Backe v. City of Galveston

2 F. Supp. 3d 988, 2 F. Supp. 2d 988, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28280, 2014 WL 868223
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedMarch 5, 2014
DocketCiv. No. 10-CV-388
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 2 F. Supp. 3d 988 (Backe v. City of Galveston) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Backe v. City of Galveston, 2 F. Supp. 3d 988, 2 F. Supp. 2d 988, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28280, 2014 WL 868223 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KEITH P. ELLISON, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this case claim that at least twenty members of the Galveston Police Department abused their positions of authority when they engaged in or failed to prevent multiple acts of unprovoked and unwarranted force on the very population of people they were sworn to protect. Some, but not all, of the officer defendants sued in this case filed a motion for summary judgment bottomed on qualified immunity. By separate order, the Court largely denied the officer defendants’ motion due to unresolved questions of material fact. (Doc. No. 129.)

The Court now confronts the difficult question of when a municipality can be held liable for the discretionary acts of force committed by its police force. De[991]*991fendant City of Galveston, Texas (“the City” or “Galveston”) has filed a Motion for Summary Judgment. (Doc. No. 112.) Plaintiffs have responded (Doc. No. 118), and the City has replied (Doc. No. 126).1 After considering the Motion, all responses thereto, and the applicable law, the Court finds that the City’s Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. No. 112) must GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. Chief Wiley’s Hire

Charles Wiley was sworn in as the Chief of Police of the Galveston Police Department on July 1, 2008. (Doc. No. 112-11, at 14.) He was hired from outside the Galveston Police Department — the first time in decades that the Galveston Chief of Police was not promoted from within. (Id. at 21.) The City Manager, Steven Le-Blanc, pursued and selected an outside hire for the express purpose of effecting change within the police department. (Id. at 29; Doc. No. 112-10, at 56-57.)

The police department inherited by Chief Wiley in July 2008 was “plagued with activities that oftentimes were illegal, most of the time unethical.” (Doc. No. 119-2, at 4.) Use of force was a “big issue” within the department itself (Doc. No. 119-1, at 3) and within the City administration more generally; earlier in 2008, the City Council discussed numerous complaints against the department, including “police brutality.” (Doc. No. 112-10, at 53-54.) The public perception of the Galveston police force was so dismal that the department had ceased communications with the local newspaper. (Doc. No. 112-11, at 30.) According to Chief Wiley, “the perception amongst citizens in Galveston was that the police department was not as professional as it could be.” (Id. at 30.)

Chief Wiley viewed his arrival as a “paradigm shift” within the department. (Doc. No. 119-4, at 4.) He described the environment upon his arrival as one in which “lax behavior” was “permitted.” (Id. at 47-48.) He hoped to instill more accountability and responsibility throughout the ranks, and particularly within the leadership of the department. (Doc. No. 112-11, at 33-35; Doc. No. 119-1, at 3.) He also planned to institute a “community policing culture.” (Doc. No. 112-11, at 30-31.) Hurricane Ike, however, delayed the implementation of any reforms. (Id. at 53.)

B. The H2o Incident (October 4-5, 2008)2

On October 4, 2008 — three weeks after Hurricane Ike hit the island — Plaintiffs (excluding Plaintiff Charles Young) attended a wedding at the Galveston Island Convention Center. Following the reception, which ended around 11 p.m., many guests went to the adjacent San Luis Resort and congregated at H2o, the hotel’s bar.

[992]*9921. The encounter with Cole O’Balle, Joseph Belluomini, and Sharon Belluomini

Officer Chris Sanderson — a member of the Galveston Police Department — was working security at H2o that night. Another security officer employed by the hotel, Carlos Gonzales, directed Officer Sand-erson’s attention to Daniel “Cole” O’Balle, the bride’s 19-year-old brother, who had just entered the bar. Mr. Gonzales alerted Officer Sanderson to Cole for some combination of the following reasons: Cole had been belligerent with Mr. Gonzales at the wedding reception in the adjacent convention center; Cole appeared to be intoxicated despite being underage; and Cole had carried an outside alcoholic beverage into the H2o bar. Officer Sanderson and Mr. Gonzales approached Cole and physically escorted him to the northeast side of the bar, near the bar’s restrooms. Much of the relevant activity in this case occurred at this location. For simplicity, the Court will refer to it as “Cole’s Arrest Site.”

Cole, Officer Sanderson, and Mr. Gonzales were followed by Joseph Belluomini, Sharon Belluomini, and Michael Patterson — friends of the O’Balle family. Mrs. Belluomini stopped to talk with Mr. Gonzales. Mr. Gonzales informed her that he was having Cole arrested. Mrs. Belluomi-ni begged Mr. Gonzales and Officer Sand-erson to let her take Cole up to his hotel room.

Mr. Belluomini placed himself in front of Cole, whose back was against a wall. Mr. Belluomini put his hands on the wall on either side of Cole, such that Cole was between his arms. He alternated between reassuring Cole that everything would be fine and inquiring of Officer Sanderson what Cole had done wrong.

Sometime during the course of these interactions, Officer Sanderson radioed for assistance from fellow officers. Officer Clemente Garcia and Officer Jonathan Longoria were the first to arrive in response to Officer Sanderson’s request.

Shortly before Officer Garcia and Officer Longoria reached Cole’s Arrest Site, Officer Sanderson withdrew his baton. Officer Garcia rushed past Mrs. Belluomini and punched Cole in the head. Simultaneously, Mr. Gonzales placed Mr. Belluom-ini in a chokehold, pulling him away from Cole, and Officer Sanderson pepper sprayed Mr. Belluomini in the face.

Officer Garcia and Officer Sanderson then proceeded to pummel Cole-Officer Garcia with his fists, and Officer Sander-son with his baton. One of these baton strikes hit Cole on the head, causing a massive head wound. Despite the fact that Cole was wounded and not fighting back, Officer Longoria tased Cole in the abdomen, causing him to fall to the ground. Officer Garcia and Officer Sand-erson continued to punch, strike, and kick Cole after he was on the ground.

Mrs. Belluomini screamed for the officers to stop. When the abuse continued unabated, she threw herself on Cole’s head to protect him. One of the officers removed her by her hair, and Officer Sand-erson pepper sprayed her in the face. Cole was eventually handcuffed and removed to a patrol car.

In the thirteen minutes following Officer Sanderson’s initial request for assistance from fellow officers, over twenty members of the Galveston Police Department arrived on scene, many of them accompanied by other federal and local law enforcement officials. (Doc. No. 112-12, at 10-12.) Most of these officers engaged in crowd control, evacuating the H2o bar and escorting people off the San Luis property. As described below, the remaining claims [993]*993of excessive force derive in some form from this police activity.

2. The encounter with Calvin Silva

Calvin Silva was in the H2o bar and observed Cole’s encounter with Officer Sanderson, Officer Garcia, and Officer Longoria from a close distance. Officer Jeffrey Michael pushed Mr. Silva in the chest and told him to move back. Mr. Silva responded that he did not have anywhere to go due to the crowd.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2 F. Supp. 3d 988, 2 F. Supp. 2d 988, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28280, 2014 WL 868223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/backe-v-city-of-galveston-txsd-2014.