Jackson v. City of New York

29 F. Supp. 3d 161, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34769, 2014 WL 1010785
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 17, 2014
DocketNo. 11-CV-3028 (PKC)
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 29 F. Supp. 3d 161 (Jackson v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. City of New York, 29 F. Supp. 3d 161, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34769, 2014 WL 1010785 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

PAMELA K. CHEN, District Judge:

Pending before the Court is the motion for partial summary judgment of the Defendant City of New York (“City”) and the individual police officer defendants (“Individual Defendants”) (collectively, “Defendants”). Plaintiff, a New York City police officer, brought suit alleging claims arising from an incident at his home in which he was arrested and detained while off-duty by Defendants. Defendants presently move to dismiss all of Plaintiffs claims with the exception of Plaintiffs excessive force, and related state law assault and battery, claims, which Defendants admit pose a disputed issue of material fact concerning the force used. (Dkt. 58 at 2 n. 1.) For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion is granted in part, and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

I. The Party Incident

On August 21, 2010, Plaintiff, a police officer in the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), held a 21st birthday party for his daughter at his home beginning around 5:30 p.m. (Dkt. 56 (“Def. St”) ¶¶ 7-11.)1 A disc jockey played music from the backyard of Plaintiffs home from approximately 7:00 p.m. to midnight. Alcohol was served at the party; Plaintiff had one drink that evening. (Def. St. ¶¶ 12-17; Dkt. 57-5 at 22.)

At approximately 12:30 a.m. that night, an argument erupted outside Plaintiffs home between a party guest and an unknown man. (Def. St. ¶ 19.) The unidentified man brandished a gun during the argument, after which approximately 10 to 15 other individuals arrived with bats and other weapons. (Def. St. ¶ 20; Dkt. 57-4 at 69.) Several people at the party called 911 to report the man with the gun. (Def. St. ¶ 21; Dkt. 60-2 (Ex. 5A1) at 1.)

Plaintiff went outside and interceded in the argument. He successfully diffused the situation by directing the individuals with the weapons away from his home and down the street. (Def. St. ¶ 22; Dkt. 57-4 at 68-69.) Plaintiff followed them down the street to ensure that they were gone from the area. (Def. St. ¶ 22; Dkt. 57-4 at 68-69.) Plaintiff then returned to his house to find the party guests “more or less in the street.” (Dkt. 57-4 at 69.)

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Officer John Czulada and Sergeant Stanley MacNear [167]*167arrived at Plaintiffs house in response to the 911 call reporting the man with the gun. (Dkt. 57-4 at 64.) Plaintiffs domestic partner, Charlene Strong, who had called 911, told the officers that she was the “lady of the house” and was “the one that called for help.” (Dkt. 60-2 (Ex. 11B) at ECF 52.)2

After the officers were on the scene, Tiffanie Johnson, Plaintiffs niece, “stuck her head out [] the [front] door” and yelled to Plaintiff, “they are fighting” because two individuals had started fighting inside the house. (Def. St. ¶¶ 24-25; Dkt. 57-4 at 72; Dkt. 60-3 (Ex. 12) at 30; Dkt. 57-5 at 32.)3 After Johnson yelled that there was a fight, Officer Czulada ran into the house, with Plaintiff following closely after him. (Dkt. 60-3 (Ex. 13A) at 75 and at ECF 12; Dkt. 60-3 (Ex. 12) at 34.) Other officers on the scene entered Plaintiffs home after hearing screams coming from inside the house. (Dkt. 60-2 at ECF 70; Dkt. 60-3 (Ex. 12) at 34.)

When Sergeant MacNear arrived at the scene, bystanders approached him and reported that “there had been a fight and there was a man that had a gun.” (Dkt. 60-2 (Ex. 11D) at ECF 68.) Officer Czula-da also believed that the officers were responding to a call about a man with a gun. (Dkt. 60-2 at ECF 62.)

The scene inside the house was chaotic after the police entered.4 Johnson saw one of the officers choking Plaintiff. (Dkt. 60-3 (Ex. 12) at 34.) Plaintiff was eventually detained, placed in handcuffs, and transported to the 113th Precinct in Jamaica, Queens. (Def. St. ¶29.) Three other individuals from the party also were arrested. (Def. St. ¶ 30.) The officers did not formally «process Plaintiffs detention as an arrest. (Def. St. ¶ 34.)

The parties dispute whether Plaintiff identified himself as a police officer to the responding officers, resisted arrest, or fought with the responding officers. Whereas Defendants argue that Plaintiff failed to identify himself as a police officer (Dkt. 58 at 9-10), Plaintiff maintains that he announced several times that he was a member of the NYPD before, during, and after the altercation. (See Dkt. 57-4 at 96.)5 Plaintiffs claim is corroborated by [168]*168several other non-party witnesses, including Johnson and Strong. (See, e.g., Dkt. 60-5 at ECF 18-19; Dkt. 60-6 at ECF 6-7.) On the other hand, several police officers testified6 that Plaintiff did not so identify himself or at least that they did not hear him do so. (See Dkt. 60-5 at ECF 46; Dkt. 60-7 at ECF 25-26.) One non-party witness also testified that Plaintiff did not identify himself as a police officer, in part, because he was being choked and was therefore unable to do so. (Dkt. 60-5 at ECF 66; Dkt. 60-7 at ECF 63; Dkt. 60-8 at ECF 7.)

II. Posfr-Arrest Investigation and Disposition

Once at the station house, Plaintiff was placed in the youth officer’s room, fell to the floor, and noticed that his hand was injured and bleeding. (Def. St. ¶¶ 31-33.) Officers called an ambulance and Plaintiff was taken to Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens, New York. (Def. St. ¶ 33.) Following treatment, Plaintiff was returned to the precinct and instructed to remain at the precinct by officers from the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau (“Internal Affairs”) and Investigations Division. (Def. St. ¶ 34.) That day, Internal Affairs placed Plaintiff on modified duty and his service weapon was confiscated. (Def. St. ¶ 35.)

Following an investigation, Internal Affairs recommended that Plaintiff be charged with “failing to identify himself as a pólice officer, making physical contact with a uniformed member of the service[,] and resisting being placed in handcuffs.” (Def. St. ¶ 37.) Internal Affairs also censured Defendants Czulada and Jesus Tel-lado for failing to comply with departmental arrest procedures. (Def. St. ¶ 38.) Plaintiff “rejected” the charges, which remain the subject of an ongoing internal NYPD trial. (Def. St. ¶ 39.)7

Plaintiff sustained a broken hand as a result of the party incident and arrest. (Dkt. 57-4 at 35.) During his subsequent rehabilitation and recovery, Plaintiff continued to work on modified duty. (Dkt. 57-4 at 33.) In approximately December 2010, an NYPD doctor examined Plaintiff and cleared him to return to full duty. (Dkt. 57-4 at 36.) Although unclear from the record, it appears that Plaintiff remains employed with the NYPD as a police officer on modified duty pending the resolution of his departmental trial. (See Dkt. 57-4 at 52.)

Plaintiff initiated this action on June 24, 2011. (Dkt. 1.) Plaintiffs, amended complaint (Dkt. 30) alleges a litany of state and federal claims as set forth below:

Counts 1, 2, 14, and 15 allege racial employment discrimination under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, and New York State and City human rights laws.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
29 F. Supp. 3d 161, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34769, 2014 WL 1010785, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-city-of-new-york-nyed-2014.