Estate of Redd v. Love

62 F. Supp. 3d 1268, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147596, 2014 WL 5305940
District Court, D. Utah·Decided October 15, 2014·No. Case No. 2:11-cv-00478-RJS·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER

ROBERT J. SHELBY, District Judge.

This case arises following the tragic suicide of Dr. James D. Redd after his arrest for trafficking in stolen Native American artifacts, theft of government property, and theft of tribal property. The Estate of Dr. Redd brings this Bivens action against Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Agents Daniel Love and Dan Barnes. The Estate of Dr. Redd asserts that Agent Love and Agent Barnes violated Dr. Redd’s constitutional rights by: (1) providing false information to obtain a warrant for Dr. Redd’s arrest and authorizing a search of his home; (2) using the illegally obtained search warrant to search Dr. Redd’s home; (3) using excessive force against Dr. Redd primarily by sending approximately 140 agents, many of whom .were heavily armed and clothed in flak jackets, to raid and search Dr. Redd’s home; (4) violating Dr. Redd’s equal protection rights; and (5) violating Dr. Redd’s right to due process.

Defendants move to dismiss, arguing qualified immunity shields them from Dr. Redd’s claims. After careful consideration and for the reasons stated below, the court finds that Agent Love and Agent Barnes [1271]*1271are entitled to qualified immunity on Plaintiffs’ first, second, fourth, and fifth causes of action because Dr. Redd has failed to allege enough facts to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. But, the court finds that Dr. Redd has pleaded facts that, if true, are sufficient to show that officials violated Dr. Redd’s clearly established constitutional right of protection against excessive force when Defendants employed between about 80 to 140 agents to raid and search Dr. Redd’s home.

Accordingly, the court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendants’ motion to dismiss, and DISMISSES Plaintiffs’ first, second, fourth, and fifth causes of action.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND1

I. The Cottonwood Wash Incident

In January 1996, the Redds visited and collected Native American artifacts from an area they believed to be privately owned. Unbeknownst to the Redds, the BLM map they relied on was inaccurately drawn. The Redds were, in fact, collecting Native American artifacts from Cottonwood Wash, a Hopi ancestral burial ground. The Redds were arrested and charged with desecration of a human body. The arrest ultimately resulted in Mrs. Redd entering an Alford Plea in which she admitted no criminal conduct, and agreed to pay $10,000 to settle a civil suit related to the act. The state dropped all charges against Dr. Redd.

II. Operation Cerberus

In October 2006, the FBI and BLM began a joint investigation into the looting of Native American artifacts on public lands dubbed Operation Cerberus. Agent Love was one of the operation’s principle architects. As part of Operation Cerberus, FBI and BLM agents enlisted as a confidential informant Ted Gardiner, a Native American artifacts collector and dealer. The Redds allege that Agent Love used Mr. Gardiner to target the Redds because Agent Love felt the Redds had not been punished for the January 1996 Cottonwood Wash incident. Mr. Gardiner met with Mrs. Jeanne Redd, Dr. Redd’s wife, on several occasions to trade artifacts. Dr. Redd was also present for some of the meetings. During those trades, Mr. Gardiner would ask Mrs. Redd to identify where she found her artifacts by pointing out the areas on a map. The government used hidden cameras and recorders to obtain footage and audio of the meetings.

Relying on these statements from Mrs. Redd, which confirmed that she and her husband removed various artifacts from public or Native American lands, federal agents sought a warrant to arrest the Redds and search their property. Dr. Redd alleges that Agent Love’s valuation of the artifacts obtained from the Redds played an integral part in the warrant application, and contributed to the severity of the criminal charges filed against the Redds. For example, one artifact obtained from Dr. Redd was a bird pendant shell that Dr. Redd found in Arizona. Dr. Redd contends that Mr. Gardiner and Agent Love willfully inflated the shell’s purchase price from between $75 and $100 to $1,000 in order to enhance the charges that could be filed against the Redds.

[1272]*1272In total, Operation Cerberus resulted in twenty four arrests. Sixteen of those arrests, including Dr. Redd’s, occurred on June 10, 2009 in Blanding, Utah.

III. The Raid

Agents arrived at Dr. Redd’s home in Blanding, Utah around 6:40 a.m. on June 10, 2009. Though the exact number of agents present at Dr. Redd’s home is not specified, approximately 80 agents raided targets in Blanding, including Dr. Redd’s home. The agents at Dr. Redd’s home were armed with .assault rifles and- clothed in flak jackets.

Dr. Redd returned home from an early-morning visit to his clinic soon after the agents arrived. As Dr. Redd exited his car, he was restrained, manhandled, and handcuffed. Agent Barnes then sequestered Dr. Redd in Dr. Redd’s garage and interrogated him over the course of four hours. Agent Barnes accused Dr. Redd of unlawful activity, called him a liar, taunted him with revocation of his medical license for felony convictions, and told him that he would never practice medicine again. Also, in an apparent reference to the previous state charges, Agent Barnes pointed to a set of gardening tools and asked Dr. Redd with which shovel he liked to dig up bodies.

At some point during the interrogation, Dr. Redd needed to use the restroom. Agent Barnes ordered two unidentified agents to escort Dr. Redd to the restroom. Although the restroom was spacious, the two agents stood six inches from Dr. Redd’s knees while he defecated. After Dr. Redd finished, the agents refused to remove his handcuffs so he could properly clean himself.

IV. The Search

Meanwhile, the 80 or more agents sequestered the remaining members of the Redd family in separate corners of their home. These agents then combed through Dr. Redd’s home looking for and catalogu-ing artifacts and evidence. In the end, the agents collected 112 boxes of materials. During the raid, Agent Love spoke to other agents on his cell phone and urged them to come to Dr. Redd’s home. Dr. Redd alleges that approximately 140 agents came through the home during the raid on June 10, 2009.

V.Procedural History

Dr. Redd tragically committed suicide the day after he was arrested. His estate and his heirs brought this Bivens action against the federal agents involved in Operation Cerberus, alleging that the agents violated Dr. Redd’s constitutional rights.

ANALYSIS

Dr. Redd asserts five causes of action against Defendants Agent Love and Agent Barnes:

1. Agent Love knowingly provided false information in order to obtain a warrant for Dr. Redd’s arrest and the search of Dr. Redd’s home;
2. The illegally obtained warrant resulted in the illegal search of Dr. Redd’s home;
3. Agent Love and Agent Barnes violated Dr. Redd’s protections from the use of excessive force;
4. Agent Love violated Dr. Redd’s right to equal protection of the laws; and
5. Agent Love and Agent Barnes violated Dr. Redd’s right to due process.

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Estate of Redd v. Love, 62 F. Supp. 3d 1268, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 147596, 2014 WL 5305940 (D. Utah 2014).

62 F. Supp. 3d 1268 (Estate of Redd v. Love) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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