McArthur v. City & County of San Francisco

190 F. Supp. 3d 895, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73485, 2016 WL 3136907
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedJune 6, 2016
DocketNo. C 15-02164 WHA
StatusPublished

This text of 190 F. Supp. 3d 895 (McArthur v. City & County of San Francisco) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McArthur v. City & County of San Francisco, 190 F. Supp. 3d 895, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73485, 2016 WL 3136907 (N.D. Cal. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

WILLIAM ALSUP, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE '

INTRODUCTION

In this Section 1983 action, defendants move for summary judgment. For the reasons discussed below, the motion is Granted in Part and Denied in Part.

STATEMENT .

The undisputed facts, viewed in a light most favorable to- plaintiffs, are as follows. On March 8, 2015, plaintiffs filmed a music video on a playground at the corner of Harbor Street and Northridge Street in San Francisco. Plaintiff Arthur Stern, a musician, had hired plaintiff Brian McAr-thur to film the music video. Plaintiffs Joseph McGowan and Dante Andry, both rap artists, also performed in the music video. A group of other men joined the filming as extras. The men interacted in a friendly fashion. In total, about 15 men were involved in filming the scene.

■ At about 5:15 pm, Officers Christopher Leong and Paul Wilgus, both in plainclothes, observed the group. Officer Leong recognized two of the men to be gang affiliates'. He spoke to one of the men and learned that the group was filming a rap video. Based on his experience, Officer Leong believed that performers often display firearms and gang signs during the filming of .rap videos. In addition, he knew a recent killing of a gang member had escalated conflict between two gangs in the area. Officers Leong and Wilgus decided to conduct surveillance on the group from a nearby location.

Soon thereafter, Officer Leong observed three men walk down a hill and approach the group on the playground without invitation. Officer' Leong observed one of the men, later identified as Taj Williams (not one of our plaintiffs), take out a handgun and chamber a round of ammunition. Then all three men joined the group on the playground. (The parties dispute whether or not the three men arrived together or separately.)

Upon seeing the loaded gun, Officer Leong called backup. Officers Eric East-land and Patrick Faye, also in plainclothes and working nearby, received the call and quickly arrived on the scene. The four officers, with their police stars visible, approached the group from the rear, pointing their weapons at the men. Officer Eastlund ordered everyone to put-their hands in the air. Most- of the men,' although not all, complied. Officers Leong and Wilgus searched Williams and recovered a loaded gun.

At that point, other officers began arriving on the scene. An officer yelled at the men to get on them knees. The officers placed the men in handcuffs and directed them to sit against a wall. The officers [900]*900then conducted pat-down searches of each member of the group and identified them. The officers obtained identification from the wallets of plaintiffs McAarthur and McGowan. Officers took pictures of the men to document scars, marks, or tattoos, and physical clothing. Officers took some of the men into custody but eventually released plaintiffs.

Plaintiff McArthur’s camera, which was rolling when the officers approached the group, continued to film the scene, capturing some, although not all, of the interaction between plaintiffs and the officers.

The parties disagree over the length of the detention. Plaintiffs present evidence that the detention lasted nearly two hours. Defendants present evidence that it lasted less than an hour.

Plaintiffs filed a civil rights action under Section 1983 and state law claiming that they suffered constitutional violations committed by defendants. Plaintiffs complaint alleges false arrest, conspiracy to arrest, malicious prosecution, negligence, and assault. Defendants now move for summary judgment.

ANALYSIS

Under Rule 56, summary judgment is proper where the pleadings, discovery, and affidavits show that there is “no genuine issue as to any material fact and [that] the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” A fact is material if.it might affect the outcome of the suit under governing law, and a dispute about a material fact is, genuine “if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct, 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

A party moving for summary judgment who does not have the ultimate burden of persuasion at trial has the initial burden of producing evidence negating an essential element of the nonmoving party’s claims or showing that the nonmoving party does not have enough evidence of an essential element to carry its burden' of persuasion at trial. Nissan Fire & Marine Ins. Co. V. Fritz Cos., 210 F.3d 1099, 1102 (9th Cir. 2000). The burden then shifts to the non-moving party to “go beyond the pleadings, and by his own affidavits, or by the ‘depositions, answers to interrogatories, or admissions on file,’ designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The court’s function on a summary judgment motion is not to make credibility determinations nor to weigh conflicting evidence with respect to a disputed material fact. See T.W. Elec. Serv. v. Pacific Elec. Contractors Ass’n, 809 F.2d 626, 630 (9th Cir.1987). The evidence must be viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and the inferences to be drawn from the facts must be viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Id. at 631.

1. Claims for False Arrest Against the Officers.

The qualified immunity doctrine protects government officials from liability for civil damages “insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). To determine whether an officer is entitled to qualified immunity, the court must consider: (1) whether the officer’s conduct violated a constitutional right and (2) whether the constitutional right was “clearly established.” Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194, 201, 121 S.Ct. 2151, 150 L.Ed.2d 272 (2001). As [901]*901to the latter determination, the dispositive inquiry is whether it would be clear to a reasonable officer that the conduct was unlawful in the situation he or she confronted. Id. at 194-195, 121 S.Ct. 2151.

Here, plaintiffs assert two theories of a constitutional violation. First, plaintiffs argue that the officers lacked reasonable suspicion for a Terry or investigatory stop of plaintiffs. Second, plaintiffs argüe that the investigatory stop became an arrest requiring probable cause. Each theory is discussed in turn below.

A. Reasonable Suspicion for a Terry Stop.

An officer may conduct a brief, investigatory stop — a so-called “Terry stop” — where the officer has a “reasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.” Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 123, 120 S.Ct. 673, 145 L.Ed.2d 570 (2000)-. The extent of the intrusion must be “reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference.” Terry v. Ohio,

Related

Terry v. Ohio
392 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Florida v. Royer
460 U.S. 491 (Supreme Court, 1983)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
City of Canton v. Harris
489 U.S. 378 (Supreme Court, 1989)
Illinois v. Wardlow
528 U.S. 119 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Pearson v. Callahan
555 U.S. 223 (Supreme Court, 2009)
United States v. Joseph Ienco
182 F.3d 517 (Seventh Circuit, 1999)
United States v. David Eugene Murphy
261 F.3d 741 (Eighth Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Gerardo Hernandez-Rivas
348 F.3d 595 (Seventh Circuit, 2003)
Leonard Embody v. Steve Ward
695 F.3d 577 (Sixth Circuit, 2012)
Rodriguez v. United States
575 U.S. 348 (Supreme Court, 2015)
Monteiro v. City of Elizabeth
436 F.3d 397 (Third Circuit, 2006)
Allen v. City of Los Angeles
66 F.3d 1052 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
Sinaloa Lake Owners Ass'n v. City of Simi Valley
70 F.3d 1095 (Ninth Circuit, 1995)
Washington v. Lambert
98 F.3d 1181 (Ninth Circuit, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
190 F. Supp. 3d 895, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73485, 2016 WL 3136907, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mcarthur-v-city-county-of-san-francisco-cand-2016.