Flanagan v. City of Dallas

48 F. Supp. 3d 941, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133982, 2014 WL 4747952
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 23, 2014
DocketNo. 3:13-CV-4231-M-BK
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 48 F. Supp. 3d 941 (Flanagan v. City of Dallas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Flanagan v. City of Dallas, 48 F. Supp. 3d 941, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133982, 2014 WL 4747952 (N.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER ACCEPTING FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

BARBARA M.G. LYNN, District Judge.

The United States Magistrate Judge made Findings, Conclusions and a Recommendation in this case. No objections were filed. The District Court reviewed the proposed Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation for plain error. Finding none, the Court ACCEPTS the Findings, Conclusions and Recommendation of the United States Magistrate Judge.

Defendant City of Dallas’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED in part. Plaintiffs’ racial profiling and excessive force claims based on a policy of racial profiling are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. Plaintiffs may replead such claims in an effort to state a claim by October 6, 2014. Defendants’ claims under the Fourteenth Amendment, not the Fourth Amendment, are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE. The balance of Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is DENIED.

FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION

RENÉE HARRIS TOLIVER, United States Magistrate Judge.

This case has been referred to the undersigned for pretrial management. (Doc. 28). The cause is now before the Court for a recommendation on Defendant City of Dallas’s Motion Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) to Dismiss the Plaintiffs’ Federal Claims. (Doc. 19). For the reasons that follow, the Court recommends that the motion be GRANTED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs’ state and federal constitutional claims against Defendant City of Dallas (“the City”) arise out of the shooting death of Clinton Allen, Plaintiffs’ child, during a struggle with Dallas Police Department (“DPD”) Officer Clark Staller. Plaintiffs allege in their first amended complaint [945]*945that on the day of the incident in March 2013, Allen had been visiting Mandria Kelly at her apartment and made plans to return later. (Doc. 15 at 4). After Alen left the residence and then returned, Kelly became upset and called 911 at 12:26 a.m. to report that “someone was knocking on my door that wouldn’t leave,” that she had two children in the house, and that the man was not armed. (Doc. 15 at 4; Doc. 15-1 at 3). Plaintiffs assert, and attach to their amended complaint, Kelly’s supporting statement that Officer Staller arrived at the apartment complex and before Kelly gave him any information or a description of Alen, Staller saw an unidentified person walking towards the parking lot, at which point he initiated a foot pursuit, and Kelly heard gunshots 30 seconds later. (Doc. 15 at 4; Doc. 15-1 at 2-3). Plaintiffs allege that Officer Staller had no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to believe that A-len was committing or had committed a crime and when Officer Staller arrived, Alen was attempting to leave. (Doc. 15 at 5). Plaintiffs additionally note that the DPD “shooting summary” states that after Officer Staller gave Alen verbal commands, Alen complied, and Officer Staller bolstered his weapon and drew a taser. (Doc. 15 at 11). At some point,during their confrontation, Officer Staller used the taser on Alen and then shot him. (Doc. 15 at 10).

Plaintiffs additionally attach to their amended complaint the eyewitness state7 ment of Vickie McKnighNSimpson, who states that Officer Staller told Alen to raise his hands several times, Alen complied and did not act aggressively or fight, but Officer Staller started shooting him repeatedly from several feet away while Officer Staller was backing up. (Doc. 15 at 5; Doc. 15-2 at 2). McKnight-Simpson avers that she overheard Officer Staller tell another officer that he “had to unload and reload another clip.” (Doc. 15-2 at 2). Plaintiffs claim that according to McKnighi^Simpson and other witnesses, Alen was complying with Officer Staller’s instructions by walking towards him with his hands visible, but Officer Staller nevertheless shot him seven times even though Officer Staller was not in any danger, and Alen had done nothing to cause Officer Staller to fear for his life. (Doc. 15 at 5-6). Plaintiffs aver that there were no signs of visible injuries or bruises to Defendant Staller’s body to suggest that the use of deadly force was justified. (Doe. 15 at 11).

Plaintiffs list several instances of Officer Staller’s misconduct and complaints against him and contend that the City, the DPD, and DPD Police Chief David Brown knew of Officer Staller’s prior misbehavior and lack of training but did nothing to protect Alen and others. (Doc. 15 at 7). Plaintiffs assert that the City and the DPD have a longstanding record of not providing DPD officers with adequate training and not preventing excessive force and extrajudicial killings by DPD officers. (Doc. 15 at 7). Plaintiffs aver that Dallas City Councilman Dwaine Caraway recently confirmed that the City Council and the City delegated policymaking authority for officer training to Chief Brown, and Chief Brown admitted that there is a need for additional officer training. (Doc. 15 at 7-8). Plaintiffs assert that the lack of officer training has resulted in (1) numerous unarmed citizens, particularly minorities, being killed or injured by DPD officers; (2) Dallas being ranked second in the nation in police misconduct incidents; and (3) numerous grand jury investigations and DPD internal affairs investigations. (Doc. 15 at 8).

Plaintiffs allege in the first count of their complaint, under the heading “Excessive Force” that Officer Staller unreasonably used excessive force against Alen [946]*946pursuant to the customs and policies of the DPD regarding the use of deadly force as authorized and/or ratified by Chief Brown. (Doc. 15 at 14). In Count II, under the heading “Racial Profiling,” Plaintiffs allege that the DPD has official customs, policies, and practices authorized and/or ratified by Chief Brown to treat African-Americans cruelly and use deadly force regardless of the circumstances, and Officer Staller acted pursuant to such customs and treated Allen in the manner that he did because Allen was black. (Doc. 15 at 14-15). In Count III, under the heading “Failure to Train,” and elsewhere in their complaint, Plaintiffs allege that the City deprived Allen of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights by failing to provide proper training to DPD officers in the use of deadly force and foot pursuits. (Doc. 15 at I, 3, 15-16, 18). They assert that the City’s failure to adequately train its employees in these areas reflects a deliberate indifference by the City and Chief Brown to the rights of the City’s inhabitants. (Doc. 15 at 16). In short, Plaintiffs assert that the actual practice or custom of the DPD is to “shoot first and ask questions later.” (Doc. 15 at 16). Plaintiffs conclude that the City’s failure to properly train DPD officers under Chief Brown’s authority was the proximate cause of Allen’s death. (Doc. 15 at 18). The City has now moved to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) (6).1 (Doc. 19).

II. APPLICABLE LAW

A plaintiff fails to state a claim for relief under Rule 12(b)(6) when the complaint does not contain “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). In order to overcome a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a plaintiffs complaint should “contain either direct allegations on every material point necessary to sustain a recovery ...

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48 F. Supp. 3d 941, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133982, 2014 WL 4747952, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/flanagan-v-city-of-dallas-txnd-2014.