46 results for 'cat:"Wrongful Death" AND cat:"Police Misconduct"'.
J. Mariani denies two state troopers and a state police department’s motion to dismiss ADA and discrimination claims by the father of a 36-year-old with mental health issues who police fatally shot after they were called to the son’s house for a welfare check. The police failed to attempt to deescalate the situation, as they had during previous welfare checks, and the father plausibly argued the police troopers were not properly trained to respond to the call.
Court: USDC Middle District of Pennsylvania, Judge: Mariani, Filed On: May 15, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv1632, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Ada / Rehabilitation Act, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. King partially grants the city's motion to stay the family's complaint alleging that the city's employees killed the decedent by placing a spit mask on him after they choked him. The police officers plan to assert their Fifth Amendment rights for the potential federal charges against them, and their depositions are the only identified discovery that the family does not have, so a stay is appropriate. Unless the stay goes on beyond six months, the parties shall notify the court when the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington decides whether to pursue federal criminal charges against the police officers within 30 days of notification.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: King, Filed On: May 6, 2024, Case #: 3:21cv5692, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: wrongful Death, Discovery, 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
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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
[Consolidated] J. Adelman grants summary judgment to the former police officer, the city and others in two of three consolidated lawsuits he faces from the estates of individuals he shot and killed while on duty with the city's police department. In one case involving an individual who was wielding a "decorative sword" and advancing on the officer at the time he was shot, the estate concedes that the officer is entitled to summary judgment. In another in which the officer shot an individual after waking him up from sleeping in his car and, according to video evidence, after the individual reached his hand toward the car's passenger seat where a gun was sitting, the officer's actions were not unreasonable. Arguments for summary judgment in the third case are scheduled for April 9, 2024.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Adelman, Filed On: March 14, 2024, Case #: 2:21cv848, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Jenkins partially grants a motion for summary judgment from an Illinois village and its police, on claims the police used fatally excessive force during an arrest. The arrestee died of choking-related injuries he sustained after swallowing a plastic bag while police were on top of him and holding him down. The court grants judgment to the police on the excessive force claim as to the allegation that they stuck a plastic bag in the arrestee’s mouth, finding it is not sufficiently backed by evidence, but allows the excessive force claim to stand regarding other elements of the arrest.
Court: USDC Northern District of Illinois, Judge: Jenkins, Filed On: March 5, 2024, Case #: 1:21cv3236, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Kleeh denies in part the motion to dismiss a civil rights suit claiming deputies caused a man's death, after responding to a 911 call from the couple he was living with while he was experiencing a "mental health issue." The deputies allegedly tazed the nude man in the back and left him handcuffed face down on the floor of the home, causing him to go into cardiac arrest because of his obesity and inability to breathe properly. The court denies the deputies qualified immunity since the man, despite his size, was unarmed, not resisting arrest and not attempting to flee from the deputies.
Court: USDC Northern District of West Virginia, Judge: Kleeh, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 3:23cv177, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Higginbotham finds the district court properly granted the county's motion to dismiss the estate's excessive force claims. The officer fatally shot the driver after a traffic stop for toll violations, who claimed he might have his driver's license in the trunk. He opened the trunk, opened the driver's side door, then began driving away as the officer ordered him to stop. The officer is shown on dash cam reaching into the vehicle and firing. The officer was still hanging onto the moving vehicle, believing it would run him over, which supports his reasonable belief his life was in danger. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginbotham , Filed On: January 23, 2024, Case #: 22-20519, Categories: Evidence, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Gillmor dismisses excessive force, negligence, wrongful death and other claims by relatives of a man shot and killed by Maui police officers. The family does not identify any specific officers, any of their specific actions or any specific policy or practice that led to the shooting, and therefore do not have sufficient facts to support their claims. Only the man’s mother and father have standing to bring their claims; siblings and other family members do not. Only the mother’s excessive force claim remains.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Gillmor, Filed On: January 18, 2024, Case #: 1:23cv383, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Government, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. McShane dismisses the family's federal claims accusing the city's officers of allowing decedent to asphyxiate in their custody, whereupon he permanently lost consciousness and died several months later. There is no evidence that one specific officer saw the seatbelt wrap around decedent's throat and did not intervene, and there is no evidence of inexcusable negligence among the other officers.
Court: USDC Oregon, Judge: McShane, Filed On: December 7, 2023, Case #: 6:21cv142, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
Per curiam, the circuit finds the trial court properly denied qualified immunity to the deputy in a civil rights case. The decedent died of a heart attack while detained in the back of a patrol car. The decedent was not suspected of any crime, posed no threat to anyone's safety and made no attempt to resist arrest. A deputy seized him under the mistaken assumption he was videotaping the officers. There was no evidence the deputy's actions were compelled by necessity and exigency. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: December 6, 2023, Case #: 23-30253, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Cain dismisses a family's civil rights case against police officers who shot the decedent, a wanted suspect, 14 times in his brother's home. The officers saw a gun on the floor after their decedent had been shot in the wrist and tased, while video evidence shows the decedent reaching across his body with his left hand and pulling the object he has retrieved toward his midsection. A reasonable officer in these circumstances could have believed the decedent had retrieved the gun and determined lethal force to be necessary.
Court: USDC Western District of Louisiana , Judge: Cain, Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: 2:20cv249, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Constitution, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Hickey grants a sheriff department's motion to dismiss claims of violating the constitution for using the “Precision Immobilization Technique maneuver” alleged by a surviving wife whose husband died in a vehicle crash, after leaving an event intoxicated, with sheriffs following after. The widow failed to give evidence that a PIT maneuver was performed by the officers, so her unconstitutional policy claim fails.
Court: USDC Western District of Arkansas , Judge: Hickey, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: 1:22cv1027, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Tort, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Briscoe finds that the lower court improperly denied immunity to police officials regarding wrongful death and excessive force claims from the family of a man who was killed by police while they were carrying out a warrant. Police are entitled to immunity because the evidence shows that deadly force was reasonable in this situation. Decedent was armed, repeatedly refused to comply with officers to drop his gun, and attempted to flee after telling officers several times he refused to be arrested. Reversed.
Court: 10th Circuit, Judge: Briscoe, Filed On: November 9, 2023, Case #: 22-1355, Categories: wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Kobayashi partially dismisses a complaint by the service on behalf of a woman who was killed near a police station after being released from custody by a man also recently released from police custody. As the woman was released over a day before the man, the city and the police did not have a special duty to her, since she was no longer in custody, and did not have a duty to take the unhoused woman to a safer location. Police officers, who are also not liable in their official capacities, did not act with malice as the service could not show officers knew the woman was still in the area and that she was in distress.
Court: USDC Hawaii, Judge: Kobayashi, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 1:23cv127, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Negligence, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Stadtmueller partially grants the estate administrator's motion to admit testimony from a policing expert in a lawsuit against the city and police officers over a citizen's death when the driver of a stolen car the officers were pursuing crashed into the citizen's car. The administrator's expert will be permitted to proffer his opinion that officers should have discontinued their pursuit of the stolen car, as it is "more likely than not reliable and helpful," but the expert is barred from giving opinions on three other matters, including that the city police department's policies created an unreasonable danger. The administrator's motion to amend its expert's report is granted and its motion to correct a statement of stipulated facts is denied.
Court: USDC Eastern District of Wisconsin, Judge: Stadtmueller, Filed On: November 8, 2023, Case #: 2:22cv320, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Experts, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Gobeil finds that the trial court properly ruled in favor of the city, police chief and police officer in a wrongful death and negligence action brought by a mother and an individual arising from the decedent's death during a high-speed police chase. The mother's and individual's claims against the officer in his individual capacity are barred by qualified immunity because the officer's decision to eliminate the threat of danger by intentionally hitting the decedent with his vehicle was objectively reasonable. The officer saw the decedent exit his vehicle while holding an object that appeared to be a gun and a gun with the decedent's fingerprints was found at the scene. The officer's use of the vehicle to hit the decedent did not amount to a negligent use of a covered vehicle under the statute such that it would give rise to a waiver of sovereign immunity. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Gobeil, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: A23A0676, Categories: Negligence, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Rovner finds that the lower court improperly denied the police officer qualified immunity on wrongful death claims stemming from his fatal shooting of a suspect following a high-speed chase. The evidence shows that the officer exited his car, and placed himself within a few car-lengths of the suspect's car, who began to move his vehicle forward when the officer fired one shot. The officer reasonably fears for his own safety and that of the public if the suspect resumed his reckless flight. Reversed.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Rovner, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: 22-2211, Categories: Immunity, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Ellington finds that the appeals court improperly upheld the trial court's grant of judgment on the pleadings in favor of the sheriff in a wrongful death action brought by the widow arising from her husband's death from "excited delirium" while he was restrained in the back seat of a deputy's patrol car after being tasered. The appeals court incorrectly limited the meaning of the word "use" in a statute related to waiver of sovereign immunity for injuries arising from the "negligent use of a covered motor vehicle." The appeals court incorrectly found that the patrol car was not being used as a vehicle while the deputies were using it to confine and restrain the husband. The alleged acts committed by the deputies involved the use of a covered motor vehicle. Reversed.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: Ellington, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S22G1152, Categories: wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Pulliam finds a San Antonio officer is entitled to qualified immunity in a civil rights lawsuit stemming from a deadly police shooting. The victim in the shooting, a young woman who was walking near a school with a BB gun, may have had “no malintent” in reaching for the BB gun during a police encounter, but regardless she made a “clear, deliberate and indisputable effort to reach for it,” giving the officer probable cause for use of deadly force.
Court: USDC Western District of Texas , Judge: Pulliam, Filed On: October 2, 2023, Case #: 5:21cv281, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Blackwell partially grants the city and police officers’ motion for summary judgment in a wrongful death suit brought by the family of a man shot and killed by police in a highly publicized incident. A Fourth Amendment excessive force claim related to less-lethal munitions is dismissed as to the officers who used lethal munitions, and a substantive due process claim is dismissed because it is subsumed in Fourth Amendment claims. The motion is otherwise denied.
Court: USDC Minnesota, Judge: Blackwell, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 0:20cv1508, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct
J. Rothstein denies both the mother's and the county's motions for summary judgment regarding the mother's complaint alleging that the county's officers wrongfully shot and killed her son, a Black man, when he fled a sting operation meant to arrest him for selling 50 Xanax pills to an informant. The evidence that the decedent held a cellphone presents a dispute of fact as to whether the officer who fired was justified because he believed the decedent was armed or if the shooting was unjustified based on claims that the decedent held up his phone so his mother could witness the event on FaceTime. The case shall proceed to trial.
Court: USDC Western District of Washington, Judge: Rothstein, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 3:22cv5384, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Civil Rights, wrongful Death, police Misconduct