Jimenez v. County of Nassau

CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 24, 2025
Docket2:18-cv-03911
StatusUnknown

This text of Jimenez v. County of Nassau (Jimenez v. County of Nassau) 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
Jimenez v. County of Nassau, (E.D.N.Y. 2025).

Opinion

CLERK UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 2:09 pm, Sep 24, 2025 EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK X U.S. DISTRICT COURT MIGUEL JIMENEZ, EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK LONG ISLAND OFFICE Plaintiff, MEMORANDUM OF - against – DECISION & ORDER 18-CV-3911 (GRB)(AYS)

CHARLES JAVOROWSKY and DANIEL BILZ,

Defendants.1 X

GARY R. BROWN, United States District Judge: In this §1983 action, defendants Charles Javorowsky and Daniel Bilz move for summary judgment. Those motions are granted in part and denied in part for the reasons set forth herein and as summarized in the table contained in the conclusion section. FACTS The following represents the undisputed facts, facts which are, based on the evidence provided, indisputable, and/or facts which are deemed admitted as a result of inadequate disputation. On January 1, 2018, Emalee Jimanez, plaintiff’s daughter, was upstairs in plaintiff’s home, while plaintiff and his wife were entertaining “old friends” named Douglas Kuhn and his wife,

1 On consent, the Court dismissed the Monell claim against Nassau county at the pre-motion conference on May 30, 2024. DE 89 at 36. In addition, “[p]laintiff's claims against . . . Nassau County Police Department cannot proceed, as [it] do[es] not have a legal identity separate and apart from Nassau County and thus cannot be sued.” Haddock v. Nassau Dist. Attorney's Off., No. 22-CV-6161 (KAM), 2023 WL 3231489 at *1 (E.D.N.Y. May 3, 2023). Accordingly, the caption has been amended to remove Nassau County and Nassau County Police Department as defendants. Moreover, plaintiff never identified Police Officers John Doe(s) 1- 10, who have similarly been removed. Annie McMenamin. Docket Entry (“DE”) 94-8 at 20-28.2 Suddenly, she heard a thud, as though someone had fallen to the floor, sounds of wrestling or scuffling and overheard part of an argument between plaintiff and Kuhn. Id. at 30. Emalee heard Kuhn yelling that he was going to kill plaintiff “in front of his family” and was going to get a gun to carry out that threat. Id. at 31. She then

heard Kuhn saying that he was going to hurt plaintiff and his family. Id. at 34. Emalee witnessed Kuhn, whom she found to be a “scary guy,” punch a hole in the wall of the house (something he did a second time) and again threaten to get his gun. Id. at 35. Emalee borrowed her sister’s phone and called 9-1-1. She later testified as to the content of the call, reporting that she told the operator: That I was scared and that this guy was really going to harm us. I was telling her what I had heard him say. Like about the gun and whatnot. If we could have a police officer come.

Id. at 36. Police records indicate that the call was received at approximately 5:43 p.m., and reflect that the caller communicated the following: There is a really bad dispute here, I feel like someone is going to get hurt. There is a guy who is really unstable and strong and he was invited over and is punching holes in the wall, he is threatening to kill people . . . he is threatening my parents, me and my little sister.

DE 94-19 at 8-9. A disturbance could be heard in the background of portions of the tape. Id. Approximately one minute later, a second call was made to 9-1-1 by an unknown male caller stating “Disturbance at 212 Gordon Aveneue, Westbury. Quickly.” Id. The male caller then hung up. Id. Six officers, including defendants Javorowsky and Bilz, responded to the premises. DE 84

2 While the Court has, for the sake of brevity, cited the parties’ Rule 56.1 statements and deposition testimony, such assertions have also been verified through examination of the underlying evidence submitted on this motion. DE 94-96 at ¶ 15. Javorowsky had previously been to the premises responding to a domestic disturbance call. Id. at ¶ 37. The parties agree that the officers “arrived to a hectic, chaotic scene.” Id. at ¶ 16. Kuhn was intoxicated and belligerent. Id. at ¶ 17. Two officers, assisted by Javorowsky and Bilz, placed Kuhn under arrest. Id. at ¶ 19. During that process, Kuhn’s wife, Annie McMenamin,

who appeared intoxicated, became angry and belligerent, yelling and screaming at the officers, and may have taken a “swing” at Javorowsky without touching him. Id. at ¶ 20-21. After continued interactions between the officers, McMenamin, plaintiff and his wife, Javorowsky told plaintiff that he needed to check the house to ensure that no one inside was hurt. Id. at ¶ 26. Plaintiff replied “you’re not going into the house without a warrant.” Id.. After some exchanges, plaintiff continued to insist that the officers get a warrant before entering the property and referred to “controlling his dogs,” – a pair of Dobermans – which the officers may have interpreted as a threat. Id. at ¶¶ 28-31, DE 94-4 at 81. Plaintiff re-entered the house, accompanied by McMenamin, closing and apparently locking the door behind him. DE 84 at ¶ 32. Whether McMenamin entered with him voluntarily or was forced by plaintiff remains in dispute. Id. at ¶ 33.

The officers had not had the opportunity to speak with the 9-1-1 caller or the opportunity to fully investigate the reasons for the call. Id. at ¶ 35. As a result of his previous visit to the home, Javorowsky was aware that the residents of the home included plaintiff’s wife, her mother, and her two daughters. Id. at ¶ 38. The officers did not know who else was in the home or who had made the call, other than from statements made by plaintiff’s wife and another daughter. Id. at ¶ 34. A sort of standoff – which seems to have lasted between fifteen minutes and one hour – followed, and while the parameters of this impass remain somewhat in dispute, several aspects are undisputed. For much of the time, plaintiff leaned out of a window, purportedly holding his cell phone in what he claimed to be an effort to “record the police activity from a safe distance for approximately one (1) hour.” Id. at ¶ 39. The parties sent the cell phone for a joint forensic investigation which revealed that the phone did not contain any video or audio recordings of the events of that day. DE 99.3 Officers requested that plaintiff open the door more than once, and

plaintiff refused. DE 84 at ¶ 43. It is undisputed that Bilz went to the front of the house and requested that plaintiff and anyone else inside come out so that the officers could conduct their investigation. Id. at ¶ 44. Plaintiff admits that the officers told him to open the door and threatened to arrest him for the unlawful imprisonment of McMenamin. Id. at ¶ 52. During this period, McMenamin was seated in a chair in the dining room, sitting on the dining room table and/or lying on the floor of the kitchen. Id. at ¶¶ 45, 46, 55; DE 94-4 at 99. It is further undisputed that, from outside the house, the police could see McMenamin inside through the glass of the front door. DE 84 at ¶ 54. At some point, Bilz and a second officer went to the side of the house in an effort to intercept plaintiff. Id. at ¶ 58. The officers slipped on ice and fell to the ground. DE 94-4 at 99.

Meanwhile, Javorowsky kicked open the front door and entered the house with a second police officer. DE 84 at ¶ 59. A scuffle ensued; Javorowsky engaged with the plaintiff, but he fell to the floor. Id. at ¶¶ 60-61. Ultimately, plaintiff’s arms were pulled behind him and he was handcuffed; whether he resisted this process is disputed. Id. at ¶ 65. Javorowsky acknowledged punching plaintiff several times “near his head and shoulder,” though asserts that this was in an effort to get plaintiff to comply with being handcuffed. Id. at ¶ 66. Once the handcuffs were in place, the

3 Though ultimately irrelevant, it is troubling that assertions by plaintiff’s counsel repeatedly suggests that such a video was actually made when counsel knew this to be untrue. DE 84 at ¶ 39 (“Plaintiff [was] all the while utilizing his cell phone to record the police activity”); Id.

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