Gutierrez v. City of Indianapolis

886 F. Supp. 2d 984, 2012 WL 3308994, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113603
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedAugust 13, 2012
DocketCase No. 1:11-cv-0185-TWP-DML
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 886 F. Supp. 2d 984 (Gutierrez v. City of Indianapolis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gutierrez v. City of Indianapolis, 886 F. Supp. 2d 984, 2012 WL 3308994, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113603 (S.D. Ind. 2012).

Opinion

ENTRY ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

TANYA WALTON PRATT, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. This dispute arises from allegations by Plaintiff, Miguel Gutierrez, (“Mr. Gutierrez”) against Defendants, The City of Indianapolis (“the City”), Michael R. Kermon (“Officer Kermon”), and Jason M. Thalheimer (“Officer Thalheimer”) (collectively, “Defendants”), alleging violations of his constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. § 19831 and state law claims of false arrest and battery. Specifically, Mr. Gutierrez alleges Officer Kermon violated his Fourth Amendment rights under the Constitution by unreasonably seizing him, unlawfully arresting him, and using excessive force in the process of arresting him. Additionally, he argues that Officer Thalheimer’s failure to intervene and prevent Officer Kermon from infringing on his constitutional rights is a violation of § 1983. Furthermore, Mr. Gutierrez alleges Defendants violated his equal protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. Lastly the Mr. Gutierrez asserts various tort claims and false arrest claims against the City. Defendants counter by arguing that they are entitled to qualified immunity from the federal claims, and the remaining state claims are barred by the Indiana Tort Claims Act or fail for lack of evidence. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judg[989]*989ment (Dkt. 39) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

I. BACKGROUND

Because this Entry addresses a motion for summary judgment, the following facts are either undisputed or reflect evidence in the light most reasonably favorable to the non-moving party, Gutierrez. See Luster v. III. Dep’t of Com., 652 F.3d 726, 728 (7th Cir.2011). On March 8, 2009, at approximately 9:40 p.m. Officer Kermon of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (“IMPD”) received a dispatch directing him to go to 428 North Forest Avenue in Indianapolis, Indiana to investigate a report of two African American males chasing a third individual. Officer Kermon then proceeded to that address in a fully-marked IMPD police car. Once Officer Kermon arrived at 428 North Forest Avenue, he approached the house going southbound along the road and observed Mr. Gutierrez near the entryway of 428 North Forest Avenue. Mr. Gutierrez appeared to be walking northbound along the street. As Officer Kermon drove his marked police car along North Forest Avenue, he proceeded slowly because he was not sure “what kind of danger there might have been[.]”

Mr. Gutierrez began walking northbound on North Forest Avenue at approximately 9:30 p.m. after performing maintenance work on his commercial truck.2 As he walked northbound on the west side of the street, he was carrying a golf club with him for protection because it was dark and “because this area was a very high crime area.” Mr. Gutierrez testified that he observed a vehicle parked along the west side of the street ahead of him with its headlights shining. Fearing for his own safety and in an attempt to avoid any problems stemming from the parked vehicle, Mr. Gutierrez decided to cross the street and walk along the east side walk. While attempting to cross the street, Mr. Gutierrez observed the slow moving car coming toward him in the southbound lane. Notably, Mr. Gutierrez did not know the vehicle was a police car driven by a police officer because it was dark, the car’s headlights were turned off, and there was a row of parked cars obstructing his view. Concerned about the slow moving vehicle, Mr. Gutierrez immediately ceased his attempt to cross North Forest Avenue and returned to the west side sidewalk.

After Mr. Gutierrez returned to the sidewalk, he heard someone shout behind him, “Hey, you, stop right there. Hey, you, stop.”3 Dkt. 46-1 at 75:19-22. Mr. Gutierrez did not initially heed to these commands because he did not recognize the voice, nor did Officer Kermon identify himself as a police officer. Officer Kermon testified that he approached Mr. Gutierrez under the premise that he may be the victim from his dispatch.4 According to Officer Kermon, Mr. Gutierrez’s clothes were dirty, and he appeared “clearly agitated!,]” “a little animated!,]” “swaying!,]” and lacked “full control” of his leg. Wflien [990]*990it appeared that Mr. Gutierrez was not complying with his commands, Officer Kermon ran in front of Mr. Gutierrez to stop him. Officer Kermon then pointed his gun and shined a flashlight at Mr. Gutierrez.

Officer Kermon ordered Mr. Gutierrez to “get on the ground, raise your hands,” and to “drop the stick.” Due to the flashlight shining in his face Mr. Gutierrez initially hesitated because he did not yet realize he was being confronted by a police officer. However, at some moment during the encounter, Officer Kermon’s flashlight lowered slightly giving Mr. Gutierrez a clearer view of the officer’s badge and uniform and he began to follow Officer Kermon’s orders. According to the complaint, Mr. Gutierrez immediately threw the golf club backwards.5 In the process of throwing the golf club, Mr. Gutierrez claimed that he said, “Hey, what’s going on? I live right there[,]” pointing to a house further north along the road from their position. Dkt. 46-1 at 77:16-17. The complaint alleges that “[before] he could finish his sentence, [Officer Kermon] raised his hand close to Mr. Gutierrez’s face, and sprayed him directly in the eyes with OC/CS spray.” After being blinded by the chemical spray, Mr. Gutierrez was immediately forced to the ground by Officer Kermon. Once on the ground, Officer Kermon attempted to secure Mr. Gutierrez’s arms so that he could handcuff him. Officer Kermon testified that Mr. Gutierrez’s left hand was between his stomach and the ground, and he believed Mr. Gutierrez was resisting his attempts to free his arm. At this moment, Officer Thalheimer arrived and assisted Officer Kermon in extracting Mr. Gutierrez’s arm from underneath his stomach. Officer Thalheimer gave a knee strike to one of Mr. Gutierrez’s legs while attempting to remove his left arm from underneath him. Mr. Gutierrez was then handcuffed by one of the officers. Immediately after he was handcuffed, Mr. Gutierrez felt a strong kick to his stomach which was immediately followed by another kick.6 The pain of the first kick caused Mr. Gutierrez to curl his body.

After being kicked, Mr. Gutierrez began to verbally protest the officers’ treatment of him to other officers in the area. During his protest, Mr. Gutierrez asked what right did the officers have to treat him like this and complained that he had been kicked by the officers. According to Mr. Gutierrez, Officer Kermon admitted to kicking him and when he asked Officer Kermon, “do you have a right to do what you did to me?”, officer Kermon responded “Of course, I can do whatever I want to you, you filthy Mexican.” According to Mr. Gutierrez, each time he raised his head off the ground in an attempt to see what was going on, Officer Thalheimer would put his boot on his head “stomping” it very hard “back to the ground”.

Eventually, Mr. Gutierrez was arrested and brought to the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center.

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Related

Untitled Case
N.D. Indiana, 2026
Miguel Gutierrez v. Michael Kermon
722 F.3d 1003 (Seventh Circuit, 2013)

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Bluebook (online)
886 F. Supp. 2d 984, 2012 WL 3308994, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 113603, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gutierrez-v-city-of-indianapolis-insd-2012.