Monetti v. City of Seattle

875 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 WL 2367122, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86331
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Washington
DecidedJune 21, 2012
DocketCase No. C11-1041 RSM
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 875 F. Supp. 2d 1221 (Monetti v. City of Seattle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Monetti v. City of Seattle, 875 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 WL 2367122, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86331 (W.D. Wash. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

RICARDO S. MARTINEZ, District Judge.

Plaintiff Martin Monetti, Jr., appearing through counsel, filed this civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, naming two individual police officers, Shandy Cobane and Mary Woollum, and the City of Seattle. The complaint also asserts state law claims of assault and battery, outrage, negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. The matter is before the Court for consideration of defendants’ motion for summary judgment. Dkt. # 24. Oral argument was heard on June 13, 2012. For the reasons set forth below, the Court shall grant the motion in part and deny in part.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This action arises from an investigatory stop of the plaintiff and two other men suspected of an armed robbery. The following facts are not in dispute and are supported by the record. Just after 1 a.m. on the morning of April 17, 2010, Seattle Police Department’s 911 Dispatch received a call reporting an armed robbery in the parking lot of the China Harbor Nightclub. The caller, Walter Flores-Cruz, reported that he had been robbed by four or five Latino men who were armed with a handgun and a large knife that he described as a “machete.” At almost the same time another call came in to 911 from a second individual, Eliezer Duran-Acosta, reporting that he and his girlfriend had been assaulted in the parking lot of the China Harbor by several Latino males. Duran indicated that one of the assailants was armed with a handgun while another had brandished a large machete.

A total of sixteen officers responded to the parking lot of China Harbor in re[1226]*1226sponse to the 911 call, including the defendants, Det. Cobane and Ofc. Woollum. K9 Ofc. Hairstrom also responded to the scene and immediately began searching the parking lot for suspects matching descriptions given by the victims. Upon seeing three Latino-appearing males, two of whom matched the description of the suspects, walking away from China Harbor some distance removed, Ofc. Hairstrom stopped the three men at gunpoint, ordered them to the ground, and immediately radioed his position to the other officers. He then handcuffed one of the suspects, Denis Garcia Garcia. All three men were lying face-down on the cement sidewalk in the prone position, with the plaintiff in the middle. Det. Cobane and Ofc. Woollum responded to Ofc. Hairstrom’s- call. Part of what follows was captured on videotape by a freelance videographer positioned across the street.

As a number of officers surround the suspects,' Ofc. Cobane crouched near the plaintiff and said, “Keep your fucking head on the ground. Don’t you start. You got me? I’ll beat the fucking Mexican piss out of you, homey. You feel me?” Declaration of Shandy Cobane, Dkt. # 26. When the plaintiff moved his right hand toward his face, Det.'Cobane used his right foot to step forcefully on the hand of the plaintiff and remained standing on his hand for about twenty seconds. After plaintiffs hand is trapped, Ofc. Woollum walks over to the plaintiff and forcefully steps on his right calf. At no time while lying prone on the ground were the suspects searched for the weapons in question. The officers never attempted to handcuff the plaintiff despite numerous officers surrounding him throughout the incident. A few moments later the plaintiff was lifted from the sidewalk and ultimately released. Facts are in dispute about the nature and extent of the force caught on videotape, as well as force and comments alleged to have occurred before the recording began.

Plaintiff filed this complaint, asserting seven causes of actions: Count One for unreasonable use of force in violation of the Fourth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against the individual defendants; Count Two, intentional discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983, against the individual defendants; Count Three, Liability of the City of Seattle for Policies, Practices and/or Customs in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981 and 1983; Count Four, Assault and Battery, against the individual defendants; Count Five, Negligence, against the City of Seattle; Count Six, Outrage, against the individual defendants; Count Seven, Negligent Infliction of Emotional Harm, against the individual defendants. The Court has supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367.

Plaintiff has' filed a motion to compel discovery (Dkt. # 19) and Defendants moved to bifurcate discovery and trial (Dkt. # 21). These two motions were struck from the Court’s calendar without prejudice to renewal (Dkt. #46), pending a ruling by the Court on the motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff and defendants also make a number of motions to strike in the plaintiffs response to the motion for summary judgment (Dkt. # 52) and the defendant’s reply (Dkt. # 55).

DISCUSSION

I. Legal Standard

Summary judgment is proper where “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). An issue is [1227]*1227“genuine” if “a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party” and a fact is material if it “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Id. However, “summary judgment should be granted where the nonmoving party fails to offer evidence from which a reasonable jury could return a verdict in its favor.” Triton Energy Corp. v. Square D Co., 68 F.3d 1216, 1221 (9th Cir.1995). It should also be granted where there is a “complete failure of proof concerning an essential element of the non-moving party’s case.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

II. Qualified Immunity Analysis

Qualified immunity shields public officials from civil damages for the performance of their discretionary functions. The defense of qualified immunity is more than a “mere defense to liability”, but is actually a complete immunity from suit, and from all the risks, distractions and “inhibition[s] of discretionary action, and deterrence of able people from public service,” that go along with being a defendant in a civil lawsuit.

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Bluebook (online)
875 F. Supp. 2d 1221, 2012 WL 2367122, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/monetti-v-city-of-seattle-wawd-2012.