Hamm v. Powell
| Citation | 874 F.2d 766 |
| Decision Date | 06 June 1989 |
| Docket Number | No. 88-3166,88-3166 |
| Parties | Robert D. HAMM, Alice Hamm, William H. Williams, and Kathryn Williams, Plaintiffs-Appellees, Cross-Appellants, v. Sheriff James A. POWELL, etc., Defendant, Dennis Norred, individually and in his capacity as Sheriff Deputy of Santa Rosa County, Florida, Bruce Johnson, individually and in his capacity as Sheriff Deputy of Santa Rosa County, Florida, Defendants-Appellants, Cross-Appellees. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) |
Julis F. Parker, Jr., Parker, Skelding, McVoy, Labasky, Jennifer Parker LaVia, Tallahassee, Fla., for defendants-appellants, cross-appellees.
Ted A. Stokes, Milton, Fla., James A. Johnston, Pensacola, Fla., James F. McKay, Baton Rouge, La., for plaintiffs-appellees, cross-appellants.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
Before HILL and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges, and ESCHBACH *, Senior Circuit Judge.
Appellees were injured in an encounter with the appellants, law enforcement officers, who were undertaking to arrest appellees. The officers were armed. They had been warned that appellants were armed. The encounter, at night, was fraught with danger. The parties' vehicles collided; shots were fired. Robert D. Hamm was struck in his side by a bullet. William H. Williams received a cut on his head. Both were arrested, and Hamm was tried and acquitted. They have brought suit against the officers.
Although there were mixed findings and holdings in the trial court, each appellee achieved an award of damages. We conclude that even though appellees did suffer bodily injury in their arrests on charges ultimately dismissed, they were not entitled to recover against the law enforcement officers, and we reverse.
In the evening of October 26, 1982, Marlon Wiggins entered the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's office and informed Sgt. Paul Pridgen that he had information concerning a drug deal to occur later that night. Wiggins said that Bob Hamm and a man named "Hub," later identified as William H. Williams, would be involved. Although Sgt. Pridgen believed that Wiggins was slightly intoxicated and might not be fully reliable, he called Bruce Johnson, a narcotics officer with the sheriff's office, who in turn contacted Dennis Norred, Chief Deputy of the office.
Upon Norred's arrival at the sheriff's office, Wiggins related that recently he had given the sheriff's department in adjacent Okaloosa County information regarding drug deals. Although Norred's police report read that Johnson did not have time to verify Wiggins' reliability by checking with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's office, both Johnson and an officer from Okaloosa County testified that the Okaloosa officer reported to Johnson on the telephone that Wiggins was reliable because more than a dozen drug dealers had been arrested based on information obtained through Wiggins.
Wiggins told Norred that he had met with Hamm earlier that day and had requested Hamm to supply him with "some stuff" to sell. Hamm had held up a bag (which Hamm later testified contained a six-pack of beer and two packs of chewing tobacco) and replied that he had "some stuff right here." In response to Wiggins' inquiry regarding where Hamm was going to be that evening, Hamm told him that he was going to go to the nearby Elco Truck Stop. After placing a listening device on Wiggins, Norred and Johnson, in an unmarked police car, followed Wiggins' vehicle to the truck stop.
Wiggins met Hamm in the truck stop's parking lot while "Hub" Williams remained in Hamm's Land Rover vehicle. In a conversation heard by appellants through the At Williams' request, Hamm turned off the road into the parking lot of Faulk's or Fortune's Store, about a mile from the truck stop. Hamm left his vehicle for a moment, told Wiggins that he would meet with him in a short while after he took Williams home, returned to his vehicle, and began to drive out of the parking lot. Norred and Johnson believed that the conversations that they had overheard confirmed Wiggins' tip that a drug deal would occur. They had followed Hamm's and Wiggins' vehicles, and at a time when all three vehicles were at the Fortune Store's parking lot, Wiggins told the officers through the transmitter that Hamm and Williams possessed "the dope" and guns.
listening device, Wiggins asked whether Hamm had the "stuff," and Hamm responded by asking whether Wiggins brought money. Hamm would not allow Wiggins to see the "stuff" unless Wiggins showed him money. Then, Wiggins became angry, and Hamm left to take Williams home. When Wiggins asked Hamm where he was going, Hamm replied that he was "going down the road." Wiggins said that he would follow Hamm
As Hamm drove towards the exit of the parking lot, Norred, believing Hamm was trying to flee, tried to block the exit. The vehicles collided and a chase ensued. Appellees testified that they never saw a flashing blue light on the other car and did not know their pursuers were policemen. Hamm testified that he told Williams that "[I've] undoubtedly convinced this joker [Wiggins] ... that I've got something" and that the pursuers might be associates of Wiggins trying to take away "the stuff." At one point when the vehicles were entangled, Johnson observed a flash from the Land Rover and shouted "muzzle flash" to Norred. Once the vehicles came to a momentary stop off the road, Norred jumped from his car and shouted, "Halt, police." As the Land Rover started again and passed the officers, they fired their guns at the vehicle. Hamm was struck by a bullet in his side, and Williams received a cut on his head. Norred and Johnson continued to pursue the Land Rover until it stopped a short distance away. Hamm was arrested at the scene. Williams ran into the woods and was arrested later at his house.
No weapon was found on Hamm or Williams. A .22 caliber revolver in the glove compartment had not been fired. No drugs, except for marijuana residue in a canvas pouch, were found. Williams was detained in jail for two days and was released. Hamm was later tried on criminal charges and acquitted.
In September, 1984, Hamm and Williams filed a complaint against Norred, Johnson, and James A. Powell, sheriff of Santa Rosa County. After summary judgment was granted for Powell, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint against Norred and Johnson, individually and as Sheriff's Deputies of Santa Rosa County. Included among plaintiffs' claims were allegations of violations of the Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments and claims under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. The district court denied Norred and Johnson's motion for summary judgment based on qualified immunity grounds; defendants did not then appeal. In a supplemental pre-trial order issued in January, 1988, the district court declared that only false arrest and excessive force claims remained to be tried. During the jury trial, plaintiffs attempted to introduce evidence relating to defendants' probable cause to detain, as distinguished from defendants' probable cause to arrest. The judge denied testimony as to detention, expressing that the case is an "arrest case" and not a "detention case."
At the close of plaintiffs' case, defendants moved for a directed verdict on all counts. The court denied the motion on the issue of probable cause to arrest, stating that, although the "overwhelming evidence" indicates that the officers had probable cause to arrest, there was sufficient evidence to indicate that reasonable jurors could possibly find that there was not probable cause. The district judge granted a directed verdict in favor of the defendants on qualified immunity grounds regarding plaintiffs' Fourth Amendment claim of excessive force, but denied defendants' motion At the close of all evidence, defendants renewed motions for summary judgment on all claims. The district court reserved judgment regarding the false arrest claim and stated that a jury issue existed as regards to the substantive due process excessive force claim. The jury verdict was returned in favor of the plaintiffs on both the false arrest and excessive force under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments claims. Robert Hamm was awarded $200,000, and "Hub" Williams received $85,000 in compensatory damages. Immediately following the reading of the jury's verdict, the district judge granted defendants' motion for a directed verdict on the false arrest claim, but let stand the jury's verdict on the excessive force claim and awards of damages.
for directed verdict based on qualified immunity concerning the plaintiffs' Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments' claim of excessive force. Regarding the Fourth Amendment claim, the court reasoned that at the time of the incident in question there did not exist a Fourth Amendment basis to attack the use of deadly force in making arrest, and therefore defendants were entitled to qualified immunity. In contrast, as to the excessive force claim brought under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the court concluded that qualified immunity does not apply to a substantive due process claim. Rather, the court decided that the Johnson v. Glick factors apply and should be decided upon by the jury. 1
Appellants Norred and Johnson assert two arguments addressing the probable cause to arrest issue. First, they contend that the trial court erred in failing to grant their motion for directed verdict regarding the false arrest claim until after the jury returned a verdict. Second, appellants maintain that the trial court erred in denying their motion for a new trial on the question of damages, after the court had granted their motion for directed verdict concerning false arrest.
We hold for appellants regarding both contentions. It is clear that the officers had probable cause to arrest. 2 Information regarding a drug deal received from an informer was apparently verified by...
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