Whitted v. City of Philadelphia

744 F. Supp. 649, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10199, 1990 WL 114444
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedAugust 2, 1990
DocketCiv. A. No. 89-6386
StatusPublished

This text of 744 F. Supp. 649 (Whitted v. City of Philadelphia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitted v. City of Philadelphia, 744 F. Supp. 649, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10199, 1990 WL 114444 (E.D. Pa. 1990).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

RAYMOND J. BRODERICK, District Judge.

I.

The facts presented to the jury in this case may be summarized as follows. On the morning of June 22, 1989, Philadelphia Police Officers Alonzo Rush and Titus Knox responded to a radio call advising them that there was a “fight” at 53d and Warren Streets in Philadelphia. Once there, the two officers observed four males sitting in a late model Audi automobile across the street from the Shoemaker School, which was known to the officers, both experienced veterans, as an area in which drugs are widely distributed and violence is common. Approximately fifteen young people were gathered around the car. Rush recognized the driver of the Audi as Stacy Whitted, a nineteen-year-old Philadelphia resident, whom Rush believed from prior contact to be involved in the sale of narcotics. Upon leaving the scene, Whitted committed a traffic violation by backing the wrong way down Warren and driving at an excessive rate of speed.

Rush and Knox followed the Audi briefly. In response to the officers’ radio inquiry, headquarters related that although there were “no wants” for the auto, the computer which stored information about stolen vehicles was down. The officers stopped the Audi. Knox approached the driver’s side of the car while Rush went to the passenger’s side. The officers asked Whitted to produce the automobile’s registration and his operator’s license. Whitted was unable to do so. Knox requested identification. Whitted replied that he did not have any.

Rush then searched the Audi’s glove compartment. Knox demanded the car keys, which Whitted relinquished, and handed them to Rush. Rush opened the trunk and discovered several vials of what he thought (correctly, as later analysis demonstrated) was crack cocaine. Knox looked into the trunk, spotted the vials, and told Whitted to get out of the automobile. As Knox attempted to handcuff him, Whit-ted pushed Knox and fled.

Rush and Knox pursued Whitted on foot. After a short time, Knox returned to the police van and radioed headquarters for assistance. The dispatcher, in addition to relating the location of the pursuit and Whitted’s physical description, broadcasted to other officers that Whitted was “wanted for investigation of [a] stolen vehicle.” Knox, now driving the police van, observed Whitted run north into a narrow, rubble-filled alley between North Lindenwood and North Wilton Streets. Joined by Police Officer Donna Ferrell, Knox entered the alley and chased after Whitted on foot.

Sergeant Vincent Raducha, a twenty-year veteran of the police force who had been monitoring the pursuit on his radio, drove to the alley’s entrance on Columbia Avenue in an attempt to cut off the suspect’s escape route. When he exited his car the Sergeant did not take his baton. Heading south down the alley, Raducha saw Whitted approaching him. The Sergeant yelled for Whitted to stop. When Whitted spied Raducha, he turned, ran south briefly, and, apparently upon witnessing Knox and Ferrell coming from the opposite direction, turned again, and ran toward Raducha.

Raducha withdrew his service revolver and held it at his side. According to the Sergeant’s testimony, because he had lost sight of the suspect’s hands in the relatively dark alley, Raducha did not know whether Whitted had a weapon. Raducha again ordered Whitted to stop. Whitted complied this time, and Raducha placed Whitted against a wooden fence in a frisk position. The Sergeant put one hand on Whitted’s back. Before he could reholster his firearm, Whitted elbowed Raducha in the face. The Sergeant, to keep from falling, grabbed Whitted’s shoulder. Whitted punched Raducha twice and tried to pull away. Unsuccessful in his efforts to loosen Raducha’s grip on him, Whitted grabbed the revolver with his right hand. [652]*652The two men struggled for the weapon momentarily. The Sergeant was attempting to push his firearm around Whitted’s back when it discharged.

Other officers arrived and took Whitted to Osteopathic Hospital, where he was admitted at 9:50 a.m. Because the revolver was pointing upward at the time it discharged, the bullet, which entered near the mid-back, tore through Whitted’s left lung and lodged in his neck. There was no evidence of trauma apart from the gunshot wound. After repeatedly suffering cardiac arrest, Whitted was pronounced dead at 11:30 a.m.

Barbara Whitted, as a parent of Stacy Whitted and as administrator of his estate, and. John Whitted, the decedent’s father, brought this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In their complaint, they alleged that Rush and Knox violated Stacy Whit-ted’s fourth amendment rights by illegally stopping the Audi and searching it. The plaintiffs claimed that Raducha, in violation of the fourth amendment and Pennsylvania negligence law, subjected the decedent to an unreasonable seizure of the person. Barbara and John Whitted further alleged that the City of Philadelphia and Police Commissioner Willie Williams, by inadequately training their law enforcement officials, were responsible for a policy or custom which led to their son’s death.

At trial, because the uncontested evidence showed that the officers possessed a sufficient quantum of cause to stop the Audi, the Court granted a directed verdict in favor of Rush and Knox on that claim. The Court further ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that the municipality or the Commissioner deliberately had pursued a policy of inadequate training that directly resulted in Whitted’s death. The jury later concluded that the plaintiffs had not proven that the search conducted by Rush and Knox was without probable cause, but could not agree about whether Raducha’s involvement in the shooting contravened the fourth amendment or state negligence law. The Court declared a mistrial on those counts.

The plaintiffs now move for a new trial. They assert that there was a triable issue as to municipal liability under section 1983 and that the Court consequently erred in granting the City’s motion for a directed verdict. They also argue that the jury’s verdict in favor of Rush and Knox is against the weight of the evidence and that the Court’s reinstruction on probable cause was infirm. For the reasons that follow, the plaintiffs’ motion must be denied.

II.

The decision whether to grant a motion for a new trial on the ground that the verdict is contrary to the weight of the evidence is committed to the sound discretion of the trial court, which may set aside the verdict and submit the issues to another jury if it ascertains that the verdict constitutes a miscarriage of justice. Allied Chemical Corp. v. Daiflon, Inc., 449 U.S. 33, 36, 101 S.Ct. 188, 191, 66 L.Ed.2d 193 (1980); American Bearing Co. v. Litton Indus., 729 F.2d 943, 948 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 854, 105 S.Ct. 178, 83 L.Ed.2d 112 (1984); Thomas v. E.J. Korvette, Inc., 476 F.2d 471, 474-75 (3d Cir.1973). It is not sufficient that the court merely disagrees with the jury and would have reached a different decision on the merits. Rather, the evidence must preponderate heavily against the verdict. Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31, 38 n. 11, 102 S.Ct. 2211, 2216 n. 11, 72 L.Ed.2d 652 (1982); Grace v. Mauser-Werke GMBH, 700 F.Supp. 1383, 1387-88 (E.D.Pa.1988); Douglas W. Randall, Inc. v. AFA Protective Sys.,

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Bluebook (online)
744 F. Supp. 649, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10199, 1990 WL 114444, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitted-v-city-of-philadelphia-paed-1990.