Mingo Ex Rel. Estate of Mingo v. City of Mobile

592 F. App'x 793
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedNovember 18, 2014
Docket13-15828
StatusUnpublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 592 F. App'x 793 (Mingo Ex Rel. Estate of Mingo v. City of Mobile) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mingo Ex Rel. Estate of Mingo v. City of Mobile, 592 F. App'x 793 (11th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

The claims in this case arise from the restraint of Daniel Mingo following a traffic stop, during which Mingo fled the scene. After a prolonged chase and struggle with Mingo, police officers used a four-point restraint to control Mingo and then placed Mingo in the back of a patrol car. Mingo suffered a cardiac arrhythmia and later died.

Following Mingo’s death, Mingo’s mother, Cynthia Mingo, brought claims pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the City of Mobile. The district court determined that the City was entitled to summary judgment on the § 1988 claims because Ms. Mingo offered no evidence of any policy or custom by the City that caused Min-go’s death. On appeal, Ms. Mingo contends that the district court erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of the City because, she asserts, an issue of fact exists with respect to whether the City failed to train its officers in identifying and dealing with the mentally ill and in the appropriate use of the four-point restraint. Although Mingo’s death was tragic, we find no error in the district court’s order granting summary judgment for the City.

I.

A.

On January 21, 2010, Officer Aaron Kelley observed a car swerving from one side of the road to the other. The car was driven by Daniel Mingo, and his girlfriend, Nadia Lee, was a passenger. Upon observing Mingo’s erratic driving, Officer Kelley activated his blue lights and pulled the vehicle over. When Officer Kelley reached the driver’s side door, he asked why Mingo was driving recklessly, and Mingo responded that he was on medication and was a patient at Mobile Mental Health.

Officer Kelley instructed Mingo to get out of his vehicle and walk back to the patrol car. When Mingo first- exited his car, one of his hands was stuck between his sweatpants and a second pair of shorts. Because of this behavior, Officer Kelley began a pat down to determine whether Mingo had any weapons, but Mingo began to flee, running into a residential neighborhood.

Mingo ran until he fell face down onto his hands and knees, but the fall stopped Mingo only momentarily. He jumped back up and continued running, taking off an outer shirt as he ran and leaving only a white muscle shirt, which he wore underneath.

*795 At some point during the chase, Officer Kelly observed Mingo sit down behind a bush, where Mingo took off his pants and his shoes. Mingo then kicked out two boards of a fence and crawled through the opening, allowing him access to a connecting residential backyard.

Although Officer Kelley followed, he was unable to locate Mingo in the backyard. While looking for Mingo, Officer Kelley walked around the house and saw Sergeant Armand Campbell and' Officer Henry Bufkin pulling up to the residence in another patrol car. Officer Kelley explained to the two other officers that Min-go had continued to run and described the direction in which he had headed. Officer Kelley also indicated to the other officers that he needed to return to the scene of the initial traffic stop so that he could secure his patrol car and deal with the passenger in Mingo’s car.

As Officer Kelley chased Mingo, Lee, who was still sitting in Mingo’s car, called Mingo’s mother to inform her that her son had been pulled over and was running from the police. Ms. Mingo asked to speak to the officer on the scene, who she believed was Officer Kelley. According to Ms. Mingo, she told Officer Kelley that her son was “very paranoid” and would be afraid of the police. She also asked the officer to take her son to the hospital if they found him. The conversation was brief. Ms. Mingo then called a 911 operator and told her that her son had been stopped, that he was a patient at Mobile Mental Health, that he had been very paranoid lately, and that she wanted to make sure that nothing happened to him.

Back at the scene of the chase, after speaking with Officer Kelley, Sergeant Campbell and Officer Bufkin parked their patrol car and followed the path that Min-go took so that they could attempt to apprehend him. At a nearby residence, the officers noticed that a flower pot had been knocked over in front of a shed located at the rear of the property. They also saw clothing on the ground and what appeared to be a blood smear near the door of the shed.

In the meantime, Officer Daryl Law also responded to the area. As Officer Law approached the home where Sergeant Campbell and Officer Bufkin were, the resident stepped out of her home and told Officer Law that she heard something in the shed behind her house. Officer Law approached the shed and met up with Officer Bufkin and Sergeant Campbell.

Once at the shed, the officers announced their presence and ordered Mingo to come out. Although the officers heard movement from inside the shed, Mingo did not comply. Upon using a flashlight to peer inside the shed, the officers saw Mingo hiding beneath a weight bench. Near Mingo were a rack of dumbbells, as well as hatchets, shovels, and various other yard tools. Officer Law again directed Mingo to come out, but Mingo did not comply. So Officers Law and Bufkin entered the shed and pulled Mingo out from under the weight bench. Mingo began resisting and fighting with the officers, and Officer Buf-kin described the attempt to restrain Min-go as “trying'to hold a greased pig.” Although the officers were ultimately able to put Mingo into a prone position on the floor of the shed, Mingo refused to give the officers his hands.

After a considerable struggle, the officers were finally able to get one of Mingo’s hands behind his back and place a handcuff on it. The officers were not able to secure Mingo’s other hand, despite Sergeant Campbell’s repeated commands for Mingo to give them his hand. According to the officers, Mingo continued to push off with his free hand and then drop down and roll on top of it. Finally, Mingo complied *796 and gave the officers his free hand, which the officers handcuffed behind Mingo’s back.

Although the officers eventually were able to apply both handcuffs, Mingo continued to struggle and roll around on the floor of the shed near the yard tools and dumbbells. Consequently, Officer Bufldn attempted to place his leg across the back of Mingo’s legs to keep Mingo still. Min-go, however, continued to kick and struggle, and began banging his head on the ground multiple times. In order to keep Mingo from injuring himself, Officer Buf-kin tried to hold Mingo’s head still. Officer Bufkin later picked Mingo up by his shoulders and arms in an attempt to escort Mingo out of the shed, but Mingo began kicking the officer in his shins and knees, while trying to lunge forward. Ultimately, Mingo broke free and began running into the yard where other yard tools were present. When the officers again attempted to escort him, Mingo kept alternatively dropping to the ground or standing up and trying to run away.

At this point, additional officers arrived to assist in the attempts to restrain Mingo. According to Officer Hugh Barnes, who arrived at the scene and witnessed the other officers struggling with Mingo, Min-go was on the ground violently flailing, kicking, and rolling in the dirt.

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592 F. App'x 793, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mingo-ex-rel-estate-of-mingo-v-city-of-mobile-ca11-2014.