Garcia v. Cnty. of Westchester
| Decision Date | 20 November 2017 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 11-CV-7267 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7261 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7265 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7258 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7264 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7260 (KMK),Case No. 11-CV-7262 (KMK) |
| Parties | JOSEPH GARCIA, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MT. PLEASANT, NEW YORK; GEORGE N. LONGWORTH, Commissioner-Sheriff; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant Police Chief; POLICE OFFICER RONALD BECKLEY; POLICE OFFICER PAUL J. CUSANO; POLICE OFFICER RONALD GAGNON; POLICE OFFICER BRIAN BOSAN; LT. RUSSELL W. LOWENSTEIN; JOHN DOES # 1-30, Defendants. YVES DELPECHE, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MT. PLEASANT, NEW YORK; COMMISSIONER GEORGE N. LONGWORTH, Westchester County Dept. of Public Safety; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant, New York Police Chief; POLICE OFFICER RONALD BECKLEY; POLICE OFFICER RONALD GAGNON; POLICE OFFICER BRIAN BOSAN; LT. RUSSELL W. LOWENSTEIN; JOHN DOES # 1-30, Defendants. MARTIN LaROCHE, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MT. PLEASANT, NEW YORK; GEORGE N. LONGWORTH, Commissioner-Sheriff; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mt. Pleasant Police Chief; RONALD BECKLEY, Police Officer; RONALD GAGNON, Police Officer; JOHN DOES # 1-30; CARL CASTAGNA, Police Officer; JUSTIN JACOBSON, Police Officer, Defendants. REBECCA GALLO, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MT. PLEASANT, NEW YORK; COMMISSIONER-SHERIFF GEORGE N. LONGWORTH; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant Police Chief; RONALD BECKLEY, Police Officer; RONALD GAGNON, Police Officer; POLICE OFFICER JOHN DOE; JOHN DOES # 1-30; CARL CASTAGNA, Police Officer, Defendants. DANIEL PARKER, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, NEW YORK; GEORGE N. LONGWORTH, Commissioner-Sheriff; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant, New York Police Chief; RONALD BECKLEY, Police Officer; RONALD GAGNON, Police Officer; BRIAN BOSAN, Police Officer; LT. RUSSELL W. LOWENSTEIN; JOHN DOES # 1-30; CARL CASTAGNA, Police Officer, Defendants. DESMOND HINDS, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; VILLAGE OF PLEASANTVILLE, NEW YORK; TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, NEW YORK; GEORGE N. LONGWORTH, Commissioner-Sheriff; ANTHONY CHIARLITTI, Village of Pleasantville Former Police Chief; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant, New York Police Chief; AARON HESS, Police Officer; RONALD BECKLEY, Police Officer; RONALD GAGNON, Police Officer; MARCO A. MENDOZA, Detective; MARTIN GREENBERG, Detective; JOHN DOES # 1-30; JUSTIN JACOBSON, Police Officer, Defendants. JOSEPH ROMANICK, Plaintiff, v. COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER; TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, NEW YORK; COMMISSIONER GEORGE N. LONGWORTH; LOUIS ALAGNO, Town of Mount Pleasant, New York Police Chief; POLICE OFFICER RONALD BECKLEY; POLICE OFFICER RONALD GAGNON; DETECTIVE MARCO A. MENDOZA; DETECTIVE MATTHEW F. BROWN; DETECTIVE MARTIN GREENBERG; POLICE OFFICER GEORGE W. WINSMAN; JOHN DOES # 1-30, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
Appearances:
Bonita E. Zelman, Esq.
Law Offices of Bonita Zelman
New York, NY
Counsel for Plaintiffs
David S. Yohay, Esq.
LaCheen Dixon Wittels & Greenberg, LLP
Philadelphia, PA
Counsel for Plaintiffs
Joan LeGraw, Esq.
Legal Advocacy & Resource Center
Boston, MA
Paula J. Kelly, Esq.
Law Offices of Paula Johnson Kelly
New Rochelle, NY
Drew W. Sumner, Esq.
Carl S. Sandel, Esq.
Kenneth E. Pitcoff, Esq.
Rebecca J. Rosedale, Esq.
Morris Duffy Alonso & Faley
Counsel for Defendants County of Westchester, Town of Mount Pleasant, New York, Commissioner George N. Longworth, Louis Alagno, Police Officer Ronald Beckley, Police Officer Ronald Gagnon, Police Officer Brian Bosan, Lt. Russell W. Lowenstein, Carl Castagna, Justin Jacobson, Marco A. Mendoza, Martin Greenberg, Matthew F. Brown, and George W. Winsman
James A. Randazzo, Esq.
Caitlin G. Scheir, Esq.
Gaines, Novick, Ponzini, Cossu & Venditti, LLP
Counsel for Defendants Village of Pleasantville, New York, and Anthony Chiarlitti
Brian S. Sokoloff, Esq.
David A. Gold, Esq.
Leo Dorfman, Esq.
Sokoloff Stern LLP
Carle Place, NY
Plaintiffs Joseph Garcia, Yves Delpeche, Martin LaRoche, Rebecca Gallo, Daniel Parker, Desmond Hinds, and Joseph Romanick (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), brought these Actions against the County of Westchester, the Village of Pleasantville, the Town of Mount Pleasant, George N. Longworth, Anthony Chiarlitti, Louis Alagno, Aaron Hess, Ronald Beckley, Ronald Gagnon, Brian Bosan, Russell W. Lowenstein, Carl Castagna, Marco A. Mendoza, Matthew Brown, Martin Greenberg, George Winsman, Justin Jacobson, and John Does # 1-30 (collectively, "Defendants"), alleging various violations of their state and federal rights arising out of an incident in the evening on October 16, 2010 in which two other individuals, D.J. Henry and Brandon Cox, were shot by Defendant Officer Aaron Hess in the parking lot of a shopping center. Plaintiffs have brought a number of claims, including, among others, false arrest,excessive force, malicious prosecution, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Before the Court are Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment. (See Dkt. No. 291, 11-CV-7258 Dkt.; Dkt. No. 244, 11-CV-7260 Dkt.; Dkt. No. 240, 11-CV-7261 Dkt.; Dkt. No. 229, 11-CV-7262 Dkt.; Dkt. No. 254, 11-CV-7264 Dkt.; Dkt. Nos. 254, 258, 262, 11-CV-7265 Dkt.; Dkt. No. 243; 11-CV-7267 Dkt.) For the following reasons, the Motions are granted in part and denied in part.
Officer Hess's encounter with D.J. Henry, Brandon Cox, and Plaintiff Desmond Hinds is already the subject of an Opinion & Order issued by this Court on September 26, 2017 in related the case brought by Brandon Cox. (See Op. & Order ("Cox Op.") (Dkt. No. 131, 11-CV-6516 Dkt.).) That encounter, in which Officer Hess fired several shots into the front windshield of a car driven by D.J. Henry, with Brandon Cox in the passenger seat and Desmond Hinds in the backseat, sets the background for many of the claims raised in these Actions. The details of that encounter, however, are not material to the disposition of these Motions, except with respect to Hinds. For that reason, and to avoid repetition, the Court will not repeat the facts giving rise to the interaction between Hess and the vehicle driven by D.J. Henry. Except where noted, the Court will assume here the same version of facts set forth by Plaintiff and accepted as true in the Cox Opinion.
Moreover, because this case comes before the Court on Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment, the Court will recite only either undisputed facts or those set forth by Plaintiffs and supported by the record. The Court will not, except as noted, set forth Defendants' version of the facts where disputed.
On the evening of October 16, 2010, Plaintiff Joseph Garcia was a student at Pace University and a member of the football team. That evening was the night of the homecoming game, and after the game, Garcia went to Finnegan's bar in Mount Pleasant, New York. (See Garcia 50-h Testimony 10, 17-20; Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 1; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 1.) At some point in the night, the staff at Finnegan's announced the bar was closing for reasons unrelated to Garcia or any of his friends. As Garcia was leaving, he heard three or four gunshots. (See Garcia Zelman Decl. Ex. 1 ("Garcia Dep."), at 187, 191-92; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 2; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 2.)
After Garcia left Finnegan's, he saw approximately 15 police officers and five or six police vehicles outside. (See Garcia 50-h Testimony 25; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 3; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 3.) Garcia looked down the roadway and saw his friend, D.J. Henry, lying in the street, and also saw Henry's car in the middle of the street. (See Garcia 50-h Testimony 26, 28; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 4; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 4.) As Garcia approached Henry's vehicle, he asked a police officer, "what happened?" to which the police officer, who had a gun in his hands, responded, "get the fuck back." (See Garcia Dep. 196-97, 200; Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 6; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 6.) Garcia complied and moved back onto the sidewalk. (See Garcia Dep. 197-98; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 6; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 6.)
At that time, Garcia saw his friend, Plaintiff Yves Delpeche, standing on the sidewalk with his back against the wall and his arms raised above his head while four officers were pointing their weapons at him. (See Garcia Dep. 235-36; Garcia 50-h Testimony 41-42; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 8; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 8.) Garcia could see red dots from Tasers aimed at Delpeche's chest and head. (See Garcia 50-h Testimony 43; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 8; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 8.) Garcia walked toward Delpeche but, as he was doing so, he was grabbed by Defendant Officer Cusano, slammed into a brick wall, punched, and Tased in the back. (See Garcia Dep. 246-47; Garcia Zelman Decl. Ex. 6 ("Cusano Dep."), at 125-27; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 9; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 9.)1 Garcia was handcuffed and arrested by Officer Cusano because of his presence in the area where Delpeche and Defendant Officer Bosan, who was in the process of arresting Delpeche, were standing. (See Cusano Dep. 40-41, 126-28; see also Pl.'s Garcia 56.1 ¶ 10; Defs.' Garcia 56.1 Resp. ¶ 10.) Officer Bosan testified that he could not see everything that happened between Garcia and Officer Cusano, but did note that he witnessed a verbal exchange (not described by either Garcia or Officer Cusano in their testimony)...
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