Easterling v. City of Glennville

• Decision Date: 11 July 1986
• Docket Number: No. CV485-483.,CV485-483.
• Citation: 694 F. Supp. 911
• Parties: J. Franklin EASTERLING and Erma Easterling, Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF GLENNVILLE, Harry Sands, Archie Phillips, Dennis Langley, Ronnie "Chip" Fincher, and Howard Gray, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Georgia

694 F. Supp. 911

J. Franklin EASTERLING and Erma Easterling, Plaintiffs, v. The CITY OF GLENNVILLE, Harry Sands, Archie Phillips, Dennis Langley, Ronnie "Chip" Fincher, and Howard Gray, Defendants.

No. CV485-483.

United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Savannah Division.

July 11, 1986.

Charles M. Jones, Hinesville, Ga., for plaintiffs.

Joseph P. Brennan, Joseph A. Mulherin, III, Savannah, Ga., for defendants.

ORDER

EDENFIELD, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment.

I. Background

This action, brought pursuant to 42 U.S. C. § 1983, arises out of the death of Lindy Boy Easterling. His car left the road and struck a tree while he was being pursued by officers of the City of Glennville Police Department. Plaintiffs are the parents of the deceased. The City of Glennville is a municipal corporation located in Tattnall County, Georgia. Defendant Harry Sands was at all times relevant hereto the Chief of Police of the City of Glennville. Defendants Archie Phillips, Dennis Langley, Ronnie "Chip" Fincher, and Howard Gray were at all times relevant hereto police officers for the City of Glennville. Plaintiff sued each of the officers in his individual and official capacity.¹

The facts surrounding the events of the early morning hours of May 5, 1985 are hotly disputed. Therefore, the Court is mindful that summary judgment should be entered only if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and ... the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. Rule 56(c); Clemens v. Dougherty County, Georgia, 684 F.2d 1365, 1368 (11th Cir.1982); Casey Enterprises v. American Hardware Mutual Ins. Co., 655 F.2d 598, 601-02 (5th Cir. Unit B 1981). The party seeking summary judgment bears the burden of demonstrating that there is no actual dispute as to any material fact and that only legal conclusions remain. Adickes v. S.H. Kress & Co., 398 U.S. 144, 157, 90 S.Ct. 1598, 1608, 26 L.Ed.2d 142 (1970); Mercantile Bank & Trust Co. Ltd. v. Fidelity and Deposit Co., 750 F.2d 838 (11th Cir.1985). The evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the party opposing the motion for summary judgment. Blackston v. Shook & Fletcher Insulation Co., 764 F.2d 1480, 1482 (11th Cir.1985). "All reasonable inferences arising from the undisputed facts should be made in favor of the nonmovant ... but an inference based on speculation and conjecture is not reasonable." Id.

Defendants, in their motion for summary judgment, contend the following facts to be uncontroverted. In the early morning hours of May 5, 1985, Officer Archie Lee Phillips, parked near the intersection of Highways 144 and 301 in Glennville, observed a vehicle, only later discovered to have been driven by the decedent, traveling through downtown Glennville east on Highway 144 at a rate of speed well in excess of posted speed limits. (Phillips Dep. pp. 5-6). Officer Phillips began following this vehicle east on Highway 144 towards the local National Guard Armory, at which the high school prom was in progress.

At the time, Officer "Chip" Fincher of the Glennville police force was approaching the National Guard Armory east on Highway 144 ahead of the speeding vehicle in the same direction and lane in which the vehicle was traveling. (Phillips Dep. p. 6; Fincher Dep. pp. 7-8). As Officer Fincher was attempting to turn across the westbound lane of Highway 144 into the east driveway of the National Guard Armory, the Easterling vehicle sped around him on the left side (westbound lane) of the road over a yellow line. (Fincher Dep. pp. 7-9). Fincher had to "slam" on his brakes to avoid being hit by the vehicle as it passed him on the left at a very high rate of speed. (Id. at 8). At this point, Fincher turned on his siren and blue lights and began pursuit. (Id. at 9). However, the Easterling vehicle refused to stop and continued out of town at a high rate of speed. (Id. at 9-10).

Approximately three miles into the chase, the Easterling vehicle applied its brakes as it passed a side road off of Highway 144 (the side road being known as Sand Hill Road or the Time Saver Road), backed up, and turned on to this side road. Officer Fincher had to brake suddenly and maneuver around the Easterling vehicle to the left side in order to avoid hitting it. (Id. at 10-11). As Officer Fincher was attempting to back his vehicle up to proceed down the Sand Hill Road, Officer Phillips came by him, turned on to Sand Hill Road, and was, at this point, the lead vehicle in the pursuit. Shortly thereafter, Officer Fincher overtook and passed Officer Phillips and again became the lead police vehicle. (Phillips Dep. pp. 8-10; Fincher Dep. pp. 10-12).

The previously described Sand Hill Road ends at Highway 196 in Long County, Georgia, by a Time Saver Food Store. At this point, the Easterling vehicle turned west on to Highway 196 toward U.S. Highway 301, heading back toward the city limits of Glennville. (Fincher Dep. pp. 12-13). By this time, two other Glennville police officers, Al Allen and Howard Gray, had positioned themselves opposite each other on either side of Highway 196 at a point ahead of the Easterling vehicle in the direction in which it was traveling; both cars were off the road. (Al Allen Dep. pp. 6-8; Howard Gray Dep. pp. 12-14). The Easterling vehicle sped by the two parked police cars without stopping. (Allen Dep. pp. 6-8; Gray Dep. pp. 12-14). There was ample room for the Easterling vehicle to pass the two police cars as they were not yet forming a roadblock. The officers stated that they had just received the radio transmission that the car would be coming down the road and only had time to pull over when the vehicle sped by them. (Allen Dep. pp. 6-8; Gray Dep. pp. 12-14).

After the Easterling vehicle passed the two parked police cars on Highway 196, it continued back toward Highway 301 and the city limits of Glennville, Georgia. The Easterling vehicle reached the end of Highway 196 where it forms a "T" with Highway 301 at a place at or about a southern portion of the city limits of Glennville, turned right onto Highway 301, and headed directly back into the middle of downtown Glennville at a very high rate of speed. (Fincher Dep. pp. 13-14). The driver then proceeded to run the red light at the intersection of Highways 301 and 144, the spot where he was initially observed speeding through town (id. at 15), and turned right on to the Hencart Road. (Id. at 16). The pursuit ended shortly thereafter when, as the Easterling vehicle continued to travel up the Hencart/Beard's Creek Church Road, it attempted to negotiate a fairly sharp turn. (Id. at 17). The vehicle apparently could not make the turn, ran off the road, and hit a tree.² The impact killed Lindy Boy Easterling instantly. When he attempted to negotiate the curve as above described and hit the tree, there were no members of the Glennville Police Department within visual contact of his vehicle. (Id. at 17-18). The last thing Officer Fincher (the lead and closest vehicle) saw before the crash as he headed up Hencart Road following the Easterling vehicle was its tail lights in the distance as it pulled away from him and went over a hill. (Fincher Dep. p. 17).

Defendants point out that all the officers testified in their depositions that the identity of the driver of the speeding vehicle was not known for certain until after the vehicle crashed. (Fincher Dep. pp. 6-9; Phillips Dep. pp. 5, 14; Gray Dep. p. 14; Langley Dep. pp. 9-10; Allen Dep. p. 10; Dasher Dep. p. 5). Defendants also assert that the evidence shows that the deceased came speeding through Glennville with no intention of stopping if he were chased by the police. They cite to the deposition of Adrian Blocker, which reveals that Easterling had been given a traffic citation by Officer Fincher on the Thursday night prior to the prom for "laying drag," and that he was upset. (Blocker Dep. pp. 23-28). Further, testimony of John Durrence, a friend of the deceased, reveals that Easterling had said, "He wouldn't stop for the police no more...." (Durrence Dep. pp. 17-18).

Plaintiffs controvert the facts as outlined by defendants. They begin their version of the facts by reciting events which occurred prior to the night in question. Approximately two weeks before the accident, Lindy Boy Easterling was leaning up against an automobile owned by Adrian Blocker and talking to him. (Blocker Dep. p. 8). While they were talking, Officer Fincher, one of the defendants, came up to Easterling and said, "What did you say, Boy?" He replied, "I didn't say nothing." (Id.) At that moment, Fincher pulled out a "gun" and shot Easterling. Although it was only a cap pistol, the episode frightened the deceased, and those around him. Fincher, who was in uniform and driving his patrol car, laughed and went into a nearby store after firing the "weapon." (Id. at 8-12).

On May 2, 1985, approximately two days before the prom, Officer Fincher stopped Lindy Boy Easterling and issued him a traffic citation for "laying drag." (Fincher Dep. pp. 5-6). Further, plaintiffs assert that in the National Guard Armory parking lot on the night of the prom, Officer Fincher threatened the deceased. A bystander overheard Fincher tell Easterling: "I'll get you before the night is over." (Kwok Dep. pp. 5-8).

Plaintiffs do not dispute the path of the chase as described in defendants' evidence. They do add, however, several relevant occurrences. For example, as the police cars pursued the Easterling vehicle on the Sand Hill Road, the sounds of the chase diverted two people from their television wrestling program at approximately 1:00 a.m. (See Sidney Hall Dep. p. 6). These two men promptly followed in their automobile to see what was happening. (Id. at 6-7). According to Sidney Hall, who recognized the Easterling vehicle, the chase stopped at the Sand Hill Road's intersection with Highway 196 by the Time Saver Food Store. The driver of the Easterling...