Browder v. City of Albuquerque

209 F. Supp. 3d 1236, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95054, 2016 WL 3946801
District Court, D. New Mexico·Decided July 20, 2016·No. No. CIV 13-0599 RB/KBM·Published·Cited by 10 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ROBERT C. BRACK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Second Motion for Relief and Sanctions Based on Intentional Spoliation of Evidence by Defendant City of Albuquerque, filed on March 18, 2016 (Doc. 179), as well as the parties’ supplemental briefs (Docs. 270, 272). Jurisdiction arises under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. Having considered the submissions of counsel and relevant law, the Court will GRANT IN PART Plaintiffs’ motion.

I. Procedural History and Statement of Facts1

This case arises from a tragic traffic accident that occurred when Defendant Casaus’s police vehicle collided with Plaintiff Lindsay Browder’s vehicle. At issue in this motion for relief and sanctions is video footage from two city intersections. Despite the fact that several officials from the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office (BCSO) apparently saw the footage and APD Chief Schultz directed that the footage be preserved, the footage was lost before Plaintiffs were allowed access to it.

A. The Incident

Defendant Adam Casaus, a sergeant with the APD, was involved in a traffic accident with Plaintiffs Lindsay and Ashley Browder at approximately 1:31 or 1:32 a.m. on Sunday, February 10, 2013. (Doc. 8 at ¶ 26; Doc. 146, Ex. 1 at 150:13-151:20, Ex. 3 at 72:3-5.) Defendant Casaus, driving westbound on Paseo Del Norte, alleg[1240]*1240edly saw a vehicle ahead of him driving erratically, and he sped up to pull the driver over. (Doc. 163, Ex. A at 72:22-74:16, 78:9-81:5; Doc. 181 at 7.) Plaintiffs dispute Defendant Casaus’s assertion that he was ever following a vehicle. (See Doc. 205 at 5-7.) Defendant Casaus testified that he could not identify the make and model of the vehicle or its license plate number, but he could see tall, skinny taillights. (Doc. 163, Ex. A at 75:12-76:7; Doc. 181 at 7.) He believes he saw the vehicle he was following go through the intersection at Eagle Ranch and Paseo Del Norte, the same intersection where the parties collided. (Doc. 146, Ex. 1 at 95:13-97:12.)

As he approached that intersection, he also saw a vehicle stopped in the right-hand lane of westbound Paseo Del Norte waiting on a red light. (Id. at 97:16-20; Doc. 163, Ex.' 1 at 85:6-11.) The stopped vehicle belonged to Ms. Jana Villanueva, an eyewitness to the accident who had merged onto westbound Paseo Del Norte from the Coors ramp driving a black 2008 Cadillac with tall taillights. (Doc. 146, Ex. 2 at 7, Ex. 3 at 46:2-5.) Defendant Casaus collided with the Browder vehicle in the intersection of Eagle Ranch Road and Pa-seo Del Norte. (Doc. 146, Ex. 1 at 150:13-151:20.) There is a factual dispute in this case regarding what color the traffic light was when Defendant Casaus entered the intersection. (See Doc. 205 at 4-7.)

B. The Video Footage

Investigating Deputy Leonard Armijo of the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office, who took the lead in the initial investigation into the accident, confirmed Ms. Villa-nueva’s story. (Doc. 146, Ex. 2 at 3, 7.) Deputy Armijo viewed video footage recorded from a traffic camera located at the intersection of Coors Boulevard and La Orilla Road NW and saw what appeared to be Ms. Villanueva’s vehicle at that location approximately two minutes prior to the accident. (Id. at 7; See also Doc. 270, Ex. F at ¶¶ 3-4.) He concluded that Ms. Villa-nueva’s Cadillac could not have been the vehicle Defendant Casaus was allegedly following. (Doc. 146, Ex. 2 at 7; See also Doc. 146, Ex. 3 at 92:4-11.)

The video footage Deputy Armijo saw came from the Real Time Crime Center (RTCC). (Doc. 146, Ex. 2 at 7.) The RTCC is a division of the City of Albuquerque and the APD. (See Doc. 200 at 3 ¶ 4, Ex. A at 87:10, Ex. C at 5:15-23.) The RTCC established a citywide video network using city traffic cameras and surveillance systems from local businesses. (Doc. 200, Ex. D at 12:3-13.) The RTCC was not fully operational in February, 2013; in fact, the City did not completely finish building the center until March, 2013. (Doc. 200, Ex. C at 6:1-3, 31:8-15.) On the day of February 10, 2013, however, at least three traffic cameras captured footage Plaintiffs assert is relevant to this lawsuit. (See Doc. 179 at 3-4.) These cameras are located at the intersections of Paseo Del Norte and Eagle Ranch Road (where the accident occurred), Coors and La Orilla NW (where Deputy Armijo saw Ms. Villanueva’s Cadillac on video recorded minutes before the accident), and Paseo Del Norte and Golf Course Road. (See Doc. 179 at 4-5, Exs. 1-3.)

Plaintiffs received video footage from all three intersections, but the parties discovered at some point much later in this litigation that the footage from the Paseo Del Norte and Eagle Ranch Road and Coors and La Orilla NW intersections is from Saturday, February 9, rather than from the date of the accident, Sunday, February 10. (See Doc. 179 at 4-5, Exs. 1-3.) In the 24 hours after the accident, however, several officials from the APD, BCSO, and the RTCC were able to watch video footage from the correct date and time, as detailed infra. Any video from the [1241]*1241correct date has since been lost. (See Doc. 270, Ex. E at ¶¶ 11-13, Ex. G at ¶¶ 1, 8.)

RTCC Director Mr. T.J. Wilham looked at footage from the relevant intersections with APD Chief Schultz on Sunday morning, well within 24 hours of the accident.2 (Doc. 179, Ex. 5 at 34:5-25, 43:1-24.) Mr. Wilham recalls seeing (1) Plaintiff Lindsay Browder’s vehicle on footage from one of the cameras; and (2) squad cards pull up on Eagle Ranch to block traffic on footage from Eagle Ranch and Paseo Del Norte, in spite of the fact that the camera was not facing the intersection. (Id. at 23:8-24:12, 43:6-18.) Chief Schultz directed Mr. Wil-ham to give the footage to the necessary officials. (Id. at 43:19-24.)

Deputy Paul Gonzales, who acted as the secondary investigator from the BCSO, also saw footage at the RTCC. (Doc. 200, Ex. A at 49:10-22, 52:1-3, 87:9-12.) Deputy Gonzales was called to the scene of the accident around 2:30 a.m. on February 10. (Id. at 49:19-22.) His primary responsibilities involved photographing and diagramming the accident scene. (Id. at 52:4-25, 61:14-22.) After he finished at the scene, he went to the RTCC to see if he could find any video footage from traffic cameras at or near the relevant intersection. (Id. at 87:9-12.) He found footage from four intersections: Coors Boulevard and Alameda (south of Paseo Del Norte and Coors), Coors Boulevard and Eagle Ranch Road (south of Paseo Del Norte and Coors), Paseo Del Norte and Eagle Ranch Road, and Paseo Del Norte and Golf Course Road. (Id. at 87:18-25.)

Deputy Gonzales testified he was unable to see footage of the accident itself, because the camera at Paseo Del Norte and Eagle Ranch Road was pointed toward a gas station in the northwest corner of the intersection instead of toward the street. (Id. at 88:7-16.) He believes he saw Plaintiff Lindsay Browder’s vehicle turn from Coors onto Eagle Ranch Road. (Id. at 88:23-24.) He does not remember seeing any vehicles that might match the one Defendant Casaus was allegedly following. (Id.

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Browder v. City of Albuquerque, 209 F. Supp. 3d 1236, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95054, 2016 WL 3946801 (D.N.M. 2016).

209 F. Supp. 3d 1236 (Browder v. City of Albuquerque) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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