Rainey v. Patton

873 F. Supp. 2d 908, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76192, 2012 WL 1970069
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedJune 1, 2012
DocketCase No. 1:11cv327
StatusPublished

This text of 873 F. Supp. 2d 908 (Rainey v. Patton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rainey v. Patton, 873 F. Supp. 2d 908, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76192, 2012 WL 1970069 (S.D. Ohio 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION AND ORDER

STEPHANIE K. BOWMAN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Plaintiffs Shanya Rainey and Antwan Roland filed the original complaint in this matter on June 7, 2011, asserting claims for illegal seizure/false arrest, excessive force, and malicious prosecution, pursuant 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants Jeff Patton and Brandon Goff. (Doc. 4). Plaintiffs’ complaint arises out of a traffic stop involving Defendants, both of whom are Police Officers for the City of Cheviot, Ohio.

This civil action is now before the Court on Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (Doc. 22) and the parties’ responsive memoranda. (Docs. 26, 32).1 Defendants [911]*911have also submitted a Statement of Proposed Undisputed Facts (Doc. 23) and Plaintiff has filed a response thereto. (Doc. 31). The parties have consented to the exercise of jurisdiction by the Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c). (See Doc. 20). For the reasons set forth herein, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted.

A. Facts

Plaintiff Rainey

On September 23, 2010, Jeff Patton and Brandon Goff, both of whom are Police Officers for the City of Cheviot, Ohio, responded to a call for assistance from Plaintiff Shanya Rainey. (Rainey dep. at 20). Rainey called the police because she and her boyfriend had been arguing and she wanted him removed from her apartment. Id. Once the Officers arrived, Plaintiffs boyfriend was eventually removed from the apartment. Thereafter, Rainey also decided to leave her apartment because she feared her boyfriend would return. Rainey got into her vehicle and pulled out of the gravel apartment parking lot onto the adjacent street, Camvic Terrace. Id. at 28-29.

Officer Patton was behind Rainey as she left the parking lot. (Patton dep. at 9). According to Officer Patton, Rainey “accelerated rapidly” in the parking lot, throwing rocks from the wheels of her car, and then pulled out in front of another car on Camvic. (Patton dep. at 9). Because Rainey failed to yield when pulling out onto Camvic, Patton pursued her on Camvic with his lights on, signaling for her to pull over. Id. Plaintiff testified, however, that she did not pull out in front of another vehicle. (Rainey dep. at 29).

Rainey did not pull over immediately upon noticing Officer Patton’s overhead lights, and instead drove into a nearby parking lot of a Goodwill store located at the intersection of Camvic and North Bend Road. (Rainey dep. at 34). After Rainey pulled into the Goodwill parking lot, she asserts that she slowed momentarily and then drove diagonally all the way across the parking lot, stopping just short of a blocked exit. Id. Patton indicated that Rainey did momentarily stop on Camvic, but then she pulled away from him as he was exiting his cruiser in order to effectuate the traffic stop. (Patton dep. at 7). Once Rainey stopped, Patton asserts that he brought his cruiser to a stop behind her vehicle and ordered Rainey out of her vehicle and to the ground. He did so because she had failed to initially stop on Camvic and continued ignoring Patton’s instruction to stop after turning into the Goodwill parking lot. (Patton dep. at 14). According to Rainey, once stopped, she remained in her car with the driver side door closed. Officer Patton, however, asserts that Plaintiff was in the process of exiting her car when he pulled up behind her. (Patton dep. at 14).

According to Rainey, Officer Patton’s gun was drawn when he exited his vehicle. Officer Patton maintains that he drew his weapon because he could not see Rainey’s hands as he was ordering her to ground. (Patton dep. at 14). After being ordered at least twice to do so by Patton, Rainey got down on the ground.

While on the ground, Plaintiff Rainey could hear Officer Patton’s K9 police dog barking from his vehicle. Rainey maintains that Officer Patton retrieved the dog from his police vehicle and began yelling as he guided the dog to Plaintiffs location [912]*912on the ground. (Rainey dep. at 43; Roland dep. at 13-14). Rainey testified that Officer Patton got the dog in position over Rainey’s body and continued yelling at Rainey. According to Rainey, Officer Patton released the dog’s choke chain that was restraining the dog and the dog proceeded to attack Plaintiff Rainey by biting her on the back. (Rainey dep. 44-45). Rainey did not hear Officer Patton give the K9 a command to bite her.

Additionally, when Rainey got down on the ground she had her cell phone in her hand. (Rainey dep. at 39). Patton testified that he asked Rainey several times to put down her cell phone. (Patton dep. at 16). Rainey maintains that she was told only once to do so. (Doc. 26, ¶ 10). Rainey further testified that she tried to use her cell phone to call someone while she was laying on the ground after she was bitten by the dog. (Rainey dep. at 40-42). She then threw the phone down to prevent the Officers from taking it away from her. Id. at 41.

According to Patton, the dog exited the cruiser on its own, through an open window of the cruiser. (Patton dep. at 19); Patton asserts that while Rainey was on the ground, she turned her head quickly away from the K9 unit and was immediately bitten by the dog on the back. Patton testified that the K9 unit is not trained to “attack” suspects, only to “apprehend and hold” fleeing suspects. (Patton dep. at 25). Patton further testified that the K9 unit is trained to bite suspects when they move defensibly during an arrest. (Patton dep. at 50).

At some point during this encounter, Officer Patton radioed Officer Goff to respond to the parking lot to assist with handcuffing Rainey. Officer Goff arrived at the scene immediately after Rainey was bitten by the K9 unit. Officer Goff placed Rainey in handcuffs and transported Rainey to the police/fire station to be seen by an EMT. (Rainey dep. at 50). The emergency personnel at the station indicated that Rainey needed to go to the hospital. Id. Officer Goff then transported Rainey to University Hospital for treatment. The wound was cleaned and Plaintiff was given some pain medication. (Rainey dep. at 66). She was charged and then released. Id. at 64.2

Plaintiff Roland

Antwan Roland was on a scooter near Camvic Terrace and witnessed the incident with Rainey and Officers Patton and Goff. (Roland dep. at 9). When Roland arrived at the Goodwill parking lot, he first noticed that both Rainey’s and Patton’s cars were stopped in the parking lot and that Patton was in the process of ordering Rainey to the ground. (Roland dep. at 23). According to Roland, once Rainey was on the ground, Patton retrieved the K9 unit from his cruiser and began yelling at Rainey. (Roland dep. at 23). Roland further testified that Patton allowed some slack in the K9’s chain, and the K9 lunged forward and bit Rainey on the back. (Roland dep. at 26).

After Rainey is bitten by the K9 unit, Officer Patton noticed that Roland is present at the scene. (Patton dep. at 39). Thereafter, Patton secured the K9 unit in his cruiser and ordered Roland to leave the area. (Patton dep. at 39; Roland dep. at 32).

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Bluebook (online)
873 F. Supp. 2d 908, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76192, 2012 WL 1970069, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rainey-v-patton-ohsd-2012.