George Trammell v. Kevin Fruge

868 F.3d 332, 2017 WL 3528437, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15529
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedAugust 17, 2017
Docket16-50981
StatusPublished
Cited by179 cases

This text of 868 F.3d 332 (George Trammell v. Kevin Fruge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George Trammell v. Kevin Fruge, 868 F.3d 332, 2017 WL 3528437, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15529 (5th Cir. 2017).

Opinions

EDWARD C. PRADO, Circuit Judge: .

Plaintiff-Appellant George Trammel sued Defendants-Appellees Kevin Fruge, Mike Krogmann, Brian Neveu, E.F. Delá-rosa, Hunter Webb, Marciano Garza, Shelby Ingles, and the City of Round Rock, Texas (“Round Rock”) under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 alleging that the Defendants violated his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights during his arrest on January 21, 2013. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Defendants. We AFFIRM in part and REVERSE and REMAND in part.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Facts

At approximately 12:00 a.m. on January 21, 2013, the Round Rock Police Department received a 911 call about an individual who had crashed his- motorcycle after leaving the El New Goal Post Club (“the Goal Post”) and was believed to be intoxicated. Police officers were dispatched to the scene.

Officer Kevin Fruge was the first to arrive and. was directed to a parking lot across the street from the Goal Post where the suspect, George Trammel, was located. Fruge testified that when he.pulled into the parking lot he observed a man in a dark jacket standing near a parked motorcycle.1 Officer Fruge contends that on arrival he “immediately detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from [Trammel’s] breath.”2

On exiting his vehicle, Officer Fruge instructed Trammel to “step away from the motorcycle.” Because he was on the phone and is hearing impaired, Trammel did not respond to Officer Fruge’s first command. Then Officer Fruge again requested that Trammel step away from the motorcycle. This time Trammel responded, “What?” Officer Fruge then raised his voice and commanded that Trammel “step away from the motorcycle” a third time.. Trammel replied “okay” and complied with Officer Fruge’s request.

Officer Fruge and Trammel then had the following exchange:

OFFICER FRUGE: ‘What’s goin’ on? What’s goin’ on?”
.TRAMMEL: “Nothing. I parked my bike.”
OFFICER FRUGE: “You'parked it?”
TRAMMEL: “Yeah.”
[337]*337OFFICER FRUGE: “Did you wreck it?”
TRAMMEL: “No. I didn’t wreck my bike.”
OFFICER FRUGE: “Let me ask you a question, sir, How much have you had to drink tonight?”
TRAMMEL: “A whole lot of nothin’.”
OFFICER FRUGE: “A whole lot of nothing? How much is that?”
TRAMMEL: “A whole lot of nothin’.”
OFFICER FRUGE: “How much is that, sir?”
TRAMMEL: “I’m not going to answer.”
OFFICER FRUGE: “Huh?”
TRAMMEL: “I’m not going to answer.”

As the dash cam video confirms, Trammel remained calm 'throughout this interaction.

Officer Fruge then asked Trammel, “Well, can you walk towards me?” Trammel declined and said, “No.” Officer Fruge then commanded Trammel to place his hands behind his back. Trammel again told Officer Fruge, “I’m not answering your questions,” and did not comply with Officer Fruge’s request. At this point, Trammel took off the jacket he was wearing because he felt hot and said, “I’m not going to jail.”

At this point, Officer Fruge believed he had probable cause to arrest Trammel for public intoxication, and he grabbed Trammel’s right arm as he told him to put his hands behind his back. Trammel immediately pulled back and told Officer Fruge that it hurt and not to grab him there.3 Officer Ingles then grabbed Trammel’s left arm, but Trammel again pulled away.4 Officer Fruge executed a knee strike on Trammel’s right thigh, and Trammel lost his balance. Officer Garza put Trammel in a headlock as he, Officer Neveu, and Officer Fruge pulled Trammel to the ground.5 Trammel states that he initially had his “arms in front of [his] body ..'. [because he] was trying to prevent [his] fall,” but that the officers were grabbing at his arms and landed on top of his body so that he landed face first on the pavement. Trammel claims that at some point when he was on the ground he “lost memory,” but prior to this, he recalled a brief period of time where he could not breathe.

While on the ground, the officers tried to grab hold of Trammel’s arms, which were underneath him. The officers repeatedly asked Trammel to put his hands behind his back, and he apparently refused to comply.6 After the officers tackled Trammel, he can first be. heard yelling that he is a cop, and later, as the officers command him to “stop resisting,” Trammel can be repeatedly heard yelling that his arm is fused. During this time, the officers [338]*338administered knee strikes to Trammel’s arms, thighs, and ribs so that they could subdue and handcuff him.7

Six days after the arrest, Trammel received a medical exam and was diagnosed with “mildly displaced right LI, L2, and L3 transverse process fractures.” Since the incident, Trammel has stopped riding his motorcycle, hunting, sailing, fishing, playing with his grandchildren the way he used to, and has “very limited mobility.” Trammel has also had to get a “new vehicle with a scooter” and uses a wheelchair while at home.

B. Procedural History

On January 21, 2015, Trammel filed suit against the City of Round Rock and the above-named police officers pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1988 alleging violations of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Trammel specifically claimed that the officers violated his constitutional right to be free from unlawful restraint and excessive force and that Round Rock is liable for its failure to supervise and adequately train its officers. On June 29, 2016, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of Round Rock and Officers Fruge, Neveu, Delarosa, Webb, and Garza. On July 12, 2016, the court also granted summary judgment in favor of Sergeant Krogmann and Officer Ingles after giving Trammel an opportunity to offer evidence in support of his claims against those parties. This appeal followed.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

“This court reviews de novo the district court’s resolution of legal issues on a motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity.” Hanks v. Rogers, 853 F.3d 738, 743 (5th Cir. 2017) (quoting Griggs v. Brewer, 841 F.3d 308, 311 (5th Cir. 2016)). Summary judgment must be granted “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
868 F.3d 332, 2017 WL 3528437, 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 15529, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-trammell-v-kevin-fruge-ca5-2017.