Meli v. City of Burlington

• Decision Date: 14 February 2022
• Docket Number: Case No. 2:19-cv-71
• Citation: 585 F.Supp.3d 615
• Parties: Albin MELI; Charlie Meli; Jeremie Meli, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT ; Branzon Del Pozo; Jason Bellavance; Cory Campbell, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Vermont

585 F.Supp.3d 615

Albin MELI; Charlie Meli; Jeremie Meli, Plaintiffs,
v.
CITY OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT ; Branzon Del Pozo; Jason Bellavance; Cory Campbell, Defendants.

Case No. 2:19-cv-71

United States District Court, D. Vermont.

Signed February 14, 2022

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Evan B. Chadwick, Esq., Chadwick & Spensley, PLLC, Brattleboro, VT, Robb A. Spensley, Esq., Chadwick Law LLC, Pittsford, VT, for Plaintiffs.

Barbara R. Blackman, Esq., Christopher H. Boyle, Esq., Pietro J. Lynn, Esq., Lynn, Lynn, Blackman & Manitsky, P.C., Burlington, VT, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER

William K. Sessions III, United States District Court Judge

Plaintiffs Albin Meli and Jeremie Meli bring this action alleging that members of the Burlington Police Department ("the Department") used excessive force in violation of their constitutional rights. Plaintiffs also bring Vermont state law claims of battery, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and gross negligence against members of the Department. Additionally, Plaintiff Charlie Meli alleges an arrest without probable cause in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Finally, Albin, Jeremie, and Charlie all allege that Defendant City of Burlington and Brandon Del Pozo, formerly the Chief of Police for the City of Burlington, allowed a pattern and practice of failing to train, supervise and discipline officers, that amounted to gross negligence under Vermont state law and deliberate indifference to Plaintiffs’ rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Defendants now move for summary judgment, arguing that there was no unlawful conduct and that the individual Defendants are entitled to qualified immunity. Plaintiffs oppose the motion, arguing that genuine issues of material fact preclude dismissal of their claims as a matter of law. For the reasons set forth below, Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part .

Factual Background

On the evening of September 8, 2018, Jeremie Meli went out for drinks with his brothers, Albin and Charlie Meli. Plaintiffs first went to Splash at the Boathouse while waiting for Kelly Wassick, Charlie Meli's girlfriend, to finish her shift working at a restaurant. After Kelly completed her shift, the group took an Uber to What Ales You bar, a local bar in the downtown Burlington, Vermont area, sometime around 10:30 p.m. Jeremie Meli had a shot of whiskey upon arriving at the bar. Jeremie then remembers heading to the bathroom. The rest of his memory, however, is comprised of "split second" flashes of being on the ground outside of What Ales You and later being in the hospital.

Matthew Fay was bartending at What Ales You that evening. In the early hours of the morning of September 9, 2018, a fight broke out between Plaintiffs, other patrons, and What Ales You staff members. While working his shift, Fay heard commotion from the fight and approached the group to intervene. Upon approaching, Fay saw Plaintiff Jeremie Meli yelling at another patron. Jeremie then left the bar.

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Shortly thereafter, a member of the What Ales You staff called the police.

Jeremie turned onto Main Street as he exited the bar. Burlington Police Sergeant Jason Bellavance exited his car nearby to respond to the 911 call. As he approached, Bellavance encountered Fay on the corner of Main Street and St. Paul Street. Sergeant Bellavance then walked towards What Ales You and saw Jeremie Meli and bar owner Sinan Eren engaged in a verbal argument. Upon arriving at the spot where Eren and Jeremie stood, Sergeant Bellavance pushed Jeremie forcefully, causing him to fall backwards, hit his head, and lose consciousness. Sergeant Bellavance then called for medical assistance while other officers began to arrest Jeremie. A struggle ensued between Jeremie and several police officers. Jeremie was later charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Albin Meli left the bar with his brother, Jeremie, and rounded the corner onto Main Street. Albin watched Sergeant Bellavance push Jeremie forcefully into a wall. At this point, Police Officer Cory Campbell arrived on the scene. Albin was visibly upset after watching his brother's injury and became increasingly distressed, pleading with the officers to stop touching his brother. ECF No. 144 at 5. After making physical contact with Officer Campbell, Albin Meli was taken to the ground by several police officers, handcuffed, arrested, and charged with disorderly conduct, simple assault and impeding an officer. He was later charged with assault on a police officer.

Charlie Meli was still inside What Ales You when his brother Jeremie was injured. Upon walking outside, Charlie saw Jeremie on the ground and Albin being arrested. Charlie began to show signs of distress including screaming and crying. Officers then put handcuffs on Charlie, see Pls. Ex. 21 at 3:30, and placed him in the back of a police cruiser while he repeatedly said, "please don't put me in there." See id. at 5:30-6:30. Charlie was charged with disorderly conduct. The State subsequently dropped all charges against the Meli brothers. All three Plaintiffs in this case are Black.

Following this incident, the Burlington Police Department conducted an internal investigation of Sergeant Bellavance's use of force against Jeremie. The investigation resulted in Sergeant Bellavance receiving a four-day suspension without pay. Bellavance was later terminated from the Burlington Police Department.

The following facts remain currently disputed between the parties:

1. It is disputed what occurred between Eren and Jeremie as Sergeant Bellavance approached the scene. Specifically, the nature of the argument is disputed. Defendants describe a tense, "chest-to-chest" exchange with Jeremie yelling and appearing to be the aggressor. See ECF 134-1 at 2. Plaintiffs argue that the two individuals were not "chest-to-chest," that there was a "visible space" in between them, and that Eren poked Jeremie in the chest as Sergeant Bellavance approached. See ECF No. 144-2 at 8. It is undisputed that Fay identified Jeremie for Bellavance as the person who had hit him a few times.¹ Defendants argue that as Bellavance approached, Jeremie appeared to be in an

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active argument with Eren, and was therefore justified when he used "a reasonable amount of force to try to separate [Plaintiff] who [had been identified as assaulting Mr. Fay] and appeared to be actively agitated, yelling at, and about to assault [Mr. Eren]." Defs. Ex. F, 181:23-182:3. Conversely, Plaintiffs argue that Jeremie was not acting as an aggressor, and that Sergeant Bellavance ignored the fact that as he approached, Jeremie yelled to Eren that "you guys started a fight." Pls. Ex.6 at 0:56-1:00. Plaintiffs also allege that the argument between Eren and Meli was not at risk of escalating, that Eren did not feel threatened, and that as one witness described "it didn't appear ... remotely to be headed towards violence." Pls. Ex. 7 at 20:9-11. Upon reviewing the bodycam footage, the Court concludes that a reasonable interpretation of the video suggests that the fight was a verbal altercation.² While both Jeremie and Eren faced one another yelling, there was no indication that Jeremie was about to assault Eren.³

2. It is undisputed that Albin was upset after watching Jeremie hit his head. The way Albin conveyed his distress, however, is disputed. Defendants argue that Albin was "pointing his fingers and yelling and swearing." Defs. Ex. G 34:6-14. On the contrary, Plaintiffs introduced a statement by witness Nathan Bradbury who remarked that he was "amazed at how compliant ... [Albin] was with the officer's requests." Pls. Ex. 7 37:15-38:3. Defendants also claim that Officer Campbell gave Albin several verbal commands to "back away," all of which Albin ignored. See ECF No. 133-8 at 7. Plaintiffs allege that Officer Campbell directed the commands to "back away" to witness Nathan Bradbury, not to Albin.

3. The nature of Albin's physical contact with Officer Campbell is disputed. Defendants argue that Albin shoved Officer Campbell's shoulder with enough force to cause him to lose his balance. Plaintiffs argue that he placed his hand on Officer Campbell's shoulder, pleading with him to "please tell them to stop." Pls. Ex. 6 at 5:06.

4. What happened after Albin made contact with Officer Campbell is also disputed. Defendants allege that Officer Campbell took Albin to the ground and felt it was necessary to do so because Albin had just shoved him. Albin argues that Campbell and several other officers tackled him after Bellavance yelled "[g]et him down, get him down." Pls. Ex. 6 at 5:11. Albin alleges that this response was unnecessary, excessive, and that his hand was injured while being restrained. Plaintiffs cite then-Chief of Police Brandon Del Pozo's Internal Affairs letter addressed to Sergeant Bellavance, in which he noted "Meli's brother became alarmed at Meli's injuries, having witnessed the fall. The sound of his head striking the ground or the wall was audible ... and his unconsciousness was notable. It was normal for his brother to become alarmed and act the way he did ... Pls. Ex. 30 at 3-4.

5. It is disputed what Charlie Meli did once he exited the bar. Defendants argue that Charlie repeatedly refused to comply with police officer instructions to stand back. Plaintiffs allege that Charlie did comply with officer commands but admits that he was visibly upset after witnessing both of his brothers be injured by law enforcement.

6. Some dispute exists as to what the Department's investigation into Bellavance's use of force against Jeremie concluded. Defendants admit that the investigation determined that Bellavance's actions were not consistent with Department

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training. Defendants also argue that the internal investigation concluded that Sergeant Bellavance's actions were neither excessive nor unlawful. Plaintiffs, however, argue that the internal affairs...