Plaintiff Ramon Cortesluna had a drinking problem; getting violent and abusive with his live-in girlfriend and her two daughters (ages 12 and 15) when he drank.  On the evening of November 6, 2016, he did just that, chasing his family into a back room with a chainsaw.  Twelve-year-old I.R. called 911, telling the operator that they were all barricaded in a room because plaintiff was “always drinking,” had “anger issues,” was “really mad,” and was breaking up the house with a chainsaw and was going to hurt them.  I.R. further reported that her mother was holding the door closed to prevent plaintiff from entering and hurting them.  I.R.’s older sister then came on the line, telling the operator that plaintiff was “sawing on the door knob” as they spoke.  The 911 operator could hear a sawing sound as she talked to the two girls.  This information was passed onto Union City police units in the area, resulting in five officers—including the eventual civil defendants; Officers Manuel Leon, Daniel Rivas-Villegas, Robert Kensic—responding to the scene.  Upon their arrival, the officers found the house to be quite.  But they could see plaintiff through a window, holding nothing more than a beer.  Checking back with the dispatcher, she confirmed that the caller had reported plaintiff was using a chainsaw but acknowledged that “we can’t hear [a chainsaw] over the phone,” suggesting that he might have been using it “manually.”  The dispatcher further reported to the officers that during the 911 call, she heard sawing sounds in the background as if plaintiff were trying to saw the bedroom door down, and that the callers complained that they were unable to get out.  As Officer Leon stood by, ready with a beanbag shotgun, Officer Rivas-Villegas knocked on the front door, identifying himself, and commanding plaintiff to come to the door.  A few seconds later, plaintiff emerged from a nearby sliding glass door, holding a large metal object that looked like a crowbar (described in the dissent as a “pick tool”).  Ordered to drop it, he did.  Despite this compliance, Officer Leon announced that he was “going to hit him with less lethal” (i.e., his beanbag shotgun), while telling another officer to get out of his way.  But before he could, Officer Rivas-Villegas ordered plaintiff to “come out, put your hands up, walk out towards me.” Plaintiff put his hands up as ordered. Officer Rivas-Villegas then told plaintiff to “keep coming.”  Plaintiff complied, walking out of the house towards the officers.  When plaintiff was about ten to eleven feet from the officers, Officer Rivas-Villegas told him “stop” and “get on your knees.”  Plaintiff stopped as ordered, but failed to drop to his knees.  As plaintiff stood there, Officer Kensic observed a knife in the front left pocket of his sweatpants, announcing to the other officers that plaintiff had “a knife in his left pocket, knife in his pocket!”  Officer Kensic then told plaintiff; “[D]on't, don't put your hands down,” and “hands up.” Plaintiff turned his head toward Officer Kensic, who was on plaintiff's left side, (and away from Officer Leon, who was on plaintiff's right side) and ignored Officer Kensic’s orders by simultaneously lowering his head and his hands.  Officer Leon immediately shot plaintiff with a beanbag round from his shotgun, quickly firing a second beanbag shot as plaintiff’s hands were still in a downward position near his belly where the first shot hit. The second shot hit plaintiff on the hip. Roughly two seconds elapsed between Officer Kensic’s “hands up” order and the second shot.  Despite being shot twice with successive beanbags, plaintiff again raised his hands over his head, and then, when ordered again, lowered himself to the ground.  As he was doing so, Officer Rivas-Villegas used his foot to push plaintiff flat on the ground.  Once down, Officer Rivas-Villegas pressed his knee into plaintiff’s back and pulled his arms behind his back so that Officer Leon could handcuff him.  Officer Rivas-Villegas then lifted plaintiff up by his handcuffed hands and moved him away from the doorway.  Plaintiff’s girlfriend and her two daughters were found safe and unharmed in the house.  (Unknown if they ever found a chainsaw.)  Plaintiff later filed a civil suit in federal court (per 42 U.S.C. § 1983) alleging that Officer Leon had used excessive force in shooting him with a beanbag shotgun, that Officer Rivas-Villegas had used excessive force when he kneeled on him while on the ground, and that Officer Kensic was also liable for having failed to intervene and stop the excessive force.  As a result of the officers’ actions, plaintiff claimed that he suffered physical, emotional, and economic injuries. The federal district (trial) court granted the civil defendants’ (i.e., the officers) respective summary judgment motions, ruling that that the force used by Officers Leon and Rivas-Villegas was objectively reasonable under the circumstances and that they were entitled to qualified immunity. As for Officer Kensic, the court ruled that he had no reasonable opportunity to intervene and therefore could not be liable.  Plaintiff Appealed.