Farrell v. Detavis
| Decision Date | 30 August 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 15-cv-1113 SMV/LAM,15-cv-1113 SMV/LAM |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico |
| Parties | KANA FARRELL, ORIANA LEE FARRELL, as an individual and O.B.O. her minor children HEZEKIAH FARRELL, II, KUSH FARRELL, MAGNIFICENT FARRELL, and GILBRALTAR FARRELL, Plaintiffs, v. TONY DETAVIS, ANTHONY LUNA, ELIAS MONTOYA, NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE DEPARTMENT, and JOHN DOES 1-3, Defendants. |
THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant Officers Detavis, Luna, and New Mexico State Police Department's ("NMSPD") Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 29], filed on March 25, 2016, and on Defendant Officer Montoya's Motion for Summary Judgment/Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings [Doc. 40], filed on May 9, 2016. The Court held oral argument on August 16, 2016. [Doc. 64]. Having considered the pleadings, briefs, oral argument, and relevant law, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the Court finds that Officers Detavis, Luna, and NMSPD's Motion is well-taken and will be granted, and that Officer Montoya's Motion is well-taken in part and will be granted in part and denied in part.
This lawsuit arises from events that took place during and after a traffic stop in the early afternoon of October 28, 2013, on a stretch of New Mexico Highway 518 between Peñasco and Talpa. [Doc. 1-1] at 2. The events that are the subject of Plaintiffs' claims were captured on video by Officer Detavis' "dash cam." Id.; see [Doc. 31] (dash cam video). The video depicts a chaotic and confused scene. Officer Detavis initially pulled over Plaintiffs; Officers Luna and Montoya arrived later.
As the dash cam video begins, Plaintiffs' van is stopped on the right-hand shoulder of Highway 518, a two-lane highway. [Doc. 31] at 0:00. Oriana Farrell and her five children (Kana (age 16), Hezekiah (age 14), Kush (age 12), Magnificent (age 9), and Gibraltar (age 6)) are inside. [Doc. 53-4] at 1; [Doc 1-1] at 3-4. Officer Detavis' patrol vehicle is parked behind Plaintiffs' van with its lights activated. [Doc. 31] at 0:00-4:52. He exits his vehicle, walks to the front passenger door, and returns Ms. Farrell's driver's license to her. Id. at 4:55-59. He informs her that she is receiving a citation for going 71 mph in a 55-mph zone and that she has two options: pay a fine of $126 or go to Taos magistrate court. Id. at 5:00-5:17.
Ms. Farrell repeatedly refuses to choose an option. Id. at 5:17-6:15. Officer Detavis informs her that she may also choose to see a judge immediately if she does not want to sign the citation. Id. at 6:18. She continues to refuse to make a decision. Id. at 6:20-6:40. Officer Detavis tells her that he is "cutting her a break" by not citing her for driving with an expired driver's license. Id. at 6:41-6:50. Ms. Farrell did not believe that her license was expired. [Doc. 54-3] at 2; see also id. at 6 ().
Without raising his voice, Officer Detavis continues to order Ms. Farrell to choose one of the options. Id. at 6:50-8:15. Eventually, he tells her that he is going back to his patrol vehicle to inform dispatch that she will not choose an option. Id. at 8:15. He tells her that he will "be right back" and orders her to turn off the van. Id. at 8:42-9:10. Instead of complying, she drives away. Id. at 9:10. Officer Detavis follows the van with his sirens and lights on until Ms. Farrell pulls over again. Id. at 9:27-10:00. According to the dash cam's speed indicator, both vehicles were travelling at or near the speed limit of 55 mph during this period. After Ms. Farrell pulls over, Officer Detavis informs dispatch that he is going to "get her out of the vehicle." Id. at 10:09.
Officer Detavis exits his vehicle, walks to the driver's front door, and pulls it open. Id. at 10:28. Because of the dash cam's position, it is impossible to see Officer Detavis fully in the video. However, it is clear that he is standing right next to Ms. Farrell, who remains seated in the driver's seat. He shouts at her to "get out of the vehicle." Id. The children in the van shout at Officer Detavis to "get off of her" and "leave her alone." Id. at 10:35-45. Officer Detavis repeatedly orders Ms. Farrell to come talk to him behind the van, but she refuses to comply. Id. at 11:00.
Plaintiff Hezekiah Farrell, who was fourteen years old and around the same height as Officer Detavis at the time, exits the van through the rear passenger sliding door. [Doc. 1-1] at 3; [Doc. 31] at 11:05. He walks around the front of the van toward Officer Detavis, who pulls out his Taser, points it at Hezekiah, and orders him to get back in the van. Hezekiah complies. [Doc. 1-1] at 3; id. at 11:10-15. Officer Detavis continues to order Ms. Farrell to get out of the van; she continues to refuse. He then tries to pull her out. She resists. Id. at 11:20-12:00.Officer Detavis informs her that she is "already facing evading charges." In response, she insists that she "did not run away." Id. at 12:49-55. Officer Detavis tells her, "I'm going to ask you one more time to get out of the vehicle and then I'm going to pull you out, okay?" Id. at 12:55. Ms. Farrell asks him for assurances that he will not "grab" her and that he will be "peaceful." Id. at 13:00-15:45. She also offers to sign the speeding citation, but Officer Detavis tells her that she is "past that point now." Id. at 14:35.
After refusing to comply with Officer Detavis' orders to get out of the van for over five minutes, Ms. Farrell gets out of the van and walks behind it. Id. at 16:00. Ms. Farrell insists that she "was not trying to take off" from the initial traffic stop. Id. at 16:15. Officer Detavis then asks her to turn around (presumably so that he could handcuff her), and she quickly moves around him to get back to the driver's front door. Id. at 16:30. Officer Detavis attempts to stop her by grabbing her arms. The children in the van immediately start screaming. Hezekiah and two other children exit the van and move towards Officer Detavis. As the children approach him, and while he is still holding on to her arms, Ms. Farrell collides with the door of the van. Id. at 16:35. Hezekiah approaches Officer Detavis and scuffles with him for a few seconds before Officer Detavis backs away, pulls out his Taser again, and orders Hezekiah repeatedly to "get on the ground." Id. at 16:45; [Doc. 1-1] at 3. Hezekiah does not comply, but instead runs around the front of the van and re-enters it on the passenger side. All Plaintiffs get back into the van just as Officers Luna and Montoya arrive in their patrol vehicles. Id. at 17:03. Officer Detavis orders Hezekiah to Id. at 17:05. He attempts to open the passenger-side doors, but both are apparently locked.
Officer Luna runs to Officer Detavis' side and they shout at Plaintiffs to "open the door . . . open the fucking door!" Id. at 17:15. Officer Luna asks if "he" (presumably Hezekiah) has a gun, and Officer Detavis replies, "No." Id. Officer Detavis pulls out his baton, raises it to shoulder level, and breaks the window, hitting it four times as the children inside scream. The window glass shatters. Id. at 17:15. Although no one is struck by the baton, glass shards fall onto Hezekiah and the other children in the back seat. [Doc. 54-4] at 3; [Doc. 54-5] at 2.
Officer Montoya unholsters his firearm almost immediately after he arrives and runs to the rear driver's side of the van. Id. at 17:14. Ms. Farrell then begins to pull away. As the van moves forward, away from all three officers and back onto the highway, Officer Montoya fires three shots at the van. Id. at 17:20-26. Officer Luna starts to chase the van on foot, then stops and unholsters his weapon as the van moves farther away. He does not fire. Id. at 17:25.
All three officers return to their vehicles and pursue Plaintiffs down Highway 518. Id. at 17:30. According to the dash cam, the chase reaches speeds of close to 100 mph. Id. at 18:15. Once she arrives in a more populated area, Ms. Farrell drives erratically through traffic, at one point crossing the double yellow line into the oncoming lane to turn right through an intersection. Id. at 20:03. During the chase, Officer Detavis tells dispatch that Plaintiffs did not appear to have a gun. [Doc. 30] at ¶ 28.
After more than four minutes of engaging the officers in a dangerous high-speed chase, Ms. Farrell pulls into a hotel parking lot. Id. at 21:54. Plaintiffs exit the vehicle with their hands up and lay on the ground. Id. at 22:10. Ms. Farrell and Hezekiah are handcuffed and led away. Id. at 22:15-23:00. The other four children are escorted away separately. Id. at 23:25.
Ms. Farrell was subsequently charged with Abuse of a Child (no death or great bodily harm)1 (a third third-degree felony), Aggravated Fleeing a Law Enforcement Officer (a fourth degree felony),2 and Use or Possession of Drug Paraphernalia (a misdemeanor).3 [Doc. 1-1] at 5. She pleaded guilty to the first two charges; the third was dismissed. Id. at 6. Hezekiah wascharged with Battery Upon a Police Officer, a fourth-degree felony.4 Id. at 5. The charge was later dismissed. Id. at 6.
Plaintiffs filed their Complaint in state court on October 27, 2015. [Doc. 1-1]. It was divided into five counts, which were labeled as follows: (1) Section 1983 claim for excessive force in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; (2) Section 1983 claim for failure to protect in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; (3) Failure to train/negligent supervision; (4) state law tort claims; and (5) "State Tort Claims for Damages Proximately Caused by the Violation of Federal and State Constitutional Rights." Id. at 7-15. NMSPD removed the case...
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