Johnson v. Transit
| Decision Date | 10 May 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. CV 09–00901 MHP.,CV 09–00901 MHP. |
| Citation | 790 F.Supp.2d 1034 |
| Parties | Wanda JOHNSON, et al., Plaintiffs,v.BAY AREA RAPID TRANSIT, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of California |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
John L. Burris, Adante Pointer, Law Offices of John L. Burris, Jeshawna Rochea Harrell, Pamela Yvette Price, Price & Associates, Oakland, CA, for Plaintiffs.Dale L. Allen, Jr., Dirk Donald Larsen, Kevin Patrick Allen, Low Ball & Lynch, San Francisco, CA, William R. Rapoport, Law Offices of William R. Rapoport, Redwood City, CA, for Defendants.
The Estate of Oscar Grant III, Wanda Johnson, Sophina Mesa as guardian ad litem of minor, T.G., Jack Bryson, Jr., Nigel Bryson, Michael Greer, Carlos Reyes, Fernando Anicete Jr., Oscar Grant Jr. and Johntue Caldwell, (collectively “plaintiffs”), filed this action against the Bay Area Rapid Transit (“BART”), BART Police Chief Gary Gee, BART Manager Dorothy Dugger and BART officers Johannes Mehserle, Anthony Pirone, Marysol Domenici, Jon Woffinden and Emery Knudtson, (collectively “defendants”), for civil rights violations under federal and state law. Before the court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. Having considered the parties' submissions and arguments, the court enters the following memorandum and order.
The unfortunate events underlying this action occurred in the early morning hours of January 1, 2009. Oscar Grant III (“Grant”), Jack Bryson Jr. (“J. Bryson”), his younger brother, Nigel Bryson (“N. Bryson”), Carlos Reyes (“Reyes”), Michael Greer (“Greer”), Fernando Anicete Jr. (“Anicete”), Johntue Caldwell (“Caldwell”) and several friends were returning home to the East Bay via BART, having celebrated New Year's Eve in San Francisco. BART is a governmental entity, organized under the laws of the state of California and provides train services throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Plaintiffs rode in the lead car of a Dublin–Pleasanton–bound train, which traveled eastward from San Francisco into the East Bay. A fight broke out on the train sometime between its stop at the Lake Merritt Station and its subsequent stop at the Fruitvale Station.1 A concerned passenger alerted the train operator via intercom of the altercation, and the train operator radioed the information to BART officials.
BART officer Anthony Pirone (“Pirone”) and Marysol Domenici (“Domenici”) were assigned to the Fruitvale Station that evening. As the train pulled into the Fruitvale Station, Pirone and Domenici received a call over their police radios alerting them to the fact that an alleged misdemeanor battery, as codified at California Penal Code section 242, was in progress. Pirone ran up the stairs to the train platform in order to investigate the matter. By the time Pirone reached the platform, the train had already arrived and passengers were disembarking. Pirone noticed Grant, Greer, J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes standing and talking outside the lead car. He drew and armed his Taser and ordered the five young men to sit down against the platform's retaining wall. Neither Grant, Greer, J. Bryson, N. Bryson nor Reyes complied with Pirone's order. Instead, Grant and Greer re-boarded the now idling train, and J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes continued walking past Pirone. Pirone next threatened to tase J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes if they did not comply with his order, at which point all three young men sat down against the wall.
After detaining J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes, Pirone radioed to Domenici for assistance on the platform. Domenici arrived shortly thereafter and pulled her Taser. Pirone directed her to continue the detention of J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes so that Pirone could proceed to detain Grant and Greer, who were now both aboard the still-idling train. Having returned to the idling train, Pirone located Grant through a train window and remaining outside the train, focused the laser beam of his Taser on Grant as a means of coercing Grant into compliance. Faced with the threat, Grant got off the train and cooperated with Pirone as he escorted Grant over to the retaining wall to sit alongside J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes. Pirone then focused his attention on Greer. He shouted into the train for anyone involved in the alleged fight to come off. Greer, standing with his back to Pirone, did not comply with this order. Pirone located Greer and removed him from the train by force. Pirone used a “hair pull leg-sweep” to bring Greer to the ground and proceeded to handcuff Greer.
At some point during the detention of Grant and Greer, several BART officers, including named defendants Johannes Mehserle (“Mehserle”), Jon Woffinden (“Woffinden”) and Emery Knudtson (“Knudtson”) arrived to provide back-up to the quickly-evolving situation. Having detained all five of the plaintiffs that he perceived to be suspects in the fight, Pirone ordered the back-up officers, including Mehserle, to continue the detention of Grant, Greer, J. Bryson, N. Bryson and Reyes. Pirone once again left the group to speak with the train operator, whose booth was adjacent to the lead car. Pirone spoke briefly with the train operator and then returned to the group. Upon his return, he indicated to Mehserle that Grant and Greer were to be arrested for obstructing an officer and resisting arrest pursuant to California Penal Code section 148. Greer had previously been handcuffed by Pirone, and Mehserle proceeded to handcuff J. Bryson before turning his attention to Grant, who at this point had risen to his knees and was engaged in some verbal exchange with Pirone.
Anicete and Caldwell, neither of whom had been detained at this point, watched the unfolding events from the platform. At some point during this time Knudtson tackled Anicete and handcuffed him. Mehserle and Pirone proceeded to use physical force to handcuff Grant. Mehserle pushed Grant from his kneeling position onto his back but also across the legs of Reyes, who sat to Grant's right. Mehserle and Pirone maneuvered Grant onto his belly, away from Reyes' legs, and continued to attempt to handcuff Grant. After a very brief time, Mehserle, who was kneeled over the bottom half of Grant's body, ordered Pirone to stand back, pulled his service pistol, stood and fired a single bullet into Grant's back.
After the shot, Mehserle handcuffed Grant for a brief period of time. BART officers ordered the still-idling train to finally depart the station. Reyes and N. Bryson, who at that point had not been handcuffed, were handcuffed by unknown BART officers, and J. Bryson, N. Bryson, Reyes, Greer and Anicete were detained in BART police cars parked around the Fruitvale station area. They all ultimately were transported to BART Police Headquarters, where they remained handcuffed at least for the next four hours without any arrest.
II. The Complaints
This action is comprised of four consolidated cases. See Docket No. 83.
Having originally filed a complaint on March 2, 2009, Wanda Johnson, the Estate of Oscar Grant III and Sophina Mesa as guardian ad litem of minor, T.G., filed a first amended complaint (“FAC”) on November 19, 2009, pleading the following causes of action: (1) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (2) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, unlawful detention in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (3) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, unlawful arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (4) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (5) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, deliberate indifference to medical needs in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (6) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, conspiracy to violate civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1985; (7) wrongful death as a result of the violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (8) on behalf of Wanda Johnson and T.G., denial of familial relationship in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (9) municipal liability for the violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (10) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, pain and suffering as a result of civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (11) on behalf of T.G., wrongful death pursuant to Cal.Code of Civ. P. §§ 377.60 and 377.61; (12) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, a violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 52.1; (13) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, a violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 51.7; (14) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (15) on behalf of Oscar Grant III, assault and battery. See Docket No. 43(FAC).
On August 28, 2009, Grant's father, Oscar Julius Grant Jr., filed a complaint pleading a single cause of action: (1) denial of familial relationship in violation of Fourteenth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. See CV–09–04014 MHP, Docket No. 1 (Grant Jr. Complaint).
On October 13, 2009, J. Bryson, N. Bryson, Reyes, Greer and Anicete filed a complaint alleging the following causes of action: (1) unreasonable seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; 2 (2) unlawful arrest in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (3) excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (4) conspiracy to violate civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1985; (5) municipal liability for the violation of civil rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983; (6) a violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 52.1; (7) a violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 51.7; (8) intentional infliction of emotional distress; and (9) assault and battery. See CV–09–04385 MHP, Docket No. 1 (Bryson Complaint).
Lastly, on January 4, 2010, Caldwell filed a complaint pleading the following causes of action: (1) a violation of the Fourth Amendment pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (2)...
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