Xingru Lin v. District of Columbia

268 F. Supp. 3d 91
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 2, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 2016-0645
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 268 F. Supp. 3d 91 (Xingru Lin v. District of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Xingru Lin v. District of Columbia, 268 F. Supp. 3d 91 (D.D.C. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge.

Plaintiff, a bus company ticket agent, alleges that the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) violated her rights in various different ways during four separate encounters between December 2015 and April 2016. Pending before the Court is Defendant District of Columbia’s [20] Motion for Partial Dismissal, or in the Alternative Partial Summary Judgment. Upon consideration of the pleadings, 1 the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court will GRANT-IN-PART and DENY-IN-PART Defendant’s motion. The Court will dismiss Plaintiff’s claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the District of Columbia, as well as Plaintiffs negligence and malicious prosecution claims. However, the Court will not dismiss Plaintiffs intentional infliction of emotional distress or negligent training and supervision claim.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Allegations

Plaintiff works as a ticket agent for a bus company, called Focus Travel Agency in Washington, D.C. See Pl.’s Am. Compl. for 1983 Civil Rights Violation, Conspiracies to Violate Civil Rights, False Arrests and Personal Injuries, ECF No. 16 (“Am. Compl.”), ¶ 30. She works the night shift, and her duties include selling tickets and checking the tickets of passengers. Id. ¶¶ 18, 30. She is of Chinese decent and-“can barely speak English, although she understands some.” Id. ¶ 8.

Plaintiffs Amended Complaint contains allegations regarding four different encounters with the MPD that took place between December 2015 and April 2016. Plaintiff states that she “has experienced all the four unfortunate incidents within, six-months,” including “two arrests within such a short period of time,” and that she is accordingly “extremely anxious whenever she sees an MPD officer.” Id. ¶ 118. She “believes that she did not have any right[s] in this country and [is] afraid to be arrested again,” and feels “threatened by the D.C. MPD all the time.” Id. Plaintiff alleges that “[a]t no time did [she] commit any offense in violation of the laws of’ the District of Columbia or the United States, and that accordingly all of the arrests, detentions and uses of force described below were without legal, cause. Id. ¶¶ 122-24. Plaintiff claims that all Defendants acted willfully, recklessly, and with disregard to Plaintiffs rights, and that “[t]he actions and conduct of the defendant officers and D.C. MPD are the result of a policy, practice, custom and deliberate indifference on the part of Defendant Washington, D.C. *96 and individual officers and D.C. M.P.D.” Id. ¶ 13.

1. The December 2015 Incident

According to the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff alleges .that in mid-December 2015 she got into a dispute with a customer who “cussed Plaintiff out.” Id. ¶¶ 63-65, Plaintiff refused to sell the customer a ticket, but he nonetheless continued to attempt to board a bus. Id. The would-be passenger called the police. Id. ¶ 66.

Plairitiff alleges that two officers interviewed the individual who had called them and then ordered Plaintiff to sell him a bus ticket. Id. ¶ 67. Plaintiff refused. Id. ¶ 68. Plaintiff demanded a Chinese police officer be present, and eventually a female Chinese officer was called to the scene. Id. ¶ 72. She instructed Plaintiff that Plaintiff had to show the police officers the video tape of what had occurred, or the bus would not be allowed to leave. Id. ¶73. Plaintiff did so, and the officers agreed that she •= had done nothing wrong. Id. ¶¶ 74-75. In the meantime, however, the bus was delayed leaving for almost two hours. Id. ¶ 76.

Plaintiff filed a complaint with the D.C. police department, but was- given “a whole array of lame excuses” from a supervisor, including that the officers involved' were junior traffic officers, were not' familiar with proper procedure, and “did not know anything about Chinatown.” '/«¡.-'¶¶ 77-78, The supervisor promised to provide a patrol in the area, but that patrol allegedly only lasted for two'weeks, Id. ¶¶ 78-79,

2. The February 15, 2016 Arrest

On February 15, 2016, Plaintiff, alleges that a drunk woman boarded a bus without paying. Id. ¶ 31. Plaintiff asked the woman to leave. Id. The woman initially left, but then continued to attempt to sneak onto the bus multiple times. Id. ¶ 32, Eventually, defeated, the apparently drunken woman sat on the steps of a nearby building and “curs[ed] Plaintiff continuously.” Id. Plaintiff then took the woman’s photograph with a cell phone “for the company’s recordsfe].” Id. ¶ 33, The - woman, not pleased at having been photographed, chased and assaulted Plaintiff. Id. ¶¶34-35. Both women called the police. Id. ¶ 36.

Plaintiff alleges that when the “D.C. MPD finally sent some officer,” he was a “white male” and “could not communicate with Plaintiff.” Id. ¶ 37. Other officers quickly arrived on the scene. Id. ¶ 38. One, “a African American male officer (Officer X),” grabbed Plaintiff’s hand as she was trying to make another 911 call. Id. ¶ 39. Officer X and another male officer (Officer Y) then pushed Plairitiff against a wall and then down onto the floor. Id. ¶ 40. One of the officers (Officer Z) stepped on Plaintiffs back and two others (Officers X and Y) twisted Plaintiffs arms “in the back.” Id. The officers then picked Plaintiff up off the ground and “forced Plaintiff to sit on the chairs in the waiting room, still with hand-cuffed behind her back.” Id. ¶41. Plaintiff alleges that during this time— approximately 15-20 minutes — there was no MPD officer who spoke Chinese, and no one asked her if she spoke English. Id. ¶¶ 42, 48. An interpreter was provided after 15 or 20 minutes. Id. ¶ 48.

Plaintiff alleges she was upset and experienced pain. Id. ¶ 43. Plaintiff also alleges her constitutional rights were violated when one officer placed his card into her jacket pocket, briefly took it back out and then put it back in. Id. ¶45. Plaintiff claims that “officers X, Y and Z[ ] conducted unlawful arresting, maliciously prosecuting and using excessive and unreasonable force,” and that “[t]he actions and conduct of the Defendant officers are the result of a policy, practice, custom, and *97 deliberate. indifference on the part, of Defendant MPD of D.C.” Id. ¶ 46.

Eventually, a “higher-ranking officer/sergeant” (Sergeant A) arrived, reviewed video of the incident and “confirmed that Plaintiff was not the aggressor.” Id. ¶¶ 49-50. As-' a result, Plaintiffs handcuffs were removed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
268 F. Supp. 3d 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/xingru-lin-v-district-of-columbia-dcd-2017.