JACKSON v. ROSEN

District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania·Decided August 28, 2020·No. 2:20-cv-02842·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

THEODORE JACKSON, JR., CIVIL ACTION

Plaintiff, NO. 20-2842-KSM v.

EDWARD ROSEN,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM MARSTON, J. August 27, 2020 Pro se Plaintiff Theodore Jackson, Jr., a prisoner incarcerated at SCI-Phoenix, has filed an amended complaint asserting federal constitutional law claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. Nos. 7, 8.) In his original complaint, filed on May 21, 2020, Jackson sued only one defendant, Edward Rosen, who was identified as a detective with the Marple Township Police Department and the Delaware County Criminal Investigations Division (“C.I.D.”). (Doc. No. 2.) In a prior Memorandum and Order filed on June 26, 2020 (the “June Memorandum”), the Court dismissed the complaint in part with prejudice and in part without prejudice, and gave Jackson leave to amend if he was able to cure the defects identified by the Court. (See Doc. Nos. 4, 5.) On July 27, 2020, Jackson filed his amended complaint, which names two new defendants, in addition to Rosen: (1) Nicholas Coffin, who is also identified as an officer with the Marple Township Police Department, and (2) the Marple Township Police Department. Defendants Rosen and Coffin are each named in their individual and official capacities. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will dismiss all of the claims brought against the Police Department, along with certain claims brought against Defendants Rosen and Coffin. The remaining claims will be served on Defendants Rosen and Coffin for a responsive pleading. I. Factual Allegations

The allegations in the amended complaint are similar to those asserted in the original complaint.1 Taking those allegations as true, the Court finds as follows. On June 1, 2018, Jackson was arrested on multiple drug-related charges. (Doc. No. 7 at 12.2) Jackson claims the arrest was made at gunpoint by unidentified “DelCo C.I.D.” officers and that the officers slammed him to the ground face-first, handcuffed him, and placed a knee on his back and neck for approximately two to three minutes. (Id.) Although Jackson does not identify any of the officers by name, he later refers to Defendant Rosen as the “arresting officer,” and Rosen drafted the accompanying arrest report. (Id. at 12, 19.) Jackson asserts that the arrest was made pursuant to an “arrest warrant, body warrant & search warrant issued by Marple Magistrate Judge Lay also for a warrant from state parole of commit and detain.” (Id. at 12.)

Although Jackson does not attach a copy of the arrest warrant to the amended complaint, Rosen’s arrest report — which is attached — lists May 15, 2018 as the “crime date.” (Id. at 19.) Immediately after the arrest, Rosen executed a search warrant on an apartment in Alden, Pennsylvania and found drug contraband.3 (Id.) Jackson claims that the search was improper

1 Although many of the underlying facts remain the same, Jackson asserts claims for excessive force for the first time in the amended complaint. The Court will permit these new claims, but we note that there were absolutely no allegations of the officers slamming him to the ground face-first, handcuffing him, and placing a knee on his back and neck for approximately two to three minutes until the amended complaint was filed on July 27, 2020. 2 The Court adopts the pagination supplied by the CM/ECF docketing system. 3 The amended complaint states that the search was conducted while Rosen and Jackson were “en route” to the police department, but the arrest report attached identifies the Alden apartment as the “arrest location.” (Doc. No. 7 at 12, 19.) because the search warrant relied on false representations given by Rosen in the supporting affidavit — namely that Jackson had agreed to sell heroin to Rosen and a confidential informant, and that Jackson owned the Alden apartment and likely stored drugs, records of sale, and related items there.4 (Id. at 12–13.) According to Jackson, the apartment was actually owned by Greg

Lassiter, a white male, who was present for the search, admitted to having contraband, and knew about the contraband found by the officers. (Id. at 12.) Lassiter was not arrested. (Id.) After the search, Rosen took Jackson to the Marple Township Police Department and began questioning him. (Id. at 13.) During the interrogation, Jackson requested counsel and stated that he wished to remain silent, but Rosen continued interrogating him. (Id.) Rosen allegedly told Jackson he did not need a lawyer because they were “just talking” and promised not to run a parole detainer search and to let Jackson go if he answered his questions. (Id.) Jackson claims that Rosen then asked him whether he lived at the Alden apartment, to which Jackson says that he responded, “No I only slept there a few times.” (Id.) After that, Jackson refused to answer any more questions and asked Rosen if he was going to “book” Jackson. (Id.)

Rosen responded that booking Jackson was a “problem” because “state parole will find out” that Jackson had been arrested, and Rosen would have to hold Jackson at the Police Department instead of using him as an informant. (Id.) After this exchange, Rosen spoke with a superior before returning and telling Jackson that he was being released. (Id. at 14.) Rosen qualified, however, that Jackson was not to “leave

4 In this portion of the amended complaint, Jackson states that Rosen misrepresented that Jackson was not the owner of the apartment, never stated Jackson committed crimes at the apartment, and did not state or confirm that Jackson was a drug dealer. (Doc. No. 7 at 12–13 (emphasis added).) It is unclear whether Jackson means that Rosen made these negative representations or that the positive representations of these facts were false. However Rosen’s underlying affidavit states these representations in the affirmative, i.e., that Jackson was the owner of the apartment, that he did commit crimes there, and that he was a drug dealer. (Id. at 18.) The Court will construe this allegation liberally to read that Rosen misrepresented his affirmative assertions to obtain the search warrant. Del[aware] Co[unty]” and was expected to “answer [Rosen’s] calls . . . and meet up when you[’re] told.” (Id.) Skeptical, Jackson asked whether Rosen was “being crafty,” and Rosen again explained that he could not “follow protocol and procedures”— i.e., see “a D.A. to ok [him using Jackson as an informant] and then . . . see a judge to ok it”— because Jackson “has

warrants and is on state parole.” (Id. at 14.) Rosen then released Jackson. He did not file formal charges, and Jackson never saw a magistrate judge before being released. (Id.) Jackson asserts that from that date until July 20, 2018, Rosen used “physical force, coercion, fear, and intimidation” to force Jackson into acting as his confidential informant. (Id. at 15.) Rosen frequently ordered Jackson to meet him at a catholic church in Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania, or behind a McDonalds in Darby, Pennsylvania. (Id. at 14.) At one point in late June 2018, Rosen also took Jackson to meet with Delaware County District Attorney Kat Copeland. (Id. at 14–15 (referring to “Kat Kopeland”).) Copeland gave Jackson papers to sign in order that law enforcement could listen to Jackson’s phone calls. Jackson asked for a lawyer to review the papers. (Id. at 15.) Copeland allegedly told Jackson he could “sign it and go home

or don’t and you go to jail.” (Id.) Jackson signed the papers. (Id.) A few weeks later, on July 20, 2018, Jackson had a friend drop him off near the catholic church in Clifton Heights for another meeting with Rosen.

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