DETROIT, MI — The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that two Oakland University students may proceed with their lawsuit against campus police officers and university administrators after they were arrested and suspended for their alleged role in a campus prank involving a Nerf gun.
The case stems from a March 2022 incident in which three students, including Ryan Geheb and Andrew Evans, drove around campus while another student pointed a toy Nerf gun out the window and shouted “Give me all your money!” at pedestrians. Although Geheb and Evans were not the ones wielding the toy, they were arrested for armed robbery and later cited for disturbing the peace. They spent a night in jail and were immediately suspended from school.
Geheb and Evans sued campus officers and administrators under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. They alleged false arrest, malicious prosecution, and procedural due process violations. The defendants moved to dismiss the claims on qualified immunity grounds, but the district court allowed several claims to proceed.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed that decision. The court held that the students had plausibly alleged a lack of probable cause for their arrest, and that more facts were needed before qualified immunity could be resolved. The court also affirmed that Dean of Student Affairs Michael Wadsworth could not claim qualified immunity at this stage regarding the students’ suspension without a hearing.
The students also appealed the dismissal of their claim that the university rigged their disciplinary hearing. That appeal was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The court emphasized that such arguments were not connected to the qualified immunity issues under review.
The litigation will now continue in district court.
