Young v. Dist. of Columbia

322 F. Supp. 3d 26
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedAugust 20, 2018
DocketCivil Action No. 14-2129 (BAH)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 322 F. Supp. 3d 26 (Young v. Dist. of Columbia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Young v. Dist. of Columbia, 322 F. Supp. 3d 26 (D.C. Cir. 2018).

Opinion

Here, as in Johnson , a genuine dispute of material fact exists as to whether a reasonable officer in defendant Powell's position could have believed that the plaintiff's "position was threatening or suggested escape." Id. As in Johnson , the facts viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff suggest that the plaintiff clearly had manifested his intent to surrender, such that a reasonable officer could not have perceived otherwise. To be sure, Johnson 's facts are not identical to those of the case at hand; the Johnson plaintiff arguably more clearly manifested his intent to surrender by "f[a]ll[ing]" onto the ground, "landing face-down on the floor," and remaining "prone on the floor with his arms and legs spread." Id. at 972.

*41Identical facts are not required, however, to "have placed the ... constitutional question beyond debate." Kisela , 138 S.Ct. at 1152 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Johnson , 528 F.3d at 976 ("We need not identify cases with 'materially similar' facts, but have only to show that 'the state of the law at the time of the incident gave the officer fair warning that his alleged misconduct was unconstitutional.' " (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted) ). A jury crediting White's testimony reasonably could conclude that the plaintiff, in raising his hands in the air above his head, had manifested his intent to surrender in a sufficiently obvious manner that no officer in defendant Powell's position reasonably could have perceived otherwise.

Garner , which held that "[a] police officer may not seize an unarmed, nondangerous suspect by shooting him dead," 471 U.S. at 11, 105 S.Ct. 1694, also put defendant Powell on notice of his conduct's unlawfulness. That the plaintiff survived his encounter with defendant Powell is immaterial given that the force defendant Powell used was deadly. The Supreme Court has admonished that "the general rules set forth in Garner ... do not by themselves create clearly established law outside an 'obvious case.' " Kisela , 138 S.Ct. at 1153 (quoting White , 137 S.Ct. at 552 (internal quotation marks omitted) ). This is such an obvious case. Taking White's testimony at face value, as the jury is entitled to do, defendant Powell shot a clearly unarmed and surrendering man who had raised his hands in the air above his head. Under these circumstances, Garner 's "general statements of the law" can "giv[e] fair and clear warning to officers." Id. (quoting White , 137 S.Ct. at 552 ).

Thus, the constitutional right defendant Powell is alleged to have violated was clearly established at the time of the shooting. For these reasons, defendant Powell is not entitled to summary judgment on the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Excessive Force claim in Count I.

B. Genuine Issues of Material Fact Exist as to the Plaintiff's Assault and Battery and IIED Claims

The defendants argue that summary judgment is warranted as to the plaintiff's assault and battery and IIED claims in Counts III and VI, respectively. Defs.' Mem. Supp. MSJ ("Defs.' Mem.") at 14-16, ECF No. 36. As explained below, however, the defendants are not entitled to summary judgment on these claims, for reasons similar to those making summary judgment on the plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Excessive Force claim inappropriate.

1. Legal Framework

Under District of Columbia law, "[a]n assault is an intentional and unlawful attempt or threat, either by words or by acts, to do physical harm to the victim." Evans-Reid v. District of Columbia , 930 A.2d 930, 937 (D.C. 2007) (internal quotation marks omitted). "A battery is an intentional act that causes a harmful or offensive bodily contact." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). "A police officer has a qualified privilege to use reasonable force to effect an arrest, provided that the means employed are not in excess of those which the actor reasonably believes to be necessary." Id. (citation omitted). "Moreover, any person, including an officer, is justified in using reasonable force to repel an actual assault, or if he reasonably believes he is in danger of bodily harm." Id. (citation omitted). "Use of deadly force, however, is lawful only if the user actually and reasonably believes, at the time such force is used, that he or she (or a third person) is in imminent peril of death or serious bodily harm." Id. (emphasis and internal quotation marks omitted). The standard of reasonableness in the assault and battery context is similar to that *42in the Fourth Amendment Excessive Force context. See Etheredge v. District of Columbia , 635 A.2d 908, 916 (D.C. 1993) (quoting Graham , 490 U.S. at 396-97, 109 S.Ct. 1865 ); accord Armbruster v. Frost , 962 F.Supp.2d 105, 117 (D.D.C. 2013) ("[The] standard for analyzing an assault and battery claim against an officer is similar to the excessive force standard applied in the Section 1983 context." (internal quotation marks omitted) ).

"To establish a prima facie case of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a plaintiff must show (1) extreme and outrageous conduct on the part of the defendant which (2) either intentionally or recklessly (3) causes the plaintiff severe emotional distress." Larijani v. Georgetown Univ. , 791 A.2d 41

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Bluebook (online)
322 F. Supp. 3d 26, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/young-v-dist-of-columbia-cadc-2018.