Reyes v. City of New York

992 F. Supp. 2d 290, 2014 WL 173412, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6923
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 16, 2014
DocketNo. 11 Civ. 7084(AT)
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 992 F. Supp. 2d 290 (Reyes v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reyes v. City of New York, 992 F. Supp. 2d 290, 2014 WL 173412, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6923 (S.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

AN ALISA TORRES, District Judge:

In this action, Plaintiff, Mario Reyes, alleges civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and pendent claims under state law against seven police officers and the City of New York (the “Defendants”). Defendants move for partial summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. For the reasons stated below, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

BACKGROUND

On April 9, 2011, Plaintiff purchased two glassines of heroin from an unknown person on a public street in Manhattan. PI. 56.1 ¶ 1; Def. 56.1 ¶ 1. Later, on the corner of 117th Street and Park Avenue, Detective Martin Campos, who was dressed in plain clothes, approached Plaintiff and asked “[w]hat do you got in your pocket?” Reyes Dep. 56:110, Sept. 7, 2012; McAllister Dep. 19:48, Feb. 25, 2013. Plaintiff testified that he did not know Campos was a police officer and that Campos did not identify himself as such. Reyes Dep. 56:20-25, Sept. 7, 2012. Plaintiff thought Campos was a thug. Id. at 54:45, 57:1116. Believing that he was about to be robbed, Plaintiff “put [his] hand out and kept a distance.” Id. at 57:22-25, 61:19-24. Plaintiff then removed the heroin from his pocket with his right hand to safeguard the two bags. Id. at 61:3-24.

Campos testified that he approached Plaintiff on the street because Sergeant Cardona had informed Campos that Plaintiff was smoking a PCP cigarette. Campos Dep. 26:17-21, Nov. 13, 2012. According to Campos, he stated, “Stop, police, stop.” Id. at 34:516. Plaintiff paused for a moment before reaching into his pocket and attempting to swallow the heroin. Id. at 27:1824. Plaintiff then allegedly charged Campos and Sergeant McAllister, the officer who accompanied Campos. Id. McAllister testified to a similar course of events: the officers identified themselves as police, Plaintiff stopped momentarily, attempted to swallow the heroin, and charged the officers. McAllister Dep. 19:9-10, 20:12-24, Feb. 25, 2013.

After being handcuffed and transported to the 25th Precinct, Plaintiff was strip searched. Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 14-17. During the strip search, a physical struggle ensued. PI. 56.1 ¶ 20; Def. 56.1 ¶20. Plaintiff alleges that various officers assaulted him and denies that he engaged any of the officers in a struggle. PI. 56.1 ¶¶20, 33. Defendants do not contest that there are disputes of material fact surrounding the struggle, which necessitate a trial.1 Def. Mem. 1. After the struggle, Plaintiff was escorted to Bellevue hospital for medical treatment. PI. 56.1 ¶¶ 21-23; Def. 56.1 ¶¶ 21-23.

After leaving the hospital, Plaintiff was arraigned in Criminal Court {Id. at ¶¶ 24) and charged with tampering with evidence, assault in the second degree, resisting arrest, and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Id. at ¶¶ 25. At arraignment, Plaintiff entered a plea of not guilty. The judge set bail, but Plaintiff was unable to post bail [295]*295and was transferred to Rikers Island. Id. at ¶¶ 27. Around June 9, 2011, after serving approximately 60 days at Rikers, Plaintiff pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree. Id. at ¶¶ 29. Plaintiff was sentenced to time served and was released from custody. Id. at ¶¶ 30.

DISCUSSION

I. Standard of Review

Summary judgment may be granted only if the court concludes that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Feingold v. New York, 366 F.3d 138, 148 (2d Cir.2004). A dispute is genuine when there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the non-moving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Material facts are those which may affect the outcome of a case. Id.

The-moving party initially bears the burden of informing the court of the absence of a genuine dispute of material fact , by citing to particulars in the record. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Koch v. Town of Brattleboro, 287 F.3d 162, 165 (2d Cir.2002). The movant may satisfy his burden by “showing that the materials cited do not establish the absence or presence of a genuine dispute.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(1)(B). If the non-moving party has the burden of proof on specific issues, the movant may also satisfy his own initial burden by demonstrating that the adverse party cannot produce admissible evidence to support an issue of fact. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548; PepsiCo Inc. v. Coca-Cola Co., 315 F.3d 101, 105 (2d Cir.2002). In deciding the motion, the court views the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 233, 112 S.Ct. 534, 116 L.Ed.2d 589 (1991); O’Hara v. Weeks Marine, Inc., 294 F.3d 55, 61 (2d Cir.2002).

If the moving party meets his initial burden, the burden then shifts to the opposing party to establish a genuine issue of fact. Beard v. Banks, 548 U.S. 521, 529, 126 S.Ct. 2572, 165 L.Ed.2d 697 (2006); Santos v. Murdock, 243 F.3d 681, 683 (2d Cir.2001). The opposing party may not avoid summary judgment by relying solely on conclusory allegations or denials that are unsupported by factual data. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56(c); Amaker v. Foley, 274 F.3d 677, 680-81 (2d Cir.2001). Instead, the opposing party must set forth “specific facts showing there is a genuine issue for trial.” Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotation marks omitted). A nonmoving party demonstrates a “genuine issue for trial” by presenting evidence about a material fact, such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in his favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505.

II. Unlawful Seizure

The Fourth Amendment prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const, amend. IV. Before determining whether a search or seizure is unreasonable, courts must find that a search or seizure occurred. “A seizure occurs when (1) a person obeys a police officer’s order to stop or (2) a person that does not submit to an officer’s show of authority is physically restrained.” United States v. Simmons, 560 F.3d 98, 105 (2d Cir.2009) (citation omitted). A police officer’s order to stop constitutes a seizure “only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free [296]*296to leave.”

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
992 F. Supp. 2d 290, 2014 WL 173412, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6923, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reyes-v-city-of-new-york-nysd-2014.