Bolden v. City of Chi.

293 F. Supp. 3d 772
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 12, 2017
DocketNo. 17 CV 417
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 293 F. Supp. 3d 772 (Bolden v. City of Chi.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bolden v. City of Chi., 293 F. Supp. 3d 772 (illinoised 2017).

Opinion

Manish S. Shah, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Eddie L. Bolden had served 22 years of a life sentence when his murder conviction was reversed, charges against him were dismissed, and he received a certificate of innocence. Bolden now brings claims against several Chicago police officers and the City of Chicago. The defendant officers1 and city move to dismiss the complaint in part. For the following reasons, the officers' motion is granted in part and denied in part. The city's motion is denied.

I. Legal Standards

To survive a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain factual allegations that plausibly suggest a right to relief. Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 677-78, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The court must construe all factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor, but the court need not accept legal conclusions or conclusory allegations. Id. at 678-79, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

II. Background

Bolden spent 22 years in prison for crimes he did not commit-the murders of Derrick Frazier and Ledell Clayton, and the attempted murder of Clifford Frazier. [40] ¶¶ 1, 9.2 In January of 1994, the Fraziers and Ledell Clayton attempted to sell multi-kilograms of cocaine. Id. ¶ 12. Clifford Frazier kept lookout while the other two entered a nearby J & J Fish Restaurant. Id. ¶ 13. All three men were heavily armed. Id. ¶ 12. When the prospective drug purchaser arrived, he, Derrick Frazier, and Clayton, drove off in Derrick Frazier's car. Id. ¶ 13. While in the backseat, the buyer shot and killed both Derrick Frazier and Clayton. Id. ¶ 15. He then returned to the original scene and exchanged gunfire with Clifford Frazier, shooting Frazier in the back. Id. At all relevant times, Bolden was inside J & J Fish playing a video game. Id. ¶ 16. He was there when Clifford Frazier ran into the restaurant for help, and Bolden called 911 from the phone inside the restaurant to report Frazier's injuries. Id. ¶ 16.

When the defendant officers arrived, they interviewed several witnesses, including Bolden. Id. ¶ 17.3 None of the witnesses identified Bolden, or anyone matching Bolden's description, as the man who shot Frazier. Id. ¶ 17. Tenesha Gatson, *776who worked at J & J Fish, told the defendant officers that Bolden had remained at the restaurant throughout the evening and was there when Frazier entered after being shot. Id. ¶ 18. The officers failed to investigate Gatson's statements or conduct follow-up interviews with any of the witnesses who could have corroborated Bolden's alibi. Id. ¶ 41. Officers also interviewed Vondell Goins, who had been inside J & J Fish at the time of the shooting, but did not ask her about Bolden. Id. ¶ 42. Had she been asked, Goins would have explained that she was speaking with Bolden inside the restaurant both when she heard the shooting outside and when Frazier entered the restaurant. Id. Officers took down the name of Todd Henderson, who witnessed the fight between Frazier and his attacker and who, at the time, could have described the attacker. Id. ¶ 44. The officers never questioned or followed up with him. Id. The defendant officers also interviewed, but never attempted to contact, at least one other witness and failed to interview another owner of J & J Fish who could have corroborated Bolden's story. Id. ¶¶ 43, 45.

Clifford Frazier told defendant officers that he had gotten a good look at the shooter, who he described as between 5 foot 10 inches and 6 feet tall, clean-shaven, with a light complexion, low-cut hair, and a medium build. Id. ¶ 19. Bolden was 6 feet 2 inches tall, very thin, and bald, with a dark complexion and a moustache. Id. Frazier met with a sketch artist, and the resulting picture looked nothing like Bolden. Id. ¶ 20. The defendant officers showed Frazier a photo array, which included a photo of Bolden, and Frazier did not recognize anyone in any of the photos. Id. ¶ 24. Around the same time of the photo array, defendants Higgins and Rowan signed a police report indicating that they learned from Derrick Frazier that a man named Anthony Williams had been involved in the murders and that "Lanier" (Lynier is Bolden's middle name) was with Williams prior to the incident. Id. ¶ 23. Derrick Frazier, of course, was dead at this time; this evidence was fabricated to frame Bolden. Id.

Upon learning he was wanted for questioning, Bolden hired an attorney to represent him during his encounter with the police. Id. ¶ 26. The lawyer accompanied Bolden to the Area 2 Violent Crimes Unit, where the defendant officers instructed them to wait in the waiting room. Id. ¶¶ 26-27. While there, defendant Oliver walked Frazier directly past Bolden and his lawyer so Frazier could see Bolden. Id. ¶ 27. The defendant officers then asked Bolden to participate in a lineup, and he agreed on the condition that his lawyer could be present. Id. ¶ 28. Defendant officers said they would allow the attorney to be present, but when he attempted to enter the viewing room alongside Bolden, defendant Pesavento physically blocked his path. Id. ¶¶ 28, 30. Twice during the lineup, officer Karl asked Bolden, "you, Eddie Bolden, right?" Id. ¶ 31. Defendants Barnes, Pesavento, and at least one other defendant officer witnessed Karl's actions and allowed the lineup to proceed. Id. ¶ 31. Frazier identified Bolden, who was subsequently arrested and charged. Id. ¶ 32.

While Bolden was held in a room prior to be being sent to the lockup, defendant Kill entered, looked at Bolden, and laughed, noting that Bolden was bald-presumably because Frazier had previously described the shooter as having hair. Id. ¶ 33. Around the same time, Bolden asked Karl to bring defendant Oliver into the room because Oliver had seen Bolden inside J & J Fish after the shootings and could corroborate his alibi. Id. ¶ 34. Karl responded, "he doesn't remember" and kicked the door to the room shut. Id.

Officers recovered two firearms during the investigation, Clifford Frazier's .40 caliber pistol recovered from inside the J & J

*777Fish and a nine millimeter pistol from Frazier's Cadillac nearby. Id. ¶ 35.

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293 F. Supp. 3d 772, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bolden-v-city-of-chi-illinoised-2017.