N.S. v. City of Alexandria

919 F. Supp. 2d 773, 2013 WL 297952, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9840
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 24, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 09-0779
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 919 F. Supp. 2d 773 (N.S. v. City of Alexandria) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
N.S. v. City of Alexandria, 919 F. Supp. 2d 773, 2013 WL 297952, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9840 (W.D. La. 2013).

Opinion

RULING

DEE D. DRELL, Chief Judge.

Before the Court are the Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Defendants Officer Clifton Fairbanks, the City of Alexandria, and former Chief of the Alexandria Police Department Darren Coutee. (Docs. 77, 79). Also before the Court is a Motion to Strike filed by Defendants regarding the expert testimony of Dr. Charles Kelly. (Doc. 86). All responses have been filed, and these matters are ready for disposition. For the following reasons, the Motions for Summary Judgment and the Motion to Strike will be GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART as set forth in detail below.

I. Background

On May 12, 2009, Nikki McCoy Small, as natural tutrix for her minor children, R.G. and K.G., filed a Complaint on their behalf to recover damages for the death of the children’s father, Richard Goss. The Complaint alleges violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. (Doc. 1). It also makes claims under the Louisiana State Constitution, Article I §§ 2 and 5. (Doc. 1). Finally, there are allegations under general tort law principles from La. Civ. Code Articles 2315 and 2320, and “common law” tort principles adopted by Louisiana courts. (Doc. 1).1

Before his death on November 26, 2008, Goss was drinking hard grain alcohol in a room at the Greenbrier Motel in Rapides Parish. (Docs. 1; 76-10). He was accompanied by a female, Darnell Willis, who called Acadian Ambulance Service when Goss became so intoxicated that she “couldn’t do nothing with him anymore.” (Docs. 76-8; 76-10). The call notes reflect Goss was not trying to hurt himself or anyone else at the time of the requested ambulance dispatch. (Doc. 76-10).

Based on protocol, the ambulance service called for police backup. Id. Police Officer Clifton Fairbanks, a corporal and patrol officer with the Alexandria Police Department, heard a call on the dispatch radio during his lunch break requesting an officer to meet Acadian Ambulance at the Greenbrier Motel, which was in his patrol zone, to assist with a suicidal subject. (Doc. 76-8). When Fairbanks arrived at the Greenbrier, he encountered Willis walking quickly away from Room 16 where Goss was located. Fairbanks initiated a conversation with Willis as the two passed one another; Willis told him she was not the reason for the ambulance call, and that Goss was “tripping and drinking.” Id.2

[777]*777Fairbanks continued to Room 16 with Acadian Ambulance employee Russell Boney following him. (Doc. 76-10). Fairbanks entered the unlit room and remained in the threshold, between four and twelve feet from Goss, during the entire incident. (Docs. 76-8; 76-10). Initially, Boney was also in the room with Goss and Fairbanks. Id.3 Goss, who was on the bed, was partially clothed and rambling. Id. Fairbanks remembers Goss’s making statements such as “stay alert,” “stay alive,” “big man, huh?” “Double Chevron man,” “I got mine right here,” and “watch your situational awareness.” (Doc. 76-8). Boney remembers hearing Goss make a statement about “why you always have to be aware of your surroundings,” but was otherwise unable to understand Goss. (Doc. 76-10).

During the conversation between Fairbanks and Goss, Goss began to move to his right; toward the left front of the bed near the headboard. (Docs. 76-8; 76-10). This movement occurred as Boney exited the room to speak with Willis in the parking lot because he wanted more information about Goss’s condition. (Doc. 76-10). Fairbanks did not want to take his eyes off of Goss or leave the room because he did not know what was in the room or whether the room was safe. (Doc. 76-8).

Sometime during the interaction between Fairbanks and Goss, Fairbanks asked Willis if Goss had a weapon. (Doc. 76-8). Fairbanks did not hear an answer from Willis, but did hear Goss respond “yeah I’ve got mine right here.” (Doc. 76-8). Fairbanks saw Goss reach with his right hand to his right in a downward motion toward the area between the mattress and the boxspring. (Doc. 76-8).4 Fairbanks drew his weapon, and commanded Goss to put his hands up at least four times. (Docs. 76-8; 76-10). Boney, who had returned to the outside of Room 16, saw Fairbanks’s arms extended into the room and heard the commands. (Doc. 76-10). Fairbanks fired three times, twice in quick succession and then a third time after a slight pause. (Docs. 76-8; 76-9). There is conflicting testimony about whether Fairbanks moved for cover between the second and the third shots. (Docs. 76-9; 76-10). According to Boney, Goss was not breathing and did not have a pulse within twenty to thirty seconds of being removed from the room. (Doc. 76-10).

Fairbanks had no formal training in suicide prevention. (Docs. 76-8; 76-11). According to uncontested record filings, Fairbanks’s police training met or exceeded all Louisiana Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST)5 requirements. (Doc. 76-7).

Defendants claim Plaintiff agreed to dismiss the claims made against Coutee. (Doc. 85). However, to date there has been no record filing of a pleading' seeking to dismiss those claims. Therefore, the following will analyze Plaintiffs claims against Fairbanks, Coutee, and the City of Alexandria.

[778]*778II. Law and Analysis

A. Motion for Summary Judgment

A court “shall grant summary judgment if 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). Although Rule 56 was amended effective December 1, 2010, “the amended rule contains no substantive change to the standard.” Seacor Holdings, Inc. v. Commonwealth Ins. Co., 635 F.3d 675, 680, n. 8 (5th Cir.2011). An issue as to 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). We consider all “evidence in the light most favorable to the party resisting the motion.” Trevino v. Celanese Corp., 701 F.2d 397, 407 (5th Cir.1983). It is important to note that the standard for a summary judgment is twofold: (1) there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, and (2) the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

B. Fourth Amendment Excessive Force Claim Against Fairbanks

Plaintiff alleges Fairbanks, in his official and individual capacities, used excessive force when he shot Goss. Excessive force claims are analyzed under the Fourth Amendment reasonableness standard. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989). “An officer’s use of deadly force is not excessive, and thus no constitutional violation occurs, when the officer reasonably believes that the suspect poses a threat of serious harm to the officer or to others.” Manis v. Lawson, 585 F.3d 839, 843 (5th Cir.2009).

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Bluebook (online)
919 F. Supp. 2d 773, 2013 WL 297952, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9840, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ns-v-city-of-alexandria-lawd-2013.