Wilson v. Meeks, s. 94-3179
| Decision Date | 20 April 1995 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 94-3179,94-3180,s. 94-3179 |
| Citation | 52 F.3d 1547 |
| Parties | Joyce WILSON, individually, executrix, and as natural guardian and next friend of the minor child, Natalie J. Wilson est Datton Wilson, Jr.; Anthony D. Wilson; Anita D. Wilson; Datton Wilson, III; Crystal L. Johnson; Kasha C. Wilson, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Luther Donald MEEKS; David Scott Lawson; Phyllis Renee Lawson; City of Haysville, a municipal corporation; John Coleman, Defendants, and Timothy John STOCK; Bruce K. Powers; Lanon Thompson; Debbie Mann; J. Earl Kitchings, Defendants-Appellants. Joyce WILSON, individually, executrix, and as natural guardian and next friend of the minor child, Natalie J. Wilson est Datton Wilson, Jr.; Anthony D. Wilson; Anita D. Wilson; Datton Wilson, III; Crystal L. Johnson; Kasha C. Wilson, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Luther Donald MEEKS, Defendant-Appellant, and Timothy John Stock; Bruce K. Powers; Lanon Thompson; David Scott Lawson; Phyllis Renee Lawson; Debbie Mann; J. Earl Kitchings; City of Haysville, a municipal corporation; and John Coleman, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit |
Alan L. Rupe (Edward L. Keeley with him on the briefs), Rupe & Gerard Law Offices, P.A., Wichita, KS, for defendants-appellants Stock, Powers, Thompson, Mann, and Kitchings.
Stephen E. Robison (David G. Seely with him on the briefs), Fleeson, Gooing, Coulson & Kitch, L.L.C., Wichita, KS, for defendant-appellant Meeks.
Jerry Berg, Wichita, KS, for plaintiffs-appellees Joyce Wilson, Estate of Datton Wilson, Jr., and Natalie J. Wilson.
Lonnie R. Knowles, Shackelford, Knowles & Strickland, Houston, TX, on the briefs for plaintiffs-appellees Anthony D. Wilson, Anita D. Wilson, Datton Wilson, III, Crystal L. Johnson, and Kasha C. Wilson.
Before MOORE and EBEL, Circuit Judges, and COOK, * District Judge.
Plaintiffs, including the estate of Datton Wilson, Jr., and members of his family, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983 and pendent state law asserting that members of the Haysville Police Department violated Mr. Wilson's constitutional rights by using excessive force, failing to render emergency medical treatment, and participating in a cover-up. Defendants moved for summary judgment based on qualified immunity. The district court granted the motion in part and denied it in part, stating there were disputed facts on the issue of qualified immunity to be resolved at trial. Defendants timely appealed, and we reverse.
This case arises from the shooting death of Mr. Wilson on the night of December 7, 1990. An altercation between Mr. Wilson and David Lawson began as the two men were driving near their home town of Haysville, Kansas. Mr. Lawson was accompanied by his wife Phyllis Renee Lawson and their infant son. Mr. Lawson noticed Mr. Wilson's truck tailgating him. An argument ensued, and there was a heated verbal exchange in which Mr. Lawson demanded to know if Mr. Wilson was drunk.
Mr. Lawson memorized Mr. Wilson's license plate number, intending to call the police. After disengaging from the fray, Mr. Lawson came upon Haysville Police Officer Timothy Stock, who had stopped his patrol car to write a traffic citation. Mr. Lawson told Officer Stock about the incident, stating Mr. Wilson was "extremely drunk." Officer Stock radioed Officer Luther Donald Meeks, who was nearby in his patrol car. Officer Meeks, upon receiving the call, spotted Mr. Wilson's truck and followed it.
Mr. Wilson parked his truck at his home. As he approached, Officer Meeks saw Mr. Wilson lie down in the truck's front seat. Officer Meeks decided to investigate and passed the property to turn his car around. Mr. Wilson entered his house and retrieved an unloaded .357 magnum revolver. Officer Meeks saw Mr. Lawson's car flashing its lights, so he parked and exited his car. Pursuant to department policy, Officer Meeks was wearing a tape recorder on his belt, which he turned on. The belt tape recorded the entire incident.
When Officer Meeks arrived, Mr. Wilson was standing by his porch and Mr. Lawson was on the property, further away from the house. Mr. Wilson's gun was concealed behind his right leg. Officer Meeks asked what was going on, and Mr. Wilson replied, "You talk to him first." (referring to Mr. Lawson). Mr. Wilson insisted Mr. Lawson get off his property and directed Officer Meeks to remove him. Officer Meeks told Mr. Wilson to "back up" or be arrested for disorderly conduct. Mr. Wilson backed toward the porch.
Officer Meeks suspected Mr. Wilson was holding a weapon, but could not see what was hidden behind Mr. Wilson's leg. Officer Meeks demanded, "I want to see that hand." Mr. Wilson did not comply. Officer Meeks repeated his demand several times and drew his own weapon. Mr. Wilson replied, "No no no" and "Don't do that."
The parties dispute what happened next. Officer Meeks asserts Mr. Wilson aimed the gun at him. Plaintiffs assert Mr. Wilson held the gun out in a "surrender position."
It is undisputed when Mr. Wilson brought his hand forward with the gun, Officer Meeks shot him twice. The entire incident from the time Officer Meeks arrived on the property to the time he shot Mr. Wilson took approximately 43 seconds.
Mr. Wilson dry fired his gun twice. He fell to the ground face down with his gun underneath him. After Mr. Wilson collapsed, Officer Meeks told him twice to "put the gun down." Officer Meeks continued to hold Mr. Wilson at gunpoint while he radioed for Officer Stock.
Officer Stock arrived moments later. He determined from Officer Meeks that Mr. Wilson's gun was underneath him. He told Officer Meeks to continue covering Mr. Wilson, then disarmed Mr. Wilson by placing his foot on the back of Mr. Wilson's knee, holding him by the shoulder, and locating the gun underneath Mr. Wilson's body. Officer Stock stated he immobilized Mr. Wilson's knee to prevent Mr. Wilson from trying to shoot him. Using the clip-on tie from his own neck to avoid leaving fingerprints, Officer Stock secured Mr. Wilson's gun. Officer Meeks radioed for emergency medical help. Approximately 34 seconds elapsed from the shooting to the radio call.
Off-duty officer Lanon Thompson and Police Lieutenant Bruce Powers arrived on the scene shortly after the shooting, but before the arrival of medical help. Lt. Powers took command at the scene. Lt. Powers ordered Officer Stock to handcuff Mr. Wilson. He then ordered Officer Meeks to block the road with a patrol car to "seal off the block." Then Lt. Powers ordered Officer Meeks to sit in his patrol car.
No officer gave Mr. Wilson medical care or first aid before the arrival of the fire department Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). The parties do not dispute that during this time Mr. Wilson was lying face down and breathing. The EMTs arrived first, then the paramedics. Beyond this, the versions of the facts again diverge.
Defendants assert the officers touched Mr. Wilson only to remove his gun and handcuff him. Because Mr. Wilson was breathing, they did not attempt to provide medical treatment or first aid of any kind. They made an affirmative decision to refrain from any such action because they had been trained, to avoid injury, not to move a victim who was breathing.
Plaintiffs allege the officers interfered with fire department EMT Walter Langford's efforts to aid Mr. Wilson. When Mr. Langford arrived at the scene, he found Mr. Wilson lying face down. He knelt beside Mr. Wilson's prone body to check for vital signs. Mr. Langford stated his leg and knees were "saturated in blood" and "wet all over." Mr. Langford had been taught to facilitate a patient's breathing by turning him on his side. Planning to do so, he asked a uniformed police officer at the scene to remove Mr. Wilson's handcuffs. 1 The officer refused, saying he did not want to get blood on his hands. Mr. Langford had gloves, and the officer did not. Mr. Langford offered to get the officer some gloves, but the officer told Mr. Langford to remove the handcuffs himself. It took one to two minutes to locate the key to the handcuffs and remove them. The EMTs proceeded to perform CPR, spelled by Lt. Powers.
Plaintiffs assert Mr. Wilson had difficulty breathing because he was face down. Plaintiffs' medical experts Dr. Kenneth Ransom and Dr. William Eckert stated the cause of Mr. Wilson's death was not the gunshot wounds but asphyxiation--either due to "positional asphyxiation" or inspiration of blood, dirt, and vomit. Dr. Ransom's finding was based on the time of death--too soon for death from blood loss--and the amount of blood lost--too little to be fatal. Plaintiffs also assert the tape on Officer Meeks' belt contains sounds of high-pitched, labored breathing, indicating airway blockage. They offer a photograph showing Mr. Wilson's eyeglasses, allegedly covered with dirt and vomit. Mr. Langford stated he could not check Mr. Wilson's eyes for pupil dilation because they were covered with dirt. He also stated he vacuumed a cup of pink, frothy liquid out of Mr. Wilson's mouth and throat. Dr. Eckert stated if Mr. Wilson had been turned over to facilitate his breathing, he might have survived.
After paramedics arrived, Mr. Wilson was in an unresponsive state. He was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
The facts underlying plaintiffs' cover-up claims primarily concern Debbie Mann, Communications Supervisor at Haysville Police Department, and James Earl Kitchings, Chief of Police of Haysville. The cover-up claims arise from four allegations: the loss of photographs, the loss of a witness report, the "code of silence," and the alteration of the belt tape.
The lost photographs consisted of two rolls of exposed film taken of Mr. Wilson's body by Haysville police after the body was removed from the scene. Both rolls of film were sent to a developer but allegedly produced no pictures and were discarded. Plaintiffs allege Ms. Mann had sole control of the film. The photos...
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