District of Columbia v. Murphy

• Decision Date: 02 September 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-CV-283.,92-CV-283.
• Citation: 631 A.2d 34
• Parties: DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Appellant, v. Paul MURPHY, Appellee.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

631 A.2d 34

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Appellant, v. Paul MURPHY, Appellee.

No. 92-CV-283.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued June 11, 1993.

Decided September 2, 1993.

James C. McKay, Jr., Asst. Corp. Counsel, with whom John Payton, Corp. Counsel, and Charles L. Reischel, Deputy Corp. Counsel, were on the brief, for appellant.

Samuel M. Shapiro, with whom David C. Merkin, was on the brief, for appellee.

Before FERREN, FARRELL, and KING, Associate Judges.

FERREN, Associate Judge:

Following his arrest by police officers employed by the District of Columbia, appellee Paul Murphy sued the District and the arresting officers for false arrest, negligence, assault and battery, false imprisonment, and malpractice. A jury awarded Murphy $260,000 in damages against the District on his claims for false arrest and assault and battery.¹ The trial court denied the District's motions for directed verdict and for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial and remittitur, and the District filed this appeal.

The District's primary contention on appeal is that it was entitled to a directed verdict or judgment n.o.v. because the undisputed evidence at trial showed that the police officers had probable cause to arrest Murphy.² After reviewing the record, we conclude that the District failed to present such undisputed evidence of probable cause to the trial court. Accordingly, we must affirm.

I.

A.

In the course of an encounter with the police on Sunday afternoon, September 27, 1987, Murphy sustained serious injuries, including several facial fractures so severe that they required two operations to repair. The operating physician testified that these injuries were comparable to those resulting from an auto accident or from a fall from great height. They could not have resulted from a single blow with a fist.

Murphy's clash with the police took place at an apartment on A Street, S.E., where Murphy was living with his girlfriend, Mary Young. The lease for the apartment listed Young as the sole lessee, although Murphy, according to his testimony, paid fifty percent of the rent and other household expenses.

Murphy testified at trial that, on the afternoon and evening before the incident, he and Mary Young had visited a friend to discuss renting a new apartment. Young had been drinking during the visit, and she fell asleep when they returned home later that night. The next morning, Murphy went out shopping for his mother. When he returned to the A Street apartment sometime around noon, Young told him that the police were coming. According to Murphy, she did not say why they were coming, and Murphy did not ask. He also testified that if Mary Young had wanted to keep him out of the apartment, all she had to do was ask him to leave.

Murphy sat down to begin watching a football game on television. Two police officers, a man and a woman, arrived and Young opened the door for them. Murphy acknowledged at trial that Young told the officers he had been "beating" and "hitting on her," although he also testified that he had not heard the details of this conversation because he was concentrating on the football game. Murphy, however, denied at trial that he had fought with Young on Saturday night and also denied that he had ever struck her.

According to Murphy, the male officer, after hearing Young's story, came over and touched Murphy on the arm. Murphy told the officer not to touch him. The officer went back and began talking with Young again. Then, according to Murphy, the male officer suddenly picked him up by his T-shirt, put him in a hold, and threw him against the wall while the female officer opened the door. The officers forced Murphy out of the door and down the steps. Murphy absolutely denied that either of the officers ever asked him to leave the apartment before they began to assault him physically.

Murphy further testified that, outside in the street, the male officer struck Murphy in the face and repeatedly threw him onto the hood of Murphy's car, bloodying Murphy's face. Then both officers held Murphy down while the male officer pushed Murphy's face into the ground. Murphy was not freed until a third police officer arrived on the scene and threw the first two officers off of him.

Mary Young testified on behalf of the District. She said that she had called the police because she and Murphy had gotten into a fight on Saturday night, during which he had hit her. According to Young's testimony, she had told Murphy that he had "better go" because the police were coming. When the officers arrived, Young told the officers that she was afraid of Murphy and wanted him to leave the apartment because he had fought with her the night before. There is no evidence in the record, however, that Mary Young ever informed the officers that she had already told Murphy to leave the apartment.

The police officers who responded to Mary Young's call, Darryl Young and Yvonne McCoy, also testified for the District. They stated at trial that, after hearing Mary Young's story, they had asked Murphy to leave several times and Murphy had ignored these directives. Mary Young confirmed this testimony. Officer Young then put his hands on Murphy's shoulder and told him that he was under arrest. Murphy began wrestling with Officer Young, and, according to the officers, Murphy and Officer Young exchanged blows. The officers then forced Murphy outside the apartment to the street, where they eventually subdued Murphy and handcuffed him with the assistance of backup officers. Officer Young then wrote up the papers for Murphy's arrest for unlawful entry and simple assault.³

B.

At the close of Murphy's evidence at trial, the District moved for a directed verdict on his false arrest and false imprisonment claim. The trial court denied the motion on the ground that "the Plaintiff's evidence showed facts from which the jury can conclude that the testimony of the Plaintiff is, `I was doing nothing wrong, and I was arrested notwithstanding that fact.'" The District renewed the directed verdict motion after resting its case. The trial court again denied the motion, concluding that "there was a controversy, in which it could not say either side was patently incredible, concerning whether or not this was a legitimate arrest in terms of probable cause." Finally, the trial court denied, without comment, the District's posttrial motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict or, in the alternative, for a new trial and remittitur. The District then filed this appeal.

II.

"In actions for false arrest and false imprisonment, the central issue is `whether the arresting officer was justified in ordering the arrest of the plaintiff; if so, the conduct of the arresting officer is privileged and the action fails.'" Scott v. District of Columbia, 493 A.2d 319, 321 (D.C. 1985) (quoting Dellums v. Powell, 184 U.S.App.D.C. 275, 283, 566 F.2d 167, 175 (1977), cert. denied, 438 U.S. 916, 98 S.Ct. 3146, 57 L.Ed.2d 1161 (1978)). A police officer may justify an arrest by showing that he or she had probable cause, in the constitutional sense, to make the arrest. See Welch v. District of Columbia, 578 A.2d 175, 176 (D.C.1990). The police officer, however, need not demonstrate probable cause in the constitutional sense. Rather, it will suffice if the officer can demonstrate that (1) he or she "believed, in good faith, that his or her conduct was lawful," and (2) this "belief was reasonable." Scott, 493 A.2d at 322 (citing Wade v. District of Columbia, 310 A.2d 857, 862 (D.C. 1973) (en banc) (internal quotation marks omitted); accord Henderson v. District of Columbia, 493 A.2d 982, 994 (D.C.1985); Gabrou v. May Dep't Stores Co., 462 A.2d 1102, 1104 (D.C.1983); Safeway Stores, Inc. v. Kelly, 448 A.2d 856, 862 (D.C.1982). In evaluating an officer's claim that he or she acted in good faith in making an arrest, the trier of fact must consider the evidence from the perspective of the arresting officer, not of the plaintiff. See Safeway Stores, 448 A.2d at 862; see also Dent v. May Dep't Stores, 459 A.2d 1042, 1044 (D.C.1982).

In a false arrest case, the issue of probable cause is a mixed question of fact and law that the trial court should ordinarily leave to the jury. See Safeway Stores, 448 A.2d at 862; see also Dent, 459 A.2d at 1044. Where, however, "the undisputed facts considered in the light most favorable to the appellee establish probable cause, then a directed verdict or judgment n.o.v. is appropriate." Safeway Stores, 448 A.2d at 863; see also Gabrou, 462 A.2d at 1104.

Where, as here, we are reviewing the denial of motions for directed verdict and judgment notwithstanding the verdict, we "apply the same standard as the trial court in considering whether a jury could reasonably reach a verdict in favor of the opponent of the motion," viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Vassiliades v. Garfinckel's, 492 A.2d 580, 586 (D.C.1985); see also Washington Metro. Area Transit Auth. v. Davis, 606 A.2d 165, 168 n. 4 (D.C.1992); Kane v. Ryan, 596 A.2d 562, 564 (D.C. 1991); District of Columbia v. Cassidy, 465 A.2d 395, 397 (D.C.1983).

Thus, the question we must answer is whether, considering the undisputed evidence in the light most favorable to Murphy, Officers Young and McCoy had probable cause to arrest him, or at least a reasonable, good faith belief that they were acting lawfully in doing so.⁴ If the undisputed evidence shows such probable cause or reasonable belief, the District is entitled to reversal on the false arrest claim; otherwise, the jury's verdict must stand.⁵

III.

The District maintains that the police officers had probable cause to arrest Murphy for both unlawful entry and simple assault. We consider the unlawful entry argument first.

The offense of unlawful entry includes not only cases where a person enters property without lawful authority, but also cases where a person who has entered the premises with...