Winder v. McMahon

345 F. Supp. 3d 1197
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedNovember 5, 2018
DocketCase No. 5:17-cv-00605-GJS
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 345 F. Supp. 3d 1197 (Winder v. McMahon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Winder v. McMahon, 345 F. Supp. 3d 1197 (C.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

GAIL J. STANDISH, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

The three remaining defendants in this case, the County of San Bernardino and *1198Deputies Bustamante and Ortiz, move for summary judgment as to all of plaintiff Richard Winder's claims. (Motion for Summary Judgment ("Mtn.") [Dkt. 32].) Defendants move for summary judgment on the basis, inter alia , that Winder's claims against them are barred by the rule set forth by the Supreme Court in Heck v. Humphrey , 512 U.S. 477, 114 S.Ct. 2364, 129 L.Ed.2d 383 (1994), and the County moves for summary judgment on the additional basis that Winder has not adduced evidence to support liability pursuant to Monell v. Department of Social Services of City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978).1 Having carefully reviewed the record and the applicable law, the Court hereby GRANTS summary judgment, as discussed further below.

I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff Winder filed the operative complaint in this action on March 29, 2017, alleging the following: a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violation of civil rights due to use of excessive force ("First Cause of Action"); a claim against the individual defendants for failure to intervene, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1986 ("Second Cause of Action"); and a claim alleging unlawful customs and practices under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (a Monell claim) against the Sheriff and County of San Bernardino ("Third Cause of Action"). (Compl. [Dkt. 1].) The claims against Defendants Sheriff McMahon and Sgt. C. Jiles and the Second Cause of Action were thereafter dismissed, (Notice of Dismissal, [Dkt. 16] ), leaving only the claims against the moving defendants at issue.

II. FACTS

The following facts are undisputed unless otherwise noted and discussed below. Where a genuine dispute of material fact exists, the court draws reasonable inferences in favor of the non-moving party. Tolan v. Cotton , 572 U.S. 650, 660, 134 S.Ct. 1861, 188 L.Ed.2d 895 (2014). Both parties cite facts that are not relevant to resolution of the pending motion. To the extent certain facts are not mentioned in this Memorandum, the Court has not relied on them in reaching its decision.

On September 30, 2016, Winder was convicted of violating California Penal Code § 69, which states that "[e]very person who attempts, by means of any threat or violence, to deter or prevent an executive officer from performing any duty imposed upon the officer by law, or who knowingly resists, by the use of force or violence, the officer, in the performance of his or her duty" is guilty of a violation of the statute. Cal. Pen. Code § 69. To prove a violation of this statute, the People must demonstrate, as an element of the crime, that the officers were acting lawfully in performing their duties. People v. Cruz , 44 Cal. 4th 636, 673, 80 Cal.Rptr.3d 126, 187 P.3d 970 (2008) ("[I]t is also a well-established rule that when a statute makes it a crime to commit any act against a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, part of the corpus delicti of the offense is that the officer was acting lawfully at the time the offense was committed.") (internal quotation marks omitted). Winder pled no contest to a violation of Section 69, stipulating that the factual basis for his conviction and sentencing (which included a charged prior strike for robbery) were contained in the transcript of the preliminary hearing and his rap *1199sheet. (Mtn., Ex. C Tr. of Plea Hr'g [Dkt. 32-5] at 3:8-20.)2

Only Deputy Bustamante testified at the preliminary hearing. According to his testimony, he was on duty on March 29, 2015, when he was dispatched to the scene of a domestic disturbance call. (Mtn., Ex. A Tr. Of Prelim. Hr'g at 2-3.) He noticed Winder, who matched the description of the man in the call, who at first ran from him. (Id. at 3-4.) Deputy Bustamante gave Winder commands to keep his hands up, but according to the deputy's testimony, Winder did not listen and reached into his pocket to pull out a cell phone. (Id. at 4-5.) Bustamante then ordered Winder to the ground. (Id. at 5.) Winder initially complied, but when Bustamante went to handcuff Winder, he "began to push off the ground like he was trying to escape." (Id. at 5:27-28.) Winder got to his feet, pushed the deputy off, and started running. (Id. at 6.) Bustamante caught the back of Winder's t-shirt, Winder lost his footing, and Bustamante caught back up to him. (Id. )

At that point, according to Deputy Bustamante's testimony at the preliminary hearing, he (the deputy) tried to pull Winder to the ground. (Id. ) Winder "kind of swiped across [Bustamante's] face and hit [him] near [the] right face because [Bustamante's] glasses fell off, and they broke," and then Bustamante pulled Winder to the ground. (Id. at 6:25-28.) They "started fighting again," and nothing Bustamante did was "effective in subduing him." (

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

Related

Gomez v. Gonzalez 3965
S.D. California, 2024
(PC) King v. Villegas
E.D. California, 2023
Mackay v. City of Salinas
N.D. California, 2022
(PC) Correa v. Bravdrick
E.D. California, 2022
Arellano v. Haskins
E.D. California, 2021
(PC) Warden v. Cowan
E.D. California, 2020

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
345 F. Supp. 3d 1197, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/winder-v-mcmahon-cacd-2018.