WATERMAN v. KEEN

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedMay 21, 2024
Docket2:22-cv-00541
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
WATERMAN v. KEEN, (S.D. Ind. 2024).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA TERRE HAUTE DIVISION

CRAIG WATERMAN, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 2:22-cv-00541-MJD-JMS ) CHIEF SHAWN KEEN, et al., ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This matter is before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. [Dkt. 47.] For the reasons set forth below, the motion is GRANTED. I. Summary Judgment Standard Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a) provides that summary judgment is appropriate "if 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." In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, a court must "view the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, and draw all reasonable inferences in his favor." Pack v. Middlebury Cmty. Sch., 990 F.3d 1013, 1017 (7th Cir. 2021) (citing McAllister v. Innovation Ventures, 983 F.3d 963, 967 (7th Cir. 2020)). Summary judgment is a critical moment for a non-moving party. It must "respond to the moving party's properly-supported motion by identifying specific, admissible evidence showing that there is a genuine dispute of material fact for trial." Grant v. Trs. of Ind. Univ., 870 F.3d 562, 568 (7th Cir. 2017). Inferences supported only by speculation or conjecture will not suffice. Skiba v. Ill. Cent. R.R. Co., 884 F.3d 708, 721-22 (7th Cir. 2018). Neither will the mere scintilla of evidence. Grant, 870 F.3d at 571.

Johnson v. Advoc. Health & Hosps. Corp., 892 F.3d 887, 894 (7th Cir. 2018). Finally, the non- moving party bears the burden of specifically identifying the relevant evidence of record, "as it is not the court's job to 'scour the record in search of evidence to defeat a motion for summary judgment.'" Hildreth v. Butler, 960 F.3d 420, 429 (7th Cir. 2020) (quoting Harney v. Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC, 526 F.3d 1099, 1104 (7th Cir. 2008)). II. Background Facts of Record The evidence of record, viewed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff Craig Waterman, supports the following facts. Additional facts are discussed, as relevant, in the Discussion section below. On October 26, 2020, at approximately 11:24 pm,1 Chelsea Riddle called 911 and reported that Craig Waterman had shoved her when she had gone to her sister Bethany Stines' home to pick her up. [Dkt. 52-1.] Riddle reported that she was waiting outside the house in her truck and believed that a battery was in progress inside the house. Id. Riddle further reported that a four year old child was in the house. Id. Four officers from the Terre Haute Police Department responded to the call, including Defendants Justin Sears, Alan James, and Christopher Jones. Id. Officer James, who was the

1 In his Statement of Material Facts in Dispute, Waterman states that the call occurred at approximately 11:27 pm. [Dkt. 53 at 1.] The 911 call report, to which Waterman cites, states that it occurred at 11:24 pm. [Dkt. 52-1.] This is not a material misrepresentation of the record—it does not really matter exactly what time the call was made—but more precision in factual recitations would certainly be preferable. Waterman also states that Riddle "stated . . . that Craig Waterman had choked and punched her sister," again citing the same document. [Dkt. 61 at 1.] That document does not contain that statement. 2 first to arrive on the scene, arrived approximately six minutes after the 911 call was made. Id.2 There is conflicting testimony about the status of the scene when Officer James first arrived, but the conflicts are immaterial to the issues addressed in this ruling.3 Suffice it to say that the officers determined that Waterman was likely in the basement of the home and that they

eventually used a K-9 officer to apprehend Waterman. At the direction of an officer, the dog bit Waterman on the arm and held on. [Dkt. 52-4 at 7.] While Waterman was lying on the basement floor with the dog biting his arm, one of the officers struck Waterman in the face. [Dkt. 52-3 at 71.] Officers called for medical assistance for Waterman at 11:43 pm and Waterman, who resisted being brought upstairs by the officers, was taken outside to a waiting ambulance. [Dkt. 52-8 at 38-39.]4

2 Defendants incorrectly state that "[t]he Officers" arrived at the scene within six minutes. [Dkt. 49 at 2.] In fact, only Officer James did; the other officers arrived a few minutes later. [Dkt. 52- 1.] Again, this is not a material misrepresentation of the record, but more precision in factual recitations would certainly be preferable. 3 Officer James testified that Stines was inside the house when he arrived and that she came running to the front of the house and said, "He's going to kill somebody." [Dkt. 48-6 at 2.] Officer James testified that he had Bethany get her four-year-old child out of the house while he "maintained control on the back of the house where [he] had heard noises coming from," which he believed to be Waterman. Id. Stines testified that the officers "made [her] go out on the porch" when they arrived and that they did not tell her to "go wake [her] children up and bring them out on the porch" until after they had apprehended Waterman. [Dkt. 72-5 at 2.] She further testified that, in response to questioning by the officers, she told them that Waterman was "black out drunk" and had "probably went down [to the basement] and just passed out," that he "absolutely" did not have a weapon, and that there was only one way out of the basement. Id. at 4. Elsewhere in her deposition, Stines testified that she told the officers that she was "pretty sure" that Waterman did not have a weapon. Id. at 28. Riddle, on the other hand, testified that by the time the police arrived she, Stines, the four-year-old, and Stines' newborn baby were all in Riddle's vehicle in the driveway. [Dkt. 69-2 at 4.] 4 Waterman's Statement of Material Facts in Dispute contains the statement: "While being examined Officer James continued to hold Craig. [Filing 52-8 at 39]." [Dkt. 53 at 3.] The cited evidence—an excerpt from Riddle's deposition—does not support that statement; it only addresses the use of force while Waterman was being taken to the ambulance, not while medics were examining him. 3 III. Discussion Waterman asserts claims against Defendants Sears, James, and Jones pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for excessive force and failure to protect from excessive force, as well as state law claims for battery and criminal confinement. [Dkt. 1-1 at 12.] He also asserts a Monell claim

against Chief of Police Shawn Keen and the other Defendants in their official capacities. Id. at 17. In response to the instant motion for summary judgment, Waterman concedes he cannot succeed on the Monell claim or his state law claim for criminal confinement and that summary judgment in favor of Defendants on those claims is appropriate. [Dkt.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Wallace v. Kato
127 S. Ct. 1091 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Logan v. Wilkins
644 F.3d 577 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
Julie A. Rager v. Dade Behring, Inc.
210 F.3d 776 (Seventh Circuit, 2000)
William L. Lucas v. Chicago Transit Authority
367 F.3d 714 (Seventh Circuit, 2004)
Gomez v. Randle
680 F.3d 859 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
Pflanz v. Foster
888 N.E.2d 756 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2008)
Harney v. Speedway SuperAmerica, LLC
526 F.3d 1099 (Seventh Circuit, 2008)
Marion County Ex Rel. Peterson v. State
888 N.E.2d 292 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Amin Ijbara Equity Corp. v. Village of Oak Lawn
860 F.3d 489 (Seventh Circuit, 2017)
Otis Grant v. Trustees of Indiana University
870 F.3d 562 (Seventh Circuit, 2017)
Warren Johnson v. Advocate Health and Hospitals
892 F.3d 887 (Seventh Circuit, 2018)
United States v. Spectrum Brands, Inc.
924 F.3d 337 (Seventh Circuit, 2019)
Paramount Media Group, Inc. v. Village of Bellwood
929 F.3d 914 (Seventh Circuit, 2019)
John Vergara v. City of Chicago
939 F.3d 882 (Seventh Circuit, 2019)
Scott Hildreth v. Kim Butler
960 F.3d 420 (Seventh Circuit, 2020)
Paula McAllister v. Innovation Ventures, LLC
983 F.3d 963 (Seventh Circuit, 2020)
Kevin Pack v. Middlebury Community Schools
990 F.3d 1013 (Seventh Circuit, 2021)
Skiba v. Ill. Cent. R.R. Co.
884 F.3d 708 (Seventh Circuit, 2018)
Bernstein v. Bankert
733 F.3d 190 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
WATERMAN v. KEEN, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/waterman-v-keen-insd-2024.