DYER v. BLANKENSHIP
| Decision Date | 30 March 2011 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 4:07CV02105 AGF |
| Parties | DARRELL WAYNE DYER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DON BLANKENSHIP, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Missouri |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
This matter is before the Court1 on the Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 108) filed by Defendants Donald Blankenship, William Scott Jones, the City of Doolittle, Greg Curtis, and Michael Kirn. Plaintiffs Kevin Dyer and Darrell Wayne Dyer, assert claims arising out of the death of Keith Dyer, that occurred at the time of his arrest.2 In the first amended complaint, Darrell Dyer, Keith's father, seeks damages under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1986, and equitable relief under 42 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202, for violations of Keith's constitutional rights. He also asserts claims for wrongful death and negligent hiring. Plaintiff Kevin Dyer, Keith's brother, asserts a claim under § 1983 for deprivation of his familial relationship. (Doc. 60.) Defendants move for summaryjudgment, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a), on all of Plaintiffs' claims. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant Defendants' motion, in part.
The record in this case establishes the following facts.3 On September 8, 2004, Keith was convicted in Phelps County of the crimes of possession of methamphetamine, possession of a controlled substance and narcotic equipment, and resisting arrest. On September 15, 2005, he began serving a term of six years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.
On October 4, 2006, at 9:07 a.m., Keith signed out of the St. Louis Community Release Center but failed to return at his scheduled time of 1:00 p.m., and an Absconder Warrant was issued.
Although Kevin knew Keith was living in a halfway house in St. Louis, Missouri, on October 6, 2006, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Kevin picked up Keith at the McDonald's in Rolla, Missouri. They returned to Kevin's home in Newburg, Missouri, and remained there until approximately 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. Kevin then took Keith to Keith's attorney's office to pick up a check from a car accident settlement that the attorney was holding for Keith, and took Keith to the bank to cash the check.
Kevin and his girlfriend, Regina Lawson, and Keith went to a car lot in Doolittle, Missouri, where Keith purchased a silver Hyundai Tiburon ("Tiburon"), with the money from his settlement check. Neither Keith nor Kevin had a driver's license, so Regina waslisted on the title as co-owner with Keith. In return, Keith told Regina that she would get the car because he was going back to jail.4 Regina later learned that Keith had left the halfway house in St. Louis without permission.
At approximately 2:30 p.m., Keith wanted to take the Tiburon to find one of his friends, Larry Bramel. Kevin objected because, according to Kevin, Bramel was a drug dealer and user, and he had seen Bramel use methamphetamine on numerous occasions. Kevin assumed that if Keith met with Bramel, they would take drugs. Regina did not want Keith to take the Tiburon because her name was on the title and Keith was not supposed to drive it yet, and because of Keith's erratic behavior.
Nevertheless, Keith left in the Tiburon to find Bramel. After he left, Regina and Kevin were worried that something might happen to the car, for which Regina might be held responsible. Later that day, Kevin also learned that Keith had left the halfway house without permission and would be arrested for violating his parole.
Sometime around 5:00 or 6:00 p.m., Kevin and Regina found Keith, but he refused to give them the car. Regina then called the Newburg Police Department and reported the car as stolen. She explained to the police that it was not legal for Keith to drive the car because they could not get insurance for the car until Monday, October 8th.
When Keith arrived at Bramel's house, Jessica Van Pel, Bramel's girlfriend, was already there. Keith waited with Van Pel for approximately three hours for Bramel to return home. Van Pel noted that Keith seemed nervous. Although she had never seen Keith use methamphetamine, Van Pel had seen him when he was "under the influence," and, on occasion, had helped him "come down" by "feeding him and making him drink a glass of water and just sit."
Meanwhile, at 7:30 p.m. that evening, the Newburg Chief of Police called the Doolittle Chief of Police, Defendant William Scott Jones ("Jones"), asking if Jones knew Keith Dyer, and requesting Jones' assistance with an investigation into whether Keith had stolen a vehicle. Jones had been the Chief of Police in Doolittle, Missouri, since August 1, 2006, and was the only police officer in the Doolittle Police Department. Jones knew Keith and had arrested him on more than one occasion for warrant violations when Jones was a Newburg police officer.
Later, the Newburg Chief of Police met with Jones at the Doolittle Police Department and advised Jones that Keith was wanted for stealing a 2000 gray Hyundai Tiburon. According to Jones, Keith had a reputation in Newburg and Doolittle as a violent person and a drug user. Keith had resisted arrest on other prior occasions when Jones had attempted to arrest him and he had to call for backup.
Approximately 20 to 30 minutes after Bramel arrived at the house, Keith and Bramel decided to take a drive. Bramel drove because Keith did not have a driver's license. According to Bramel, during the drive into Newburg, he learned that the Tiburon he was driving had been reported as stolen.
Bramel drove through Newburg and went to "Cookin' From Scratch," a restaurant/gas station/convenience store in Doolittle, Missouri. Cookin' From Scratch had video surveillance cameras that recorded all actions in the front of the property where the gas pumps were located. Bramel pulled up to pump 7. Brad West, another friend of Keith's, arrived at Cookin' From Scratch with Ken Baker and Tim Baker, and parked his green Dodge Ram pickup near the store and away from the pumps. West stopped at Cookin' From Scratch because he had seen Joey Loeffelmann, one of his friends. West went over to speak to Loeffelmann, who was putting gas in his white Chevy Blazer. At approximately 11:45 p.m., Loeffelmann is seen in the surveillance video wearing a white shirt and standing by a white Chevy Blazer.5
At approximately 11:30 p.m., Donna Lawson ("Ms. Lawson"), the mother of Regina Lawson, had ended her evening shift at Phelps County Regional Medical Center and drove to Cookin' From Scratch. She parked at the gas pump, where she can be seen on the video at approximately 11:45 p.m. She saw Keith arrive, and called Regina to let her know that Keith was there with the car.
West also saw Bramel drive up to the gas pump with Keith in the front passenger seat, and went over to talk to Keith. West said, When West walked up and touched Keith's passenger door, Keith warned him "to get the fuck away." West then turned around to walk away when Keith, who had a white T-shirt wrapped around his neck, jumped out of the car and punched West on the back of the head, causing him to fall to the ground. West had never seen Keith act like that before, and he jumped up and ran away from Keith. West can be seen on the video, at approximately 11:45, running, with Keith in pursuit. Keith then started scuffling and throwing punches at the Bakers, who fought back. During the scuffle, Keith either removed or lost his white T-shirt.
While these events were on-going, Jones was on patrol. He passed by the Cookin' From Scratch gas station and observed two males fighting. Jones returned to the gas station and observed a white male without a shirt fleeing the scene. While the altercation between Keith and the Bakers was on-going, other people outside of Cookin' From Scratch began yelling that a Doolittle police officer was pulling up. When Bramel saw the police car arrive, he told Keith to run so he would not be arrested. Bramel already knew that the Tiburon had been reported stolen, and Regina had told him earlier that there was a warrant for Keith's arrest for leaving the halfway house without permission. At approximately 11:45 p.m., Keith is seen on the video surveillance footage wearing jeans and no shirt. Keith ran into the woods, toward a ravine behind the gas station.
In his deposition, West testified that Keith was "acting differently" and he had never seen Keith act in such a manner. Ms. Lawson also testified that Keith had alwaysbeen very respectful to her whenever they met, but that night, although she repeatedly told Keith to calm down, he refused to do so. She stated, "It was like he snapped."
Jones drove around to the back of Cookin' From Scratch with his headlights and emergency lights on, and observed that the fleeing suspect was Keith. Keith picked up a large rock and threw it at Jones' police car. He then picked up a second rock, threw it at the car, and fled towards a drainage ditch. Jones pursued him, advising dispatch that he was in foot pursuit.
Because it was the middle of the night, Jones could not see anything in the area where he was pursuing Keith. Jones identified himself and ordered Keith to stop, but Keith continued running. Jones then used his chemical defense spray, but it had no effect on Keith. Keith was running down the ditch line when he stopped and started throwing rocks at Jones. When one of the rocks almost hit Jones in the head, he unstrapped his gun and advised Keith to drop the rock in his hand. Keith was attempting to run up an incline when Jones tackled him and they both fell to the ground. Keith proceeded to punch Jones on his right side and kicked him with his knees. Jones and Keith struggled on the ground and Jones put his right forearm on Keith's chest to keep him from getting up.
Jones repeatedly ordered Keith to stop resisting, but he continued to punch Jones in his chest and back. Keith yelled, "Get the fuck off me or I'll...
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