Seaman v. Karr

59 P.3d 701, 114 Wash. App. 665, 2002 Wash. App. LEXIS 3149
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedDecember 20, 2002
DocketNo. 27935-5-II
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 59 P.3d 701 (Seaman v. Karr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seaman v. Karr, 59 P.3d 701, 114 Wash. App. 665, 2002 Wash. App. LEXIS 3149 (Wash. Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Hunt, C.J.

Louis D. and Socorro R. Seaman appeal the summary judgment dismissal of their civil rights action against the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, the Lakewood Police Department, the Tacoma Police Department, and various individual law enforcement officers (Defendants). The Seamans argue that the trial court erred in granting summary judgment to the Defendants on grounds of qualified immunity. The Seamans contend that there is [670]*670sufficient evidence for a fact finder to conclude that the officers (1) unreasonably detained the Seamans, (2) used excessive force, and (3) intentionally inflicted emotional distress.

We agree in part and reverse the summary judgment dismissal of the Seamans’ emotional distress and unlawful detention claims, except as to defendants Jack Nasworthy and Jane McCarthy, whose dismissal from the action we affirm. We also affirm the trial court’s summary judgment dismissal of the Seamans’ remaining claims, including excessive force.

FACTS1

On April 25,1999, the Seamans moved into their new residence at 3511 South Orchard, apartment C-7, in Tacoma. Several days later, they placed their name on the mailbox in the entryway. Documentation of the Seamans’ tenancy was complete in April 1999, and it was common knowledge to the apartment management and tenants that the Seamans occupied apartment C-7.

Mr. and Mrs. Seaman were 67 and 37 years of age, respectively, and Caucasian and Filipino, respectively. They were not connected to a shooting in Lakewood a few weeks later.

I. The Previous Shooting

On May 13, 1999, two men were shot at the 5400 block of Boston Avenue Southwest in Lakewood. One victim, Albert Turner,2 died at the scene; the other, Dante Antwan Minor, refused to cooperate with detectives. The shooter escaped in [671]*671a blue van and left it in a parking lot at 3511 South Orchard, the Seamans’ apartment complex. The murder weapon, a 9 mm pistol, was not found.

The following day, Pierce County sheriff’s detectives took Juan Rodriguez-Maldonado, the driver of the getaway van, and Hugo Perez-Ortiz, the shooter, into custody. Rodriguez-Maldonado described several people who had been in the van at the time of the shooting, identifying one as Hector Mateo. Subsequent investigation revealed several known drug dealers of Puerto Rican descent linked to Rodriguez-Maldonado, Perez-Ortiz, and the previous shooting of Perez-Ortiz’s cousin.

Detectives found the abandoned blue van. It was registered to Mateo, who listed his address as 3511 South Orchard, apartment C-7. The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department believed that Mateo and the murder weapon were at this apartment

II. Search Warrant

On May 18, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department obtained a search warrant for 3511 South Orchard, apartment C-7, and an arrest warrant for Mateo. Believing that the apartment managers had tipped off other residents about previous police investigations, the sheriff’s department did not contact the management office to check the names of the apartment’s current occupants. Thus, they did not know that Mateo had moved out or that the Seamans now resided in apartment C-7.

The sheriff’s department determined that execution of this search warrant was high risk because of the two previous shootings and the drug- and gang-related violence in which the suspects were involved. Consequently, the sheriff’s department requested and received assistance from the Tacoma Police Department Special Weapons and Tactic (SWAT) team.

[672]*672A. Preliminary SWAT Team Briefing

At an 8:00 a.m., May 20, briefing, the SWAT team reviewed with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department an operation order for executing the high-risk search warrant. The operation order named Robert Rodriguez as the primary homicide suspect, described him as a 20-year-old Hispanic male, 150 pounds, and included his picture. The operation order also named Marcos L. Serrano as a suspect, describing him as a “DARKH SKINNED PUERTO RICAN OR BLACK MALE.” Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 157. The operation order cautioned:

THE PERSON(S) INVOLVED [IN THE SHOOTING] ARE KNOWN TO BE VERY VIOLENT, ARMED WITH HANDGUNS. THEY HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN NUMEROUS HOMICIDES, SHOOTINGS, AND DURING PREVIOUS ARREST SITUATIONS HAVE BEEN ARMED. THEY ARE ALSO REPORTED TO BE IN POSSESSION OF BALLISTIC VESTS____DURING [SERVICE OF ANOTHER WARRANT] IN LAKEWOOD, [SOME OF THESE SAME] SUSPECTS INTENTIONALLY SET THE APARTMENT ON FIRE TO DESTROY PERISHABLE EVIDENCE. THE SUSPECTS VIOLENTLY RESISTED ARREST WHILE THE APARTMENT WAS ON FIRE, OTHERS BAILED OUT A BACK WINDOW TO TRY TO ESCAPE.... THE SUSPECTS AT THIS LOCATION ARE BELIEVED TO BE ORGANIZED CRIMINALS, DEALING IN NARCOTICS. IT IS UNCERTAIN HOW MANY OR WHO WILL BE PRESENT. SOME OF THE SUSPECTS ARE CUBAN (BLACK) MALES, OTHERS ARE PUERTO RICAN OR MEXICAN MALES. AGES RANGE FROM20’S TO 40’S.

CP at 157 (emphasis added).

The operation order further stated that (1) no children, elderly persons, or dogs were believed to be at the location, and (2) the apartment management office was to be contacted and advised of the situation during and after service of the search warrant.

[673]*673B. Execution op Search Warrant

About 9:30 a.m., several SWAT officers approached the Seamans’ residence; they wore dark uniforms, helmets, and stockings covering their faces, and carried machine guns. They moved past the mailbox, which displayed the Seamans’ name, to apartment C-7. To maintain the element of surprise, the SWAT team knocked and announced at the rear sliding glass door.

1. Entry of Apartment

Seeing no movement inside, the SWAT team forcibly opened the apartment door and released a “distraction device.” The distraction device exploded loudly; it shattered the sliding glass door, blowing glass into the living room; it dispersed smoke everywhere and ignited the carpet. When they entered the apartment, instead of finding the individuals described in the operation orders, the SWAT team found a terrified elderly white male, a middle-aged Filipino female, and two large dogs. Nonetheless, the SWAT team proceeded as planned.

Mr. and Mrs. Seaman, dressed casually, were preparing breakfast. Suddenly, unknown invaders in black “ninja suits,” with masks over their faces, rushed in from several different directions, carrying machine guns and yelling, “[H]ut, hut, hut. . . .” CP at 124. Fearing for their lives, Mr. Seaman froze and Mrs. Seaman ran to the master bathroom, slammed the door shut, turned off the light, and hid in a corner behind the door, crying and shaking. They had no idea that the armed men were the police.

The Defendants pointed machine guns at Mr. Seaman’s face as they advanced toward him yelling, “[H]ut, hut, hut. . . .” CP at 125. Mr. Seaman neither resisted nor provoked them. Several Defendants hit Mr. Seaman’s back, threw him facedown to the floor, and landed on top of him, causing him breathing difficulty. As several Defendants aimed loaded machine guns at Mr. Seaman, one Defendant [674]*674told him that if he moved, he would be shot. The Defendants then forced Mr.

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Seaman v. Karr
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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
59 P.3d 701, 114 Wash. App. 665, 2002 Wash. App. LEXIS 3149, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seaman-v-karr-washctapp-2002.