Martinez v. Jenneiahn

CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 17, 2022
Docket1:19-cv-03289
StatusUnknown

This text of Martinez v. Jenneiahn (Martinez v. Jenneiahn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Martinez v. Jenneiahn, (D. Colo. 2022).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO Judge Raymond P. Moore

Civil Action No. 19-cv-03289-RM-NRN ADRIAN MARTINEZ, Plaintiff, v. SEAN JENNEIAHN, LAUREN MACDONALD, and PETER VORIS

Defendants. ______________________________________________________________________________

ORDER ______________________________________________________________________________

This case arises from the alleged excessive use of force by the Defendants, Sean Jenneiahn, Lauren Macdonald, and Peter Voris, all of whom were, at the time of these events, officers with the Lafayette Police Department. (ECF No. 22.) This matter is now before the Court on the Parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment (ECF Nos. 72, 76.) The Defendants move for summary judgment on all claims. (ECF No. 72.) Martinez moves for summary judgment against Defendant Jenneiahn on his claims of excessive use of force. (ECF No. 76.) The motions are fully briefed. Upon consideration of the motions and related briefing, and the applicable law, and being otherwise fully advised, the Court finds and orders as follows. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Because the Court is evaluating whether the Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity, it will view the facts in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff. Thomas v. Durastanti, 607 F.3d 655, 662 (10th Cir. 2010). The events in this case began when Martinez was assaulted in his home by some bounty hunters who were looking for his girlfriend. (ECF No. 87-6, pp.185-86; ECF No. 91, pp.1-2.) The bounty hunters used significant force against Martinez, despite the fact that he was not the person they were seeking—they used a TASER and OC Spray and shot Martinez with pepper balls. (ECF No. 91, p.8.) Martinez suffered sufficient injuries that he was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital by ambulance and admitted. (ECF No.

91, p.2.) While at the hospital, Martinez was not monitored or guarded by the police. (Id.) However, the hospital was informed that there were several warrants outstanding for his arrest. (ECF No. 74.) The morning following his encounter with the bounty hunters and his admission to the hospital, Martinez left the hospital wearing only underwear and his hospital gown, and the hospital’s security called the police. (ECF No. 77-16; ECF No. 87-22.) The hospital security informed the police that Martinez had been brought to the hospital because he had been tased and subjected to other uses of force the previous evening. (Id.) They told police that Martinez was heading in the direction of a nearby apartment complex. (Id.) Police officers, including Defendants Voris and Macdonald went to the apartment complex to look for Martinez. (ECF

No. 77-15; ECF No. 87-25.) At no time did hospital security tell the police that Martinez had engaged in any threatening or violent behavior while leaving the hospital. The hospital did inform the police, however, that there were several warrants outstanding for Martinez’s arrest. (ECF No. 77-16.) The Defendants were later informed by dispatch that there were four warrants for Martinez’s arrest, all for failures to appear. (ECF No. 74.) Two were for felony offenses and two were for misdemeanors, all of which were nonviolent. (Id.) While searching the apartment complex for Martinez, the officers received a number of reports regarding his actions and locations. They were informed that Martinez had been seen (1) crawling out of someone’s truck and then taking off running; (2) under some stairs in the complex and then running up the stairs; and (3) trying to get into various vehicles. (ECF No. 77- 15; ECF No. 87-22.) A witness also informed them that Martinez had “contacted a lady driving out of the parking lot, attempting to get a ride.” (ECF No. 87-5.) Defendant Macdonald also observed Martinez run past her vehicle. (ECF No. 77-15; ECF No. 73-4.) Martinez was also

observed carrying a bag which Defendant Macdonald assumed was a bag of his belongings, taken with him from the hospital. (ECF No. 87-7.) Defendant Voris eventually called for K9 support and Defendant Jenneiahn arrived with his police dog, Kenzi. Kenzi eventually signaled to the officers that Martinez was inside a locked closet on the third floor of the apartment complex. (ECF No. 73-3.) It is not clear from the record whether Martinez locked the door to the closet himself or whether it automatically locked after he went inside—the distinction is not relevant to the Court’s analysis on these motions. The officers obtained keys from the complex’s maintenance person, but were still unable to open the door and therefore used a crowbar to force it. (ECF No. 73-3; ECF No. 77-1; ECF No. 91, p.24). It is undisputed that Martinez did not communicate or respond to the officers

during this process. (ECF No. 91, p. 14.) The Court has reviewed the body camera footage of the encounter and concludes that it is clear that what happened next took less than one second—the officers opened the door and deployed Kenzi to place a bite hold on Martinez. (ECF No. 77-1.) On the video the sound of the door being forced is followed immediately by the sound of Martinez crying out in pain from the dog bite. (Id.) Martinez was inside what turned out to be a small, empty storage closet, lying on his side on the floor, wearing only his underwear. (ECF. No. 91, p.13.) Within twenty seconds of the officer’s opening of the door, Kenzi had been removed. (ECF No. 91, p.27.) Martinez suffered a four-centimeter gash in his arm as a result of Kenzi’s bite hold. (ECF No. 87-20; ECF No. ECF No. 91, p. 33.) II. LEGAL STANDARDS Summary judgment is appropriate only if there is no genuine dispute of material fact and

the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986); Gutteridge v. Oklahoma, 878 F.3d 1233, 1238 (10th Cir. 2018). Applying this standard requires viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and resolving all factual disputes and reasonable inferences in his favor. Cillo v. City of Greenwood Vill., 739 F.3d 451, 461 (10th Cir. 2013). However, “[t]he mere existence of some alleged factual dispute between the parties will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion for summary judgment; the requirement is that there be no genuine issue of material fact.” Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372, 380 (2007). Whether there is a genuine dispute as to a material fact depends upon whether the evidence presents a sufficient disagreement to require submission to a jury or is so one-sided that one party must prevail as a matter of law.

Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251-52 (1986); Stone v. Autoliv ASP, Inc., 210 F.3d 1132, 1136 (10th Cir. 2000). A fact is “material” if it pertains to an element of a claim or defense; a factual dispute is “genuine” if the evidence is so contradictory that if the matter went to trial, a reasonable jury could return a verdict for either party. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248. Qualified immunity shields individual defendants named in § 1983 actions unless their conduct was unreasonable in light of clearly established law. Estate of Booker v. Gomez, 745 F.3d 405, 411 (10th Cir.

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Martinez v. Jenneiahn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martinez-v-jenneiahn-cod-2022.