Parrish v. Georgia State Patrol

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedDecember 20, 2023
Docket6:23-cv-00070
StatusUnknown

This text of Parrish v. Georgia State Patrol (Parrish v. Georgia State Patrol) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parrish v. Georgia State Patrol, (S.D. Ga. 2023).

Opinion

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA

STATESBORO DIVISION

SIDNEY RENARD PARRISH, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CV 623-070 ) GEORGIA STATE PATROL; THOMIS ) BOND; and STEPHEN SPIRES, ) ) Defendants. ) _________________________________________________________

MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION _________________________________________________________

Plaintiff commenced the above-captioned case pro se and is proceeding in forma pauperis (“IFP”). Because he is proceeding IFP, Plaintiff’s complaint must be screened to protect potential Defendants. Phillips v. Mashburn, 746 F.2d 782, 785 (11th Cir. 1984). I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background In his complaint, Plaintiff names as Defendants: (1) Georgia State Patrol (“GSP”), (2) Officer Thomis Bond, and (3) Officer Stephen Spires. (Doc. no. 1, pp. 2-3.) Taking all of Plaintiff’s allegations as true, as the Court must for purposes of the present screening, the facts are as follows. This complaint arises out of three traffic stops and arrests of Plaintiff by GSP officers on January 2, 2023, February 3, 2023, and September 11, 2023. (Id. at 4.) 1. The First Arrest The first traffic stop and arrest in January 2023 began with Plaintiff running a stop sign. (Id. at 7.) Officer Bond conducted the traffic stop and asked Plaintiff why he ran the stop sign there” and admitted to drinking a beer. (Id.) Plaintiff agreed to undergo field sobriety tests but refused to submit to a breathalyzer. (Id.) Plaintiff failed the sobriety tests, in part because he stumbled during the walk-and-turn test, which he blames on the roadway being uneven because of recent scraping or plowing. (Id.) Plaintiff complained the ground was not level and Officer Bond said, “This is the best we’ve got.” (Id.) Because he failed the sobriety tests, Plaintiff was arrested for driving under the

influence (“DUI”), voluntarily submitted to a blood test, and was later booked into the Screven County Jail. (Id.) The police report prepared by Officer Bond contained misrepresentations, including that Plaintiff had bloodshot eyes and a slow speech pattern. (Id. at 8.) Though Plaintiff complained about the uneven roadway, Officer Bond wrote in the report that “I asked Mr. Parrish if we could both agree the ground we were on was flat and level.” (Id.) The test did not take place on the road but on the side of the road in front of Officer Bond’s patrol car. (Id.)

The booking from Screven County Jail shows Plaintiff does not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. (Id.) The criminal docket from Screven County confirms Plaintiff was arrested on January 2, 2023, charged with DUI and failure to stop at a stop sign, and released on bond.1 On April 26, 2023, the case was disposed of by order of nolle prosequi because Officer Bond could not be located. (Id.)

1 See Screven County Criminal Case Docket, available at https://peachcourt.com/search (in “county” select “Screven” and in “search by party name,” search for “Parrish, Sidney” open STCR2023000038) (last visited December 18, 2023); see also United States v. Jones, 29 F.3d 1549, 1553 (11th Cir. 1994) (noting court may take judicial notice of another court’s records to establish existence of The second traffic stop and arrest in February 2023 occurred when Plaintiff was driving home after drinking a beer at a gas station and listening to music. (Id. at 9.) While on the way home, he saw police cars with flashing lights on both sides of the road and moved his vehicle directly over the center line in an attempt to comply with the “move over law.” (Id.) During the traffic stop, Officer Spires asked, “Were you trying to run me over?” (Id.) Officer Spires asked for Plaintiff’s driver’s license and Plaintiff explained he had a permit, and the status of

his license would be decided in a future court case. (Id.) Officer Spires saw the bag containing the beer in the passenger seat and asked Plaintiff how much he had to drink. (Id. at 10.) Because Officer Spires could see a beer missing, Plaintiff admitted to drinking one beer at the gas station and also taking “psych medicine.” (Id.) Plaintiff agreed to perform field sobriety tests, informed Officer Spires of his “gout flare- ups,” and submitted to a breathalyzer. (Id.) Plaintiff believed he performed all sobriety tests “satisfactorily” considering he was suffering from a flare-up at the time. (Id.)

After an hour and a half of testing and retesting with the breathalyzer, Plaintiff was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol and medication. (Id.) Officer Spires told Plaintiff that “[He] only blew a .02 but it’s your medication that is causing the problem.” (Id.) Plaintiff refused to take a blood test because he wanted an administrative license suspension hearing. (Id.) The police report authored by Officer Spired misrepresented that Plaintiff had bloodshot eyes, was withdrawn, and had a mumbled speech pattern. (Id. at 11.) The Jenkins County Jail described Plaintiff as not appearing to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs

when booked. (Id.) The body camera footage also appeared to have been manipulated because it was “very difficult to see.” (Id. at 11-12.) he and Officer Spires testified about the events of the second arrest. (Id. at 12.) Plaintiff showed the body camera footage where Plaintiff appeared to be moving and speaking normally. (Id.) The administrative judge suspended Plaintiff’s license, relying on the testimony of Officer Spires, despite flaws noted concerning Plaintiff’s arrest and the body camera footage. (Id. at 13-14.) The court wrote, “[A]lthough the court did not have the same opportunity to observe the petitioner as the arresting officer had, the court could not detect a

difference in speech pattern at the hearing versus during the investigation.” (Id. at 13.) The court also wrote, “[I]t was difficult to see petitioner’s feet for the entire test. It was not clear, even if the video showed that the officer incorrectly scored two out of four clues, which it does not show, two clues is sufficient to show impairment.” (Id.) Plaintiff believes the court’s decision suggests Plaintiff is disputing probable cause, but he is not. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that “[Y]es, the elements ascribed to Plaintiff by [Officer Spires] do constitute probable cause. But what Plaintiff was arguing was, those elements are not the truth.” (Id.)

Because Plaintiff admitted to drinking a beer during both his first and second arrest, Plaintiff believes Officers Bond and Spires “saw an easy opportunity to use their positions of authority to arrest Plaintiff for driving under the influence.” (Id. at 15.) GSP has become “spoiled, undisciplined, punks, with badges who carry themselves with an attitude of heehee, haha, look at what I can get away with.” (Id. at 18.) Officers Bond and Spires “chose to falsify their arrest reports.” (Id.) In July 2023, Plaintiff suffered an unspecified psychotic episode and was treated at

Saint Simons Behavioral Health near Brunswick, Georgia. (Id. at 16.) On September 25, 2023, Plaintiff pled no contest to reckless driving relating to the second traffic stop in which docket does not contain any reference to this case.2 3. The Third Arrest The third traffic stop and arrest in September 2023 occurred when Plaintiff pulled into a gas station while driving home. (Id. at 17.) An unidentified GSP officer pulled in behind him with the lights and siren activated. (Id.) The officer accused Plaintiff of not wearing a seatbelt. (Id.) Plaintiff admitted he was not wearing a seatbelt and explained he did not bother

to wear it because he was stopping to get gas. (Id.) The officer asked for Plaintiff’s license, and Plaintiff admitted it was suspended. (Id.) Officer Spires arrived on the scene, hid his face from Plaintiff, spoke with the officer, and got back into his patrol car. (Id.

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