Johnson v. Ft. Pierce Police Department

849 F. Supp. 1543, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5280, 1994 WL 145315
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 25, 1994
DocketNo. 91-14264-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 849 F. Supp. 1543 (Johnson v. Ft. Pierce Police Department) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Johnson v. Ft. Pierce Police Department, 849 F. Supp. 1543, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5280, 1994 WL 145315 (S.D. Fla. 1994).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF MAGISTRATE JUDGE

RYSKAMP, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court upon the Plaintiffs Complaint brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of civil rights, privileges and immunities secured by the United States Constitution.

THE MATTER was referred to the Honorable Ann E. Vitunac, United States Magistrate Judge. A Report and Recommendation dated February 1, 1994, has been filed, recommending that the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment be granted as to all claims and all Defendants, and that this case be dismissed. The Defendant has not filed objections to the Report and Recommendation. The Court has reviewed the entire file and record herein, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, it is

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that United States Magistrate Judge Ann E. Vitunac’s Report and Recommendation be, and the same is, hereby ADOPTED in its entirety.

DONE AND ORDERED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

VITUNAC, United States Magistrate Judge.

THIS CAUSE is before the Court on Order of Reference from United States District Court Judge Jose Gonzalez, Jr. for a Report and Recommendation with respect to the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (DE 78). The case has since that time been reassigned to United States District Court Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp. This Court has reviewed the Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and the Plaintiffs Response and Memorandum (DE 72 and DE 73) and the additional authority and memo supplied by the Plaintiff (DE 89) and the Defendant’s “Response to Plaintiffs Response to Motion for Summary Judgment.”

Additionally, this Court heard oral argument on January 4, 1994. This matter is now ripe for review.

[1545]*1545 THE COMPLAINT

The complaint is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of civil rights, privileges and immunities secured by the United States Constitution. Herman Johnson sues the Ft. Pierce Police Department, Gil Kerlikowske, Chief of Police, Lieutenant Edward Reed, Sergeant Joe Wirth-man, Detectives Timothy Gahn, Greg Kirk, James Aikens, Tom Smith, Rick Rust, Laura Cairns, Jay Brown, Tommy Thompson, Cheryl Robinson, and Ed Duffy. The Ft. Pierce Police Department and Ed Duffy have previously been dismissed by the District Court as defendants from this lawsuit.

The complaint alleges that on February 21, 1991, Judge Dan Vaughn (St. Lucie County Circuit Court Judge) issued a warrant to search the premises located at 510 North 10th Street in Ft. Pierce, Florida for heroin and cocaine. The complaint alleges that ten days thereafter, Defendants (all Ft. Pierce police officers), Gahn, Kirk, Aikens, Smith, Rust, Cairns, Brown, Thompson, Wirthman, Reed, and Duffy “instituted” that same search warrant to conduct an unauthorized search of the premises at 512 North 10th Street.

Johnson alleges that the above-named Defendants drove up to the premises located at 512 North 10th Street and jumped from a van with their guns drawn and began hollering and cursing, “Mother fuckers, get down, get down on the goddamn ground.” Johnson alleges that the officers were in uniform.

According to the complaint, Officer Kirk ran up to the Plaintiff, who was sitting on a stool in the doorway of the rooming house at 512 North 10th Street, pointed a gun to the Plaintiffs head, and commanded him to “get on the goddamn floor.” When the Plaintiff turned around to do so, Kirk struck Plaintiff in the back with a gun and pushed him forward, causing him to lose his balance. As Plaintiff was falling to the floor inside the hallway, his back struck hard against the door of Room 1, causing pain and injury to the Plaintiffs back.

Paragraph 4 of the complaint alleges that while Johnson was lying on the floor in pain, Aikens and Smith entered the hallway. According to the complaint, Aikens straddled Johnson and shoved his knee hard down into the lower part of Plaintiffs back, then caused severe pain and injury to the Plaintiffs back.

Paragraph 5 alleges that simultaneously, Officer Smith reached down and struck the Plaintiff on the left side of his neck, causing excruciating pain and injury. He was handcuffed. Johnson further alleges that a search of Room 1 of Raymond’s Rooming House was done in his presence. Plaintiff alleges that drugs were seized from a jacket from that room. He further alleges that after he refused to tell who the room belonged to, Defendant Smith charged him with possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

Plaintiff alleges that he made numerous requests to Defendant Robinson (a transporting officer) to be taken to the hospital for treatment of his injuries, but that she did not do so. Robinson instead asked Defendant Rust if Plaintiff should be taken to the jail and Rust allegedly responded, “Fuck Raymond, take him down.”

Plaintiff alleges that he was taken to the St. Lucie County Correctional Center, during which time someone came and looked at the Plaintiffs back, wrote his name down and left.

Plaintiff alleges in his complaint that he continues to experience pain in the lower part of his back and neck. He alleges that upon his release from the St. Lucie Correctional Center, he went to the emergency room at Lawnwood Medical Center, where he was treated and released. Exhibit H attached to the complaint reflects that the Plaintiff was at the emergency room for approximately one hour, was not x-rayed, and was given what appears to be muscle relaxants and sent home.

Plaintiff alleges that he continues to seek chiropractic care because of his injuries sustained from the assault by the police officers.

Plaintiff alleges that he made a complaint to the Police Department about his treatment during the execution of the search warrant, and that Officer Reilly investigated his complaints and determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove or disprove Johnson’s allegations.

[1546]*1546 PLAINTIFF’S CONTENTIONS

Plaintiff alleges a deprivation of his rights guaranteed by the “Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution to be free from unlawful arrest, detention, search and seizure.” Plaintiff sues Gahn, Kirk, Aikens, Smith, Reed, Wirthman, Rust, Cairns, Brown, Thompson, Robinson and Duffy, for their participation in the “unauthorized search and seizure at the premises located at 512 North 10th Street, in violation of his Fourth Amendment right to be secure in his house, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures.”

Plaintiff sues Gahn, Kirk, Aikens, Smith, Reed, Wirthman, Rust, Robinson and Duffy for “that they knew or should have known that their unprovoked practice of violently cursing while pointing guns at unarmed individuals, assaulting individuals without probable cause, and slamming any individual they catch in the area on the ground for no reason, other than to inflict pain and fear before instituting a search of the premises, would violate constitutional rights of individuals affected and they knew or should have known that such practice is not written anywhere in the Ft.

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Bluebook (online)
849 F. Supp. 1543, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5280, 1994 WL 145315, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/johnson-v-ft-pierce-police-department-flsd-1994.