Franklin v. Doyle

• Decision Date: 09 July 2012
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:09-CV-931
• Parties: JOHN B. FRANKLIN v. BRYAN DOYLE, ET AL
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Texas

JOHN B. FRANKLIN

v.BRYAN DOYLE, ET AL

CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:09-CV-931

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS BEAUMONT DIVISION

Date: July 9, 2012

MEMORANDUM REGARDING DEFENDANTS JEFFERSON COUNTY AND

G. MITCH WOODS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Pending before the Court is defendants' Jefferson County ("Jefferson County") and G. Mitch Woods' ("Woods") Motion for Summary Judgment (docket entry no. 57). Defendants seek summary judgment as to Plaintiff John B. Franklin's ("Plaintiff") civil rights claims for excessive use of force pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. Having reviewed the pending motion, the submissions of the parties, the pleadings, and applicable law, the Court is of the opinion that defendants' motion for summary judgment should be granted.

The above-styled action was originally referred to the undersigned Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636 and the Amended Order for the Adoption of Local Rules for the Assignment of Duties to the United States Magistrate Judge for findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations for the disposition of the case by United States District Judge Marcia A. Crone. Consent of the parties to proceed before the undersigned pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) was entered on January 31, 2011.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Parties

Plaintiff, John B. Franklin is currently a resident of Walker County, Texas.¹ Defendants Doyle and Johnson were former officers of the Jefferson County Jail where the incident at issue in this suit took place. Defendant Jefferson County is a municipality which operates the Jefferson County Jail and employed Doyle and Johnson. Defendant Woods is the Sheriff of Jefferson County and is responsible for the operation of the Jefferson County Jail.

B. Facts

The following facts are derived from plaintiff's first amended complaint (docket entry no. 32-2).

On November 30, 2007, Plaintiff John Franklin was arrested and transported to the jail on a public intoxication charge. Shorter after 8:30 p.m., Mr. Franklin was brought in to the booking area, where he waited for almost five hours for Jefferson County personnel to process him. As Franklin sat waiting to be booked in, he watched arrestees who arrived at the jail well after he did be processed and removed from the booking area.

At approximately 12:40 a.m. on November 31, 2007, after he had waited for over four hours, Mr. Franklin became concerned the jail's delay in processing him indicated [sic] of the officers' intent to harm him.

Worried for his safety, Mr. Franklin went toward the general population of the jail in an effort to position himself in front of a video camera so, if his fears were confirmed, there would be a record of what happened.

Officers Sellers and Davis pursued Mr. Franklin, and before he reached the end of the hallway, tackled him to the cement.

Officer Sellers restrained Mr. Franklin until other officers, including Sgt. Doyle, arrived. To restrain him, Sgt. Doyle used his taser on Mr. Franklin inthe lower back area twice before the officers handcuffed his arms behind his back.

Though Mr. Franklin was restrained at this point, Officer Doyle "drive stunned" him with the taser twice more in the lower back and another time in his thigh.

At this time, Mr. Franklin's face was bleeding and there was a noticeable amount of blood on the floor. Sgt. Doyle and Lt. Dotson then escorted Franklin to the infirmary.

In the infirmary, though Ms. Franklin was handcuffed, Sgt. Doyle tased him twice more in the left side of the chest as the nurses attempted to check Franklin's injuries.

Sgt. Doyle continued to tase Mr. Franklin, who by this time was lying on the floor of the infirmary, twenty more times as the other officers attempted to put him in leg-irons and strap him to a back board. The officers secured Mr. Franklin to the board using handcuffs and leather straps. One strap ran across his chest. Both hands were cuffed and restrained with leather straps. A leather strap was placed across the top of his legs and both ankles were similarly secured. The officers placed a helmet on his head to keep him from injuring himself. Officers then picked up the backboard with Franklin secured on it, and placed him on a gurney.

Even though Mr. Franklin was fully restrained to the gurney and surrounded by six officers at this time, Officer Johnson struck him at least three times in the throat and chest to prevent him from attempting to lift his head up off of the backboard. . . . .

Officer Johnson broke bones in Mr. Franklin's neck by striking him in the throat, using excessive force.

As Mr. Franklin squirmed while fully restrained and secured to the board, Sgt. Doyle again "drive stunned" Mr. Franklin in the abdominal area by pushing the taser directly into his side. . . .

Mr. Franklin was taken to Elizabeth Hospital where CT scans were taken of his head and neck. He was advised that he had broken bones in his neck as a result of being punched while secured to the gurney, and other conditions that needed further treatment.

Mr. Franklin was never booked into the Jefferson County Jail on November30, 2007, or any time thereafter. He was released from custody at the hospital.

Mr. Franklin was never charged for the public intoxication offense that lead to his arrest that evening, nor anything else that happened while he was at the Jefferson County Jail.

An investigation into the incident concluded that Doyle and Johnson committed the criminal offense of "criminal oppression."

Id. 2-4.

C. Procedural Posture

On March 11, 2011, plaintiff filed his motion for leave to file his amended complaint which was subsequently granted on June 1, 2011. Plaintiff filed his amended complaint seeking relief for violations of his 4th and 14th Amendment rights and 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, plaintiff alleges he was subjected to excessive use of force in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments when officers handcuffed and bound him to the backboard and then proceeded to tase and beat him, despite him having already been restrained, while defendants allegedly knowingly subjected him to a substantial risk of physical harm and to unnecessary pain caused by striking his neck several times. Id. In addition, plaintiff argues the actions of defendants, done under color of law and official authority, intentionally, and with complete, deliberate, conscious and callous indifference to plaintiff's constitutional rights, deprived him of his right to be free from inexcusable and arbitrary use of excessive force, proximately causing him injury. Id. Finally, plaintiff contends defendant Jefferson County, as a matter of policy and custom, with deliberate conscious and callous indifference to citizens' right to be free from the use of excessive force, authorized, tolerated, and institutionalized the practices and ratified the alleged illegal misconduct, in part through failure to adequately train and supervise its personnel, proximately causing plaintiff the deprivation of thosefederal rights resulting in the injury he suffered. Id.

Plaintiff also asserts a cause of action for assault under Texas common law and seeks injunctive relief, permanently "enjoining defendants Jefferson County and Woods, their employees, agents, servants, successors-in-office, and all those acting in concert with them, from continuing to exert arbitrary and excessive use of force." Id. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages in addition to attorneys' fees and costs. Plaintiff also argues he is entitled to a declaratory judgment.

II. THE MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

A. Statement of the Issues

Defendants move for summary judgment and outline the statement of the issues as follows:

1. Does Jefferson County have a policy, procedure or custom for allowing its officers to employ excessive or unreasonable use of force?

2. Was Jefferson County deliberately indifferent in failing to train its officers?

3. Was Jefferson County deliberately indifferent in failing to supervise its officers?

B. Defendants Statements of Material Facts²

On Friday November 30, 2007, in the evening hours, the Plaintiff John Franklin was arrested by the Nederland Police Department for public intoxication. Franklin was then transported by the Nederland Police Department to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility located on Highway 69 of Beaumont, Texas.

During the course of that evening shift, two officers attempted to escort Franklin to change into a jail uniform. At that time, Franklin was not physically restrained in any manner. Franklin then bolted from the escorting officers in an attempt to flee. The officers pursued Franklin throughout the facility when Franklin then attempted to exit the building by running through a metal door that led outside to the breezeway. Franklin then fell onto the outside concrete sidewalk while fleeing, slightly injuring his mouth and face. The two corrections officers were still in pursuit of Franklin at this time andwere able to subdue him when he fell to the sidewalk. The officers attempted to restrain Franklin but he was resisting violently, and the two officers failed to secure him. One of the corrections officers had severely injured his right shoulder during this pursuit (which later required surgery).

During the time the pusuit [sic] of Franklin was in progress, the pursuing officers were radioing other officers on duty of the situation. After receiving the radio transmission, other officers and supervisors were then enroute [sic] to assist the pursuing officers to help restrain Franklin. Franklin violently resisted any and all attempts to restrain him, even as the other officers arrived to assist. Franklin's struggle and combativeness then became even more violent. The officers were attempting to handcuff Franklin but were unable to get his hands cuffed behind his back.

At that time the Defendant Bryan Doyle, one of the supervisors on duty, was assisting the other officers in an effort to restrain Franklin.

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