Coyett v. City of Philadelphia

150 F. Supp. 3d 479, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165521, 2015 WL 8482815
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 10, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 15-869
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 150 F. Supp. 3d 479 (Coyett v. City of Philadelphia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Coyett v. City of Philadelphia, 150 F. Supp. 3d 479, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165521, 2015 WL 8482815 (E.D. Pa. 2015).

Opinion

• MEMORANDUM

Dalzell, District Judge.

I. Introduction

We consider here the City of Philadelphia’s partial motion for summary judgment concerning plaintiffs Monell claim.

Samir Coyett brings this action against all defendants pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and claims that his civil rights were violated when officers from the Philadelphia Police Department (“PPD”) allegedly used excessive force during an arrest in 2013. Coyett specifically asserts that the City failed to properly train its police officers on the use of force, and that this failure to train amounted to deliberate indifference to hip rights. He further avers that the City maintained a policy or custom of failing to discipline police officers who used excessive force. Further, Coyett asserts that the City’s actions were the cause of the alleged violation of his civil rights. The City has moved for summary judgment on Coyett’s Monell claim, arguing that he has not presented evidence that would allow a reasonable jury to impose municipal liability in this matter.1

We have jurisdiction over these claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331. For the reasons set forth below, we will deny the [481]*481City’s motion for summary judgment on Coyett’s Monell claim.

II. Factual and Procedural History

This matter arises out of an incident that occurred, on July 21, 2013. Philadelphia Police Officers Vincent Perone, Damon Linder, Jorge Soto, and Duane White were on-duty, uniformed officers in the 19th District. Mot. at ¶ 1. At around 5:32 p.m., the officers responded to a radio call claiming that two men with guns were arguing near 5300 Hazelhurst Street. Mot at ¶ 2 and PL’s Resp. in Opp’n at ¶ 2. The caller had described the two individuals as African-American males wearing black t-shirts and brown hats. Mot. at ¶ 3. Officers Soto and White arrived first at the scene where they observed then seventeen-year old Samir Coyett, who they contend matched the description of the men the caller described.2 Id. at ¶ 4. Officer Soto exited the police vehicle and approached Coyett, who looked at Officer Soto and then fled on foot. Id. at ¶ 5. Officer Soto stated that he could not see Coyett’s hands as he was fleeing and that “[Coyett’s] hands were around his waist the whole time.” Soto Dep. at 24: 16-17, 2-6. As Coy-ett ran, he discarded packets of marijuana that Officer Soto later recovered. Mot. at ¶¶ 7-8.

Officer White pursued Coyett and observed plaintiff “gripping his waistband with his left hand.” White Dep. at 39: 15-16. Officer White stated that, while he did not see Coyett with a gun, he “notified [his] backup officers to use caution; the male might possibly be armed.” Id. at 40: 22-24. He elaborated in his deposition by saying that, “I was confident that [Coyett] might possibly be armed. We was [sic] there for a person with a gun, so I notified them that he might be armed with a gun.” Id. at 41:1-3.

Officers Linder and Perone were the backup officers who arrived on the scene. Both officers stopped at the north end of Turner Street and entered ,the east, alley there in search of Coyett. Mot. at ¶11, Officer Perone discovered Coyett sitting on the ground in the backyard of a home. Id. at ¶ 14, Perone Dep. at 33: 8-10. He ordered Coyett several times to put his hands up, with Coyett stating that Perone kept repeating, “Put your hands up,” and “Put your fucking hands up.” Coyett Dep. at 49: 19-23. Officer Perone then fired one round from his service revolver and the bullet struck Coyett in his right forearm. Mot. at ¶ 14. Whereupon Coyett asked Officer Perone, “[W]hy did you shoot me?”. Perone Statement for Internal Affairs Investigation at page 5. Coyett was unarmed. PL’s Resp. in Opp’n at '4. Medical personnel took Coyett to a local hospital for treatment, Coyett Dep. at 54: 16-24, and Coyett was arrested and charged with “possession of a small amount of marijuana” to which he later pled guilty. See Coyett Juvenile Docket at 2.

Officer Perone stated, that he shot Coy-ett because Perone “[f]ear[ed] for [his] safety,” Perone Statement at 4, and further noted that he had no remorse for the shooting because “Coyett, put himself in that situation by not following directions and running from the police.”3 Perone [482]*482Dep. at 45: 12-18. Notably as to this case, Perone said that he had received use of force training while attending the Police Academy in 2009, but he did not remember any specific tests on the subject. Id. at 7: 3-6.

Following this incident, the PPD’s Internal Affairs Unit conducted an investigation as required by Directive No. 10, which outlines the Department’s policies regarding use of force. Mot. at ¶ 15. Lieutenant John Prendergast was the lead investigator on the ease and, after interviewing the officers involved in the shooting, wrote a report recommending that the Use of Force Review Board (“UFRB”) “review the totality of the circumstances and issue a decision regarding the Philadelphia Police Department’s policy, Directive # 10, pertaining to 'the use of deadly force.” Prendergast Mem. to Police Commissioner at 6. The UFRB, consisting of four deputy commissioners, found that Officer Perone did not discharge his firearm according to departmental policy, and recommended he attend situation-based training and be referred to the Charging Unit. See UFRB Mem. to Police Commissioner at 1. The Charging Unit charged Perone with “[discharging, using, displáying or improper handling of a firearm while not in accordance to Departmental Policy,” specifically stating that Perone had “violated Directive 10 in that [he] utilized poor tactics' during [his] discharge as this should have been treated as a barricade situation.” Charging Unit Statement at 1. Perone pled not guilty to the charges and requested a hearing before the Police Board of Inquiry (“PBI”). Id.

Perone’s PBI hearing occurred at 9:00 a. m. on January 29, 2015. Present at the hearing were Police Department Advocate Lieutenant Kenneth Michvech and Fraternal. Order of Police lawyer Timothy Strange. PBI Report at ¶2. The PBI board consisted of three PPD officers. Id. at ¶3. The hearing lasted about thirty minutes, and Michvech and Strange both spoke, along with Prendergast, who was the only person called to testify during the hearing. Perone Dep. at 15: 20-22. Perone spoke at this hearing only when he was sworn in by the PBI. Perone Dep. at 15: 15-18. The only evidence Michvech presented during his prosecution were the shooting package prepared by Prendergast and Prendergast’s testimony where he simply read his report to the UFRB. Mich-vech Dep. at 33: 2-5, 35: 3-8. The PBI was thus presented with same evidence seen by the UFRB when it found that Perone had violated Directive 10. Id. at 37: 1-14. Per-plexingly, the PBI report stated that plaintiff Coyett “failed to appear” at this hearing, when in reality no one had informed Coyett of it nor asked him to attend. See PBI Report at ¶ 9; see also Michvech Dep. at' 31: 15-24, 32: 1-2.4 The PBI arrived at its decision several minutes after the hearing’s conclusion and unanimously found Perone not guilty of Discharging, Using, Displaying or Improper Handling of a Firearm. See PBI Report at 2; see also Perone Dep. at 20:11-20.

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Bluebook (online)
150 F. Supp. 3d 479, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 165521, 2015 WL 8482815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/coyett-v-city-of-philadelphia-paed-2015.