Jackson v. Wilkins

852 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2012 WL 1067165, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42639
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 28, 2012
DocketFile No. 1:09-cv-553
StatusPublished

This text of 852 F. Supp. 2d 890 (Jackson v. Wilkins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jackson v. Wilkins, 852 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2012 WL 1067165, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42639 (W.D. Mich. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge.

There are three sets of defendants in this case, each of which filed for summary judgment. (Dkt. Nos. 95, 115, 120.) In a prior opinion, the Court granted the Medic One Defendants’ motion for summary judgment on all of Plaintiffs claims. (Dkt. No. 161.) The Court will now decide the motions for summary judgment filed by the Benton Harbor Defendants (Dkt. No. 120) and Berrien County Defendants (Dkt. No. 115).

I. Background

At approximately 4:00 a.m. on May 29, 2007, Benton Harbor police were dis[893]*893patched to the residence of Imogene Wade. Ms. Wade had called the police after Doyle Jackson had physically assaulted her and locked her out of her house. Benton Harbor Police Officers Dustin Blaskie and Jim Wilkins arrived at the scene. Officer Wilkins heard Ms. Wade yell that Jackson was stealing her vehicle. Jackson began to exit the driveway in the vehicle, and Officer Wilkins attempted to block him with his patrol vehicle. Jackson was able to maneuver past Wilkins’ vehicle, and the officers began to pursue Jackson. Jackson eventually lost control of his vehicle and slammed into a curb.

Jackson then exited the vehicle; it is disputed whether or not he had his hands up. Officer Wilkins approached Jackson with gun drawn and shouted verbal commands at Jackson to get on the ground. Jackson did not comply and approached Officer Wilkins. At this point, Officer Wilkins claims that Jackson tried to grab his gun and shoved him. Plaintiff claims that Jackson did not go for Wilkins’ gun and that Wilkins took an unprovoked swing at him. Video footage from Officer Wilkins’ vehicle camera covers the car chase and this incident, though the parties interpret the footage differently. At any rate, Jackson began to flee once again after coming into contact with Officer Wilkins, this time on foot.

Officer Blaskie, now also on foot, closed to approximately 15-20 feet behind the fleeing Jackson, and then fired his Taser. Blaskie is unsure whether one, both, or neither of the Taser prongs made contact with Jackson. However, nearly simultaneously with the Taser discharge, Jackson hit the side of a dumpster with enough force to cause a “back flip.” (Dkt. No 132 at 3.) Plaintiff alleges that Jackson was “propelled” into the dumpster protrusion by the shock of Officer Blaskie’s Taser. (Id. at 3^4.) After making contact with the dumpster, Jackson got up and once again began running.

Soon after, Officer Blaskie caught Jackson and attempted to drive stun him.1 Then Officer Wilkins arrived. Plaintiff and Defendants present differing accounts of the struggle that took place, though the only witness accounts available of the struggle are from Officers Blaskie and Wilkins. What is undisputed is that Blaskie at least attempted to drive stun Jackson, that Wilkins struck Jackson with several blows,2 and that Wilkins then fired his Taser while Jackson was on his hands and knees trying to get up. (Dkt. No. 120 at 4; Dkt. No. 132 at 4.) The Officers claim that Jackson was very strong, and resisted intensely until he was finally subdued by several pulses from Wilkins’ Taser. Plaintiff argues that the officers used excessive force against an unarmed man who was down.

Officer Preston Alsup soon arrived on the scene. The Officers placed Jackson in Alsup’s patrol car. They noted that Jackson did not appear able to walk on his own, and that he had scrapes and a bruise on his chest. Defendants claim that the officers asked Jackson if he wanted to go to a hospital, and that Jackson declined. The Officers then transferred Jackson to Officer Wilkins’ patrol vehicle and searched the Wade vehicle for weapons or contraband. The Officers drove Jackson to the Berrien County Jail.

[894]*894En route to the jail, Jackson defecated in Wilkins’ vehicle. He also appeared lethargic upon arrival at the Jail at 5:06 AM. He had to be carried/dragged to his cell, and asked to be placed on a toilet. The Berrien County deputies who moved Jackson claim that they interpreted Jackson’s failure to walk on his own power as typical drunken and unruly behavior. (Dkt. No. 116 at 4.)

For the better part of an hour, Jackson alternated between sitting on the cell toilet and lying on the floor. (Id. at 4-5.) During this time, Berrien County deputies and Nurse Mark Haueisen checked on Jackson sporadically. (Id.) Also during this time, Jackson vomited and defecated while off the toilet.

Upon suggestion that Jackson be taken to the showers to clean up, Nurse Haueisen entered Jackson’s cell to help clean up and perform a medical assessment at 6:13 AM. Nurse Haueisen used smelling salts in an attempt to revive Jackson, and determined that Jackson was less responsive than at arrival. Nurse Haueisen and Lt. Wilkey exited Jackson’s cell at 6:19, and placed a call to Medic One for an ambulance at 6:23. (Id. at 6.)

A Medic One ambulance manned by Paramedic John VanHare and EMT Jessy Peterson arrived at the Berrien County Jail at 6:29 and reached Jackson’s cell at 6:33. (Dkt. No. 95 at 6.) Jackson was placed on a gurney and transported to the ambulance waiting at the sally port. He was placed into the ambulance at 6:42. (Dkt. No. 106 at 3.) However, the ambulance did not leave the sally port until 7:13, a full half hour after Jackson was placed in the vehicle. (Id.) The Medic One defendants provided medical assistance during this period, including administration of an “Ambu-bag” to ventilate Jackson, placement on an EKG, and medication to treat “pulseless electrical activity” in Jackson’s heart. When the ambulance left for the hospital at 7:13, VanHare and Peterson had a Berrien County deputy drive the vehicle so that they could continue to work on Jackson.

Jackson arrived at Lakeland hospital at 7:18 AM. He was pronounced dead at 9:40 AM. Cause of death was a lacerated liver, presumably the result of Jackson’s collision with a dumpster during his flight from the Benton Harbor police.

II. Standard of Review

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require the Court to grant summary judgment “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). In evaluating a motion for summary judgment the Court must look beyond the pleadings and assess the proof to determine whether there is a genuine need for trial. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). If Defendant carries his burden of showing there is an absence of evidence to support a claim, Plaintiff must demonstrate by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

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Bluebook (online)
852 F. Supp. 2d 890, 2012 WL 1067165, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42639, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jackson-v-wilkins-miwd-2012.