McKinney v. City of Tukwila

13 P.3d 631
Court of Appeals of Washington·Decided November 9, 2000·No. 45491-9-I·Published·Cited by 22 cases

Opinion

13 P.3d 631 (2000)
103 Wash.App. 391

Craig McKINNEY, on his own behalf and on behalf of his minor son, Ethan McKinney, and Anthony Trahan, Appellants,
v.
CITY OF TUKWILA, a municipal corporation and John Doe Tukwila Officers No. 1-10, Respondents.

No. 45491-9-I.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 1.

September 11, 2000.
Publication Ordered November 9, 2000.

*634 Mark Koontz, Seattle, WA, for appellants.

Brenda Bannon, Keating Bucklin & McCormack, Seattle, WA, for respondents. *632

*633 WEBSTER, J.

We find that City of Tukwila police officers acted reasonably in carrying out an investigatory stop of Appellants Craig McKinney, his seven-year old son Ethan, and Anthony Trahan, and thus we affirm summary judgment to all defendants on the Appellants' claims of (1) a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) false arrest; (3) assault and battery; (4) defamation; and (5) violation of Washington's Law Against Discrimination.

SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

"When reviewing an order for summary judgment, we engage in the same inquiry as the trial court, and will affirm summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Wilson Court Ltd. Partnership v. Tony Maroni's, Inc., 134 Wash.2d 692, 698, 952 P.2d 590 (1998); see also CR 56(c). All facts and reasonable inferences must be considered in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and all questions of law are reviewed de novo. See Wilson Court Ltd. Partnership, 134 Wash.2d at 698, 952 P.2d 590. Questions of fact may be determined on summary judgment as a matter of law where reasonable minds could reach but one conclusion. See Alexander v. County of Walla Walla, 84 Wash.App. 687, 692, 929 P.2d 1182 (1997).

BACKGROUND

In the early afternoon of August 29, 1997, Steve Herrick reported a residential burglary in progress, that the suspect had a gun, that the suspect had hit him in the head with the gun, and that the suspect tried to steal Herrick's car. Herrick's friend, Robert Milan, chased the suspect and wrestled him to the ground in a nearby park. Tukwila police officers arrived on the scene and apprehended the suspect, Johnny Ray Stewart, at gunpoint.

McKinney, his seven-year old son Ethan, and Trahan were leaving the city park to get out of harm's way when the police officers apprehended Stewart nearby. Because the victim, Milan, suggested that the Appellants, who were starting to leave, might possibly be involved, one officer ordered other officers to stop the Appellants. Police officers conducted a high-risk investigatory stop of the Appellants: they pointed their service weapons at the Appellants in their car, ordered the adults out of the car and prone to the ground, handcuffed them, and frisked them. After ascertaining that the Appellants were not involved, they were released. The total time that the Appellants were detained was approximately 10 minutes.

Because the evidence concerning the investigatory stop presented in support of and in opposition to summary judgment was relatively brief, we provide relevant portions of the declarations of several of the parties involved.

A. Evidence Offered in Opposition to Summary Judgment

Craig McKinney stated:

*635 We [McKinney, his son Ethan, and Trahan] were sitting on the grass, when I saw two men, one Caucasian and one hispanic, running across the field, approximately fifty yards from where we were sitting, away from where we were sitting.....
The two men wrestled on the ground for a short time, and then Tukwila Police Officers arrived with their guns drawn at the two men..... The way in which the officers were positioned was such that, should an officer fire a weapon and miss the two men, I would have been in the line of fire.
I was concerned for my safety and Ethan's safety..... Anthony, Ethan and I walked at a normal pace to the car, in order to leave the park, where guns were being brandished. We got in the car and began to leave the park. As we were leaving at a very slow speed, several Tukwila Police Officers surrounded the car, drew their weapons, pointed their weapons at us, and told us to get out of the car, one at a time. Anthony and I were told to lie on our stomachs, while the Tukwila Police Officers handcuffed and frisked us. I complied with the officers' requests.

. . . .

.... We were detained in handcuffs, in front of the car, in plain view of several people in and around the park. We were released after several minutes.

CP at 161-63.

Anthony Trahan's declaration is consistent with McKinney's. CP at 164-66.

Stewart, the perpetrator, stated:

During the several minutes after I was detained by Tukwila Police Officers, Mr. Milan was in my presence and clearly within my eyesight and hearing.
During the several minutes after I was detained by Tukwila Police Officers, I did not hear Mr. Milan state to any Tukwila Police Officer or anyone else that he believed that a white car was involved in the incident; I did not hear Mr. Milan make any statement implying that anyone else may have been involved in the incident.
During the several minutes after I was detained by Tukwila Police Officers, I did not see Mr. Milan making any gesture toward any area of the park indicating that another person or persons were involved in the incident.
During the several minutes after I was detained, I did not hear Mr. Milan tell the police officers that he saw me running toward a white car.
During the several minutes after I was detained by the Tukwila Police Officers, the officers did not ask me if there was anyone else involved in the incident.
During the several minutes after I was detained by the Tukwila Police Officers, the officers did not ask me if there was a white car involved in the incident.

CP at 167-68.

At Stewart's criminal trial, Milan testified as follows in response to defense counsel's questions:

Q. Okay. Do you recall when the police arrived, you pointed to another car?

A. Yes, I do.

Q. And you believe that potential suspect [sic] was in the car that was leaving the park?

A. I said it could have been possible.

CP at 174.

B. Statements by the Officers Who Received and Relayed the Information That Appellants Were Potentially Involved

Officer Timothy Hogan stated:
As Officer Lund and myself were interacting with victim Milan, Milan blurted out that the white vehicle in the parking lot adjacent to Foster Park was possibly involved with suspect Stewart. He communicated to us generally that Stewart had been running directly across the park towards the white vehicle.

.... Because the semi-automatic handgun had not yet been located, officer and public safety was of paramount concern.

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McKinney v. City of Tukwila, 13 P.3d 631 (Wash. Ct. App. 2000).

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