Mootye v. Dotson

73 F. App'x 161
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJuly 29, 2003
DocketNo. 02-2462
StatusPublished

This text of 73 F. App'x 161 (Mootye v. Dotson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mootye v. Dotson, 73 F. App'x 161 (7th Cir. 2003).

Opinion

ORDER

On June 4, 1996, Gary police officer Timothy Dotson shot Herron Mootye following a traffic stop. Mootye subsequently sued Dotson, the City of Gary, and Gary’s police chief Charles Roby. Mootye alleged that Officer Dotson: a) searched and seized him without a warrant and without probable cause; b) subjected him to excessive force; and c) assaulted, battered, and subjected him to false imprisonment. Mootye also alleged that the City of Gary’s negligent hiring and supervising of its police officers led to his injuries. The district court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the defendants City of Gary and Charles Roby, holding that the City of Gary, as a municipality, was [164]*164not liable to the plaintiff under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and additionally, there was no evidence for individual liability against Roby. A jury trial then proceeded on Mootye’s claims against Dotson and the City of Gary. The jury entered a verdict for the defendants. Mootye appeals and we AFFIRM.

I.

Early in the morning of June 4, 1996, Herron Mootye was driving in Gary, Indiana with passenger Cynthia Bryant. At around 2:45 a.m., Officer Timothy Dotson pulled over Mootye after witnessing him run a red light. Dotson was on patrol that night with Deputy U.S. Marshal Jack Rosa, who was participating in an F.B.I. crime task force whereby he would accompany Gary police officers on their patrols. During the traffic stop an unfortunate yet strange and disputed series of events transpired that ended with Dotson shooting Mootye. Initially, Mootye exited his car, but Dotson ordered him to return. Dotson then approached the car alone and asked for Mootye’s license, registration and whether he had a gun. Mootye responded that he had a gun but he had a permit, and handed both the gun and the permit, along with his driver’s license, to Dotson. Dotson ordered Mootye to place the gun on the seat between himself and Bryant. He then instructed Mootye and Bryant to get out of the car. After they exited the car, Dotson unloaded the gun and placed it on the trunk. He then proceeded to search the car for the registration, which Mootye could not find, while Mootye waited near Dotson’s police car and spoke with Deputy Rosa. It is at this point that the events of that morning, as told to the jury, radically diverge.

At trial, Dotson testified that during his search of the ear for the registration, performed with Mootye’s consent, he found a Pringles can between the seats. It appeared to hold something other than potato chips and when he popped open the top he found that it contained small packets of what looked to be cocaine. He then returned to the rear of the vehicle and attempted to handcuff Mootye, but Mootye refused to be handcuffed and struggled with both officers. Dotson then struck Mootye with his baton. Mootye responded with a head-butt to Deputy Rosa and fled down an alley. Dotson testified that he pursued Mootye down the alley and caught up with him, which resulted in several further scuffles, during which Mootye hit Dotson with a garbage can and Dotson drew his firearm. As the pursuit continued, Dotson slipped and lost control of his police baton. Mootye picked up the baton and raised it as if to strike Dotson. Fearing for his safety, Dotson shot Mootye in self-defense. Rosa did not witness the events in the alley as he was following the duo from a considerable distance and only arrived at the scene after the shooting occurred. To the extent he did witness the other events that evening, Marshal Rosa’s testimony corroborated Dotson’s version of the events.

Mootye told quite a different story. First, contrary to the testimony of Rosa and Dotson, he testified that Dotson was not wearing his police uniform when he pulled over his car and therefore he initially believed he was being robbed. Mootye also claims that he did not consent to Dotson’s search of his ear. Nevertheless, when Dotson produced the Pringles can containing the cocaine, Mootye claimed that it was not his and did not know where it came from. Mootye also stated that once Dotson discovered the can he did not try to place Mootye under arrest, but instead simply ordered him to the ground and began to hit him with his baton. In response, Mootye struggled to free himself [165]*165and acknowledged that during that struggle he unintentionally head-butted Rosa. After the head-butt, Mootye testified that he left the scene out of fear for his safety. With his arms raised in surrender, Mootye claimed he backed his way down the nearby alley for a short way, where he stopped and called for help. At this point, Mootye claims that as he held his hands over his head Dotson shot him at close range for no apparent reason.

At trial, two eyewitnesses were called by Mootye to testify as to the events in the alley. Louis Reese, a resident in the area of the traffic stop, testified that he saw someone walking backwards in the alley and a police officer moving toward the person. Reese then went from his den to the kitchen to get a better view, when he heard a shot. Marco Norris, another local resident, testified that he saw a guy walking, then running up the alley, as if he were being chased. Norris then saw that the man was backing up and he had his hands in the air. He tripped over what appeared to Norris to be a fence, a garbage can, or something. He then heard the man say “don’t shoot — hey, don’t shoot me.” Then Norris heard a shot, but he did not see the shooting.

Mootye also called former police chief Steven Rhoads, as an expert witness, to refute Dotson’s version of the incident. Rhoads testified that based on the forensic evidence, it was his opinion that Mootye was between three and five feet away from Dotson when he was shot. He also opined that based on the physical evidence at the scene, including the blood evidence and shell casings, the shooting could not have taken place in the manner described by Dotson. Additionally, Mootye also presented evidence that Cynthia Bryant and Officer Dotson shared a prior relationship. Specifically, Mootye called Michelle Hudson, his cousin, as a witness, who testified that Bryant was a drug user and a prostitute, and that Dotson operated a criminal enterprise with Bryant and was the father of her son, Tim. Dotson testified that he did not know Cynthia Bryant or Michelle Hudson.

After the shooting, Dotson called EMS and waited for their arrival. The City of Gary transported Mootye to Methodist Hospital in the custody of the Gary Police Department. Mootye suffered, among other injuries, a gun-shot wound to the right side of his chest, loss of a lung, major intra-abdominal bleeding, perforation of the transverse colon, multiple perforations of the small bowel, laceration of the right hemi-diaphragm, post-operative bleeding, respiratory failure, pneumonia, anemia caused by blood loss, jaundice, dysphagia and peritonitis, and paralysis of the leg. He incurred over $198,000 in medical bills due to these injuries. When Mootye was taken to the hospital he was also tested for drugs, which came back negative. He was later charged with a variety of offenses stemming from the traffic stop, all of which were dismissed.

Immediately after the shooting, the City of Gary confiscated Dotson’s firearm and conducted an investigation into the events of that evening. Patrick Tracey, a detective in the Lake County Police Department, led the investigation. Tracey spoke with Dotson, Rosa, and Bryant, each individually.

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Bluebook (online)
73 F. App'x 161, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mootye-v-dotson-ca7-2003.