian H. Ross, DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellant. Kristen Joanne Nunley, OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, Rockville, Maryland, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Richard B. Katskee, Emma B. Cline, Molly E. Pines, Appellate Litigation Clinic, DUKE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellant. John P. Markovs, County Attorney, Edward B. Lattner, Deputy County Attorney, Erin J. Ashbarry, Chief, Division of Government Operations and Appeals, OFFICE OF THE COUNTY ATTORNEY, Rockville, Maryland, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 24-7215 Doc: 54 Filed: 04/22/2026 Pg: 2 of 19 GREGORY, Circuit Judge: This case concerns an excessive force claim brought by a pro se plaintiff, Patrick Nichols, against the two officers who arrested him. Nichols alleges that the force used by the officers was disproportionate to any potential threat he could have posed. Holding that the complaint lacked sufficient detail, the district court dismissed Nichols’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. As explained herein, we hold that the district court erroneously dismissed Nichols’s amended complaint. We also hold that the district erred by treating only one officer as a defendant. Accordingly, we vacate the district court’s order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings. I. On March 24, 2022, Officers Bumgarner and Schmidt (the “Officers”) arrested Nichols in Bethesda, Maryland on a warrant for theft, forgery, and burglary. 1 Despite Nichols “not do[ing] not[h]ing [to] him,” Bumgarner slammed Nichols to the ground. J.A. 17; J.A. 54. Within moments of initiating the arrest, Officer Bumgarner broke Nichols’s left forearm in two places. Nichols suffered more than just a broken arm during his arrest. After Bumgarner slammed Nichols to the ground, Schmidt placed his knee on Nichols’s throat. As a result, 1 The following facts come from Nichols’s complaints, which we accept as true at the pleading stage. We also may take judicial notice of facts outside the record where the fact may not be reasonably disputed and is relevant and critical to the matter on appeal.” United States v. Townsend, 886 F.3d 441, 444 (4th Cir. 2018) (internal quotations omitted). We take judicial notice on appeal of the warrant. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-7215 Doc: 54 Filed: 04/22/2026 Pg: 3 of 19 Nichols was unable to breathe and feared for his life. Nichols maintains that throughout these events, he did nothing to the Officers and their lives were “in no danger o