Varnadore v. Merritt

343 F. Supp. 3d 1367
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Georgia
DecidedSeptember 30, 2018
DocketNO. 2:17-CV-00013
StatusPublished

This text of 343 F. Supp. 3d 1367 (Varnadore v. Merritt) 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
Varnadore v. Merritt, 343 F. Supp. 3d 1367 (S.D. Ga. 2018).

Opinion

HON. LISA GODBEY WOOD, JUDGE

This Matter comes before the Court on Defendant Brandon Merritt's Motion for Summary Judgment. Dkt. No. 36. This Motion has been fully briefed and is ripe for review. This case involves the tragic death of Joshua Foskey. Mr. Foskey had locked himself in his vehicle and was sweating. His mother called to notify the authorities. She made a second phone call to report that Mr. Foskey stated he was not going to jail and that he wanted to die. Mr. Foskey drove away at a high rate of speed. After being briefly chased down by Deputy Brandon Merritt in his squad car, screeching to an abrupt stop on the shoulder of the road, swinging open his door to jump out of his truck, refusing to show Deputy Merritt his hands, reaching back into his truck with both hands, and swinging his body around to face Deputy Merritt while lifting an object in his hand toward the Deputy, Mr. Foskey was shot and killed by Deputy Merritt. Mr. Foskey was later found to be unarmed, and the object he had retrieved appears to have been a CD case and papers.

Plaintiff argues that an officer is required to wait until a suspect plants his feet and takes aim before an officer can fire his weapon. The law does not support Plaintiff's argument. Based on the indisputable video evidence shown by the dashcam, an objectively reasonable officer in Deputy Merritt's shoes would have been justified in believing he was in danger of being shot by a deadly weapon. As such, despite the tragedy of this case, Deputy Merritt is protected from liability under the law, and for the following reasons, Deputy Merritt's Motion is GRANTED.

Background Facts

The undisputed evidence shows that at around 9:00 a.m. on May 22, 2014, Lisa V. Varnadore called 911 requesting an ambulance, reporting that her son, Mr. Foskey, was asleep in his locked truck, that she could not wake him, and that he appeared to be sweating from his head. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 10, "Initial 911 Call from Vicki Varnadore." In response, Deputy Merritt was dispatched to a residence at 59 West Georgia Avenue. Id."Initial JDSO Dispatch." Deputy Merritt arrived in his vehicle at what turned out to be a neighboring residence. Dkt. No. 37-2 ¶ 4. Meanwhile, the 911 dispatcher called Ms. Varnadore back, and she explained to the dispatcher that her son had woken up, that he had gotten out of his truck and staggered around "talking crazy," that a needle had fallen out of the truck, and that he had driven away in his Black Dodge Ram. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 10, "2nd Call with Vicki Varnadore." She also explained that "he said 'I'm not going to jail. I want to die.' " Id.

To fill Deputy Merritt in, the dispatcher phoned him and reported that the caller said her son had driven toward Snipesville in a Black Dodge Ram and that he was "10-55," which means that he was under the influence. Id."JDSO Dispatch # 2"; Dkt. No. 37-2 ¶ 4. Nobody reported that Foskey was or might be armed. Dkt. No. 38 at 66. When Deputy Merritt arrived at *1372the neighboring residence, he saw Foskey's truck spin out of the driveway. Dkt. No. 38 at 66. He told the same to the dispatcher and started his pursuit. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 10, "JDSO Dispatch # 2."

The dashcam video shows that Deputy Merritt entered the road at 9:14:21 a.m. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 10 "Deputy Merritt, Front View Dashboard Camera" (Video 1) at ~0:40. Deputy Merritt activated his blue lights. Dkt. No. 38 at 36. He sped down the road, and Mr. Foskey's black truck came into view about 45 seconds later at 9:15:05. Id. at ~1:25. Deputy Merritt testified that he reached speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour attempting to catch up to Foskey's truck. Dkt. No. 37-2 ¶ 5. During this time, video shows that both Mr. Foskey and Deputy Merritt passed another driver in a red truck in the lane of oncoming traffic. Video 1 ~1:26. Foskey's truck twice veered into the oncoming lane. Id. at ~1:36, 1:42-47. Deputy Merritt told the 911 dispatcher that "he's all over the road; still can't get him to stop." Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 10, "JDSO Dispatch # 3." At 9:15:29, Mr. Foskey's brake lights came on, and his truck veered off the road and came to an abrupt halt on the shoulder of the road. Id. at ~1:49-1:57. From the time that Deputy Merritt started down the road until Mr. Foskey's truck came to a complete stop, about a minute and thirteen seconds had elapsed.

As soon as he stopped the vehicle, Mr. Foskey swung open his driver side door and got out of his truck at 9:15:41. Video 1 at ~2:00. Deputy Merritt exited his vehicle immediately after at 9:15:43. "Deputy Merritt, Rear View Dashboard Camera" (Video 2) at ~1:58. As both parties agree, the dispatcher informed Deputy Merritt as he was exiting his vehicle that Ms. Varnadore had advised that Mr. Foskey "wanted to die." Dkt. No. 36-1, Defendant's Statement of Undisputed Material Facts at ¶ 15; Dkt. No. 45-1, Plaintiff's Response To Statement of Undisputed Material Facts at ¶ 15. Mr. Foskey then reached his hands back inside the truck for about ten seconds while looking at Deputy Merritt. Video 1 at ~2:04-15. Deputy Merritt testified that while Mr. Foskey's hands were inside his truck, he yelled at him to show his hands and that Mr. Foskey yelled back, "No!" Dkt. No. 37-2 ¶ 5. During this time, Deputy Merritt is behind the car door moving toward the rear of his own patrol car. Dkt. No. 38 at 36-38. Then, at 9:15:57, Mr. Foskey reaches further into the truck and opens the middle console. Video 1 at ~2:17. About three seconds later, he suddenly turns around, quickly swinging his hand up toward the direction of Deputy Merritt while holding, what was at that time, an unknown object. Id. at ~2:20. Believing Mr. Foskey had a gun, Deputy Merritt shot him, and Mr. Foskey fell to the ground. Id. at ~2:21-22; Dkt. No. 38 at 23.

It was later determined that the object in Mr. Foskey's hand was not a gun, but rather a CD case and some papers. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 9, GBI Photos DSC_7058, DSC_7082, DSC_7084, DSC_7089, DSC_7088. The dashcam video shows the CD case and papers falling out of Foskey's hands after he was shot. Video 1 at ~2:20-23. Plaintiff has alleged that a video recording of the shooting (which no longer exists)1 captured audio of Deputy Merritt asking Mr. Foskey for his license, registration, and insurance while cursing at him. Dkt. No. 45, Exs. 6-7. However, neither party presented such a video and the Court has not seen such a video. Additionally, GBI photos show that the papers that fell were in fact an invoice and receipt *1373from Blue Flame LP Gas Co. Dkt. No. 37, Ex. 9, GBI Photos DSC_7082, DSC_7084.

In response to Mr. Foskey's death, his mother, Ms. Varnadore, brought this suit as the administratrix of Foskey's estate against Deputy Merritt, alleging excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

Legal Standard

Summary judgment is required where "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). A fact is "material" if it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." FindWhat Inv'r Grp. v. FindWhat.com, 658 F.3d 1282

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Bluebook (online)
343 F. Supp. 3d 1367, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/varnadore-v-merritt-gasd-2018.