357 results for 'cat:"Civil Rights" AND cat:"Police Misconduct"'.
J. Lee denies in part a police officer's motion for summary judgment on claims including excessive force filed by a mother who was tripped to the ground, allegedly for resisting arrest, when visiting the courthouse to pick up her son. The mother gave sufficient evidence of her injuries to support the excessive force claim.
Court: USDC Southern District of Mississippi , Judge: Lee, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv439, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Due Process, police Misconduct
J. Oldham finds the district court properly denied qualified immunity for the Houston officers. The good Samaritan was arrested after effectuating a citizen's arrest after a drunk driver crashed. He was charged with felony impersonation of an officer and spent thousands of dollars defending himself before the city dropped the charges. The Samaritan's actions were in accordance with Texas law, and the only evidence he impersonated an officer was the drunk driver’s statement that he identified himself as police. The driver was highly intoxicated and gave other, wildly inconsistent statements, and no reasonable officer could have suspected a felony had occurred. A corrected warrant affidavit could not have established probable cause. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Oldham , Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 22-20621, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, police Misconduct
J. Immergut denies the county's motion to dismiss the false imprisonment claim in the resident's complaint alleging that the city's task force arrested him thinking he was someone else despite discrepancies like different birth dates. The county does not include any evidence to suggest that the officers reasonably believed that the resident was the person described in the warrant and that the belief was objectively reasonable.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Immergut, Filed On: May 3, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv107, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
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J. Lin denies in part summary judgment to an officer seeking qualified immunity regarding excessive force claims from a woman who was bitten by a police dog while hiding, unarmed, in some bushes after stealing from an Ulta Beauty store. The women has abandoned her claim that the initial bite from the dog was excessive, but her claims that the officer allowed the bite to go on for too long will proceed. The woman alleges that the officer allowed the dog to continue biting the top of her scalp after she stated that she would surrender and pleaded for the officer to get the dog off of her.
Court: USDC Northern District of California, Judge: Lin, Filed On: April 29, 2024, Case #: 3:22cv1097, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Aiken dismisses without prejudice the homeowner's complaint that the detective wrongfully arrested him for unlawful possession of heroin and methamphetamine without probable cause. The detective had reason to believe that the homeowner had a usable quantity of heroin because the detective found what he believed was evidence of methamphetamines in the homeowner's bedroom, including used syringes, empty baggies and a piece of foil with a burnt substance.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: Aiken, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: 6:21cv1648, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Evidence, police Misconduct
J. King finds in favor of the city against the protester's complaint that several of the city's unnamed officers used unreasonable force against her during a Seattle protest against George Floyd's murder on the night of June 7, 2020. The protester's First Amendment claim fails because he was not protesting or filming for journalistic purposes, he violated dispersal orders, and he does not produce any evidence that the police retaliated against him or the crowed for protected activities.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: April 24, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1343, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, First Amendment, police Misconduct
J. Calabretta denies, in part, a county’s motion to dismiss an individual’s false arrest and related claims in connection with his sale of baby chicks in a parking lot. He has sufficiently alleged claims for unlawful seizure via false arrest, excessive force, and unreasonable search and seizure, among others.
Court: USDC Eastern District of California, Judge: Calabretta, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv1139, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Pechman declines to dismiss the personal representative's federal claims that the sheriff's deputy shot and killed Joshua Sarrett on Sep. 19, 2020, while Sarrett was "unarmed, intoxicated and was only suspected of being a harm to himself." The personal representative adequately alleges that the deputy's decision to seize Sarrett was unreasonable because the deputy did not investigate any crime at the time and the deputy did not ask Sarrett if he was armed.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Pechman, Filed On: April 22, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1316, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Marshall grants the protester $1.1 million in attorney fees after a jury found in his favor and awarded him $85,000 in damages on his excessive force and Monell claims that were part of his complaint alleging that the city's officers beat him for participating in a protest against the murder of George Floyd. The city requests a fee reduction because the protester did not prevail on all of his claims, but "the time spent on claims for which plaintiff did not prevail cannot reasonably be separated from time spent on claims on which plaintiff did prevail."
Court: USDC Central District of California, Judge: Marshall, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv6470, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Attorney Fees, police Misconduct
J. Lagoa finds that the district court properly ruled in favor of the sheriff and deputy in a civil rights action brought by the widower arising after the deputy fatally shot his wife while responding to a 911 call about her suicide attempt. The district court correctly instructed the jury on excessive force and the Baker Act. The modified pattern instructions on excessive force were properly tailored to the scenario the deputy encountered, which did not involve a criminal arrest, and designed to avoid needlessly confusing the jury. Although the Baker Act instruction was incorrect, the error was not prejudicial. The evidence allowed the jury to find that the deputy was justified in determining that the wife could not decide for herself whether a voluntary examination was necessary. The intoxicated wife was holding a knife and told the deputy to shoot her. Affirmed.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Lagoa, Filed On: April 18, 2024, Case #: 22-11106, Categories: civil Rights, Jury, police Misconduct
[Consolidated.] J. Joseph grants motions for judgment in this civil rights matter. The mother and sister of a 17-year-old boy who was killed by a former police officer were in the county protesting the district attorney’s decision not to prosecute the former police officer for the death. During what they claim was a peaceful protest, they allege they were forcibly removed from their vehicle and assaulted by police. In a separate complaint, a driver claims he was driving home from work when police rammed his vehicle with an armored vehicle and armed officers surrounded him. He argues his vehicle was unlawfully searched and he was arrested without probable cause. The complainants fail to identify anyone for whom fresh claims may be brought, and all other claims are duplicative, as they were already addressed in prior litigation.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Joseph, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv1321, NOS: Civil Rights - Habeas Corpus, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Bencivengo finds that a woman whose conviction for murdering her husband with a hammer was vacated may pursue civil rights claims against the County of San Diego and certain police officers. The woman sufficiently alleges that the county crime lab mishandled evidence and produced "at least four error ridden forensic reports." Her allegations that the crime lab was not accredited and had no manual for the proper handling of evidence are also sufficient to bring Monell claims against the County.
Court: USDC Southern District of California, Judge: Bencivengo, Filed On: April 16, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1045, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Hamilton finds that the lower court properly found for the city and police detectives in a civil rights suit filed by two suspects who claim the detectives deliberately misled judges and a grand jury to secure a probable cause determination to detain them on charges of first-degree murder, of which they were acquitted. The suspects cannot show that the detectives' alleged false statements were necessary to the judge's probable cause decision, especially as the state's attorney's office conducted its own independent investigation before deciding to file charges. Affirmed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Hamilton, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 22-2467, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Wynn finds the lower court properly denied summary judgment to the police officer. The police were called by the mother of a 15-year-old boy who claims her son was hitting her. When police arrived, they found the teen unarmed and began approaching him as he attempted to back away before lunging toward him and tackling him to the ground. Despite one officer already tasing the teen who was on the ground, the police officer punched the teen five times in the back of the head while he lay helpless. There is still a genuine dispute over whether the officer used excessive force, thus precluding summary judgment based on qualified immunity. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: April 15, 2024, Case #: 22-2115, Categories: civil Rights, Immunity, police Misconduct
Per curiam, the circuit finds the district court improperly denied the officers qualified immunity on the arrestee's unlawful prolonged arrest claim. The officers forcefully arrested the truck driver who was parked on private property behind a strip mall, napping. The driver spoke only broken English and was unsure if the officers were real police, which resulted in his resisting arrest. Though the driver says he lacked the requisite mental state to commit the offense of failure to comply, his blatant refusals to exit his vehicle, pulling away from the officers and flailing his arms illustrate his culpability. The court's denial of qualified immunity on the claims of illegal search, excessive force and failure to intervene are affirmed. Reversed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 23-50268, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Pepper gives the citizen until June 7, 2024, to file an amended complaint in his pro se lawsuit claiming excessive force and other violations of his rights during two confrontations with police in the 1990s, as the current complaint fails to state clear claims and, as currently pleaded, the claims in the current complaint appear to be time-barred.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Pepper, Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 2:23cv614, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
Per curiam, the appellate division finds that the lower court properly found for the city on a man's false arrest claims. An eyewitness identified the man by his race, sex, clothing and location, given the police probable cause to arrest him. His continued detention was established by the eyewitness's specific identification of the ma from a photograph. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: April 9, 2024, Case #: 01893, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Komitee denies in part a motion for summary judgment on a civil rights complaint alleging constitutional rights violations stemming from the execution of a no-knock search warrant on a family’s home in Queens. The family’s mother claims she was partially nude during a portion of the search, but a dispute remains over how long and whether she was allowed to dress before or after she was handcuffed. The court further finds the officers are entitled to immunity on the father’s claims that he was unlawfully detained in a police van parked several blocks away, but concludes a jury could find the length of time he was detained in the van, over two hours, was unreasonable and preserves the claim as it relates to temporality.
Court: USDC Eastern District of New York, Judge: Komitee, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 1:20cv3109, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Tort, police Misconduct
J. Carnes finds that the district court properly denied the police officers' motion to dismiss based on qualified immunity an unlawful seizure claim raised by the individual in a civil rights action arising from her arrest after moving a barricade in a mall parking lot. The individual was trying to leave after failing to locate a protest in the wake of George Floyd's death. The officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop the individual's vehicle. The district court improperly denied one officer's motion to dismiss the individual's claim that he violated her rights by failing to intervene in the other officer's use of excessive force. Also, the 11th Circuit lacks jurisdiction to consider the officers' challenge to the district court's decision not to incorporate some video footage of the incident into the pleadings. The challenge amounts to a claim that the district court made an incorrect evidentiary ruling. Affirmed in part.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Carnes, Filed On: April 5, 2024, Case #: 22-12946, Categories: civil Rights, police Misconduct
J. Kleeh grants in part the motion of the Lewis County Commission and three deputy sheriffs for partial summary judgment in the deceased parolee’s estate's suit claiming the deputies caused the parolee's death, when following a foot pursuit in the course of serving a warrant for his arrest, the deputies tased, then held him face-down for an extended period until paramedics arrived. The deputies are granted qualified immunity on the estate's excessive force claims, finding it has failed to demonstrate the deputies violated a clearly established right by using their Taser to subdue the parolee, and on its Monell claim of municipal liability against the commission for violating a clear custom and practice, since prior to their apprehension of the parolee they have never been accused of either excessive force or failing to render medical assistance.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 2:20cv47, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: civil Rights, Wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Clay finds that the district court properly granted Walmart’s motion to dismiss a taxi driver’s assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, false arrest and false imprisonment claims. The district court also properly dismissed the driver’s 14th Amendment claim because it is identical to his Fourth Amendment claim. However, the dismissal and qualified immunity on the Fourth Amendment claims against the arresting officer, municipal liability claim against the sheriff and the negligent hiring, supervision, training, and retention and vicarious liability against Walmart and its security guard shall be remanded for further proceedings. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 23-3217, Categories: civil Rights, Negligence, police Misconduct