Parish v. Lansdale
| Decision Date | 30 September 2019 |
| Docket Number | No. CV-17-00186-TUC-JGZ,CV-17-00186-TUC-JGZ |
| Parties | Miles Parish, Plaintiff, v. Troy Lansdale, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Arizona |
Plaintiff Miles Parish brings this civil rights action against Tucson Police Department (TPD) Officers Troy Lansdale and Bradley Kush, the City of Tucson, and TPD Chief of Police.1 Parish alleges that while Officers Lansdale and Kush were investigating a complaint about a loud party, they illegally entered his home and pulled him outside, taking him to the ground, where Officer Lansdale struck him.
Currently pending before the Court are three motions for summary judgment. Parish seeks summary judgment on Officers Lansdale and Kush's affirmative defenses of qualified immunity and state law defenses, and seeks partial summary judgment on his state law claims. (Doc. 63.) Officers Lansdale and Kush seek summary judgment on Plaintiff's civil rights and state law claims. (Doc. 64.) The City of Tucson and Chief of Police request summary judgment asserting that the City did not maintain policies condoning unconstitutional police conduct. (Doc. 66.) The motions were heard on August20, 2019.
For the following reasons, the Court will grant parts of and deny parts of the motions.
On December 13, 2015, at around 12:40 a.m., Officer Lansdale and other officers responded to a report of a loud party with yelling and screaming in Parish's neighborhood near the University of Arizona. (Doc. 42, ¶ 14; Doc. 52, p. 4, ¶ 14; Doc. 53, p. 4, ¶ 14; Doc. 65 at ¶ 1; Doc. 66, p. 2 n.2.) Upon arriving in the area, Officer Lansdale was able to identify Parish's residence as the source. Lansdale described the music as overwhelming. (Doc. 65, ¶ 2.)
Officer Lansdale rang the doorbell and knocked on Parish's front door. (Id.) He could hear people inside yelling (Doc. 65-1, Ex. 1, p. 4.) He used his flashlight to look through a window where he saw "people begin to scatter and run into different rooms of the house . . . ." (Id. at pp. 3-4.) The music was turned off after Officer Lansdale had been knocking for 30 seconds to a minute. (Doc. 42, ¶ 20; Doc. 52, p. 4, ¶ 20; Doc. 53, p. 5, ¶ 20.) Some minutes later, the house became dark inside other than the flashing DJ-style lighting. (Doc. 42, ¶ 17; Doc. 52, p. 4, ¶ 17; Doc. 53, p. 5, ¶ 17.)
Officer Lansdale continued knocking and asking for a resident to open the door.3(Doc. 42 at ¶ 24; Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶ 24; Doc. 53, p. 5, ¶ 24.) After about four minutes, Parish opened the door just wide enough to lean out his head and part of one shoulder. (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 24, 28; Doc. 52 , p. 5, ¶¶ 24, 28; Doc. 53, 6, ¶¶ 24, 28; Doc. 65, ¶2.) At some point, Officer Kush arrived and joined Officer Lansdale on the front porch. (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 21, 23; Doc. 52, p. 4, ¶¶ 21, 23; Doc. 53, p. 5, ¶¶ 21, 23.) Officer Lansdale told Parish that the officers were there for a loud party complaint and advised him that if he could get everybody out of the party, he would not be given a red tag. (Doc. 42, ¶ 31; Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶ 31; Doc. 53 p. 7, ¶ 31.) According to Officer Lansdale, Parish was initially apprehensive and uncooperative, saying that he would only cooperate if he didn't get a red tag. (Doc. 65, ¶ 7.)
Parish agreed to disperse the party but insisted on closing his front door. (Doc. 42 at ¶¶ 32, 33; Doc. 52, p.5, ¶¶ 32, 33; Doc. 53 at 6-7, ¶¶ 32, 33.) While speaking to Parish, Officer Lansdale placed his foot on the threshold of the doorway to prevent Parish from closing the door.4 (Doc. 42, ¶ 30; Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶ 30; Doc. 53, p. 6, ¶ 30; Doc. 65, ¶ 10.) Parish yelled at Officer Lansdale that he "was entering his f[]ing house without a warrant and that [Lansdale] needed to get the f[] out and the only reason [Lansdale] was coming in was because [Parish] was black."5 (Doc. 65, ¶ 10.) The parties dispute at what point Officer Lansdale placed his foot in the door. Officer Lansdale states he placed his footwhen Parish became belligerent. (Doc. 53, p. 6, ¶ 30.) According to Parish, Officer Lansdale placed his foot on the threshold's doorstop immediately after Parish opened his front door, so Parish could not close his door. (Doc. 42, ¶ 30.)
It is undisputed that Parish made numerous requests, characterized by Officer Lansdale as screaming and yelling, that the officers get out, and when Officer Lansdale acknowledged that he did not have a warrant, Parish attempted to shut the door.6 (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 34, 36; Doc. 52, p. 4, ¶¶ 34, 36; Doc. 53, pp. 7-8, ¶¶ 34, 36; Doc. 65, ¶ 10.) Officer Lansdale refused to remove his boot from the threshold, advising Parish that "we were going to keep it open" for officer safety reasons. (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 34, 38; Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶¶ 34, 38; Doc. 53, pp. 7-8, ¶¶ 34, 38; Doc. 65, ¶ 12.) Officer Lansdale characterized Plaintiff as belligerent and Officer Lansdale was not going to allow the door to be closed because "the totality of the circumstances reflected that people were yelling and screaming, people were scattering within the home, Plaintiff was expressing belligerent behavior and attitude, and it was unknown what was actually occurring in the home." (Doc. 53, p. 6, ¶ 30.) Officer Lansdale was concerned about an officer safety issue and a public safety issue.7 (Id.; Doc. 65, ¶ 7.) Officer Kush said that although Parish was adamant that he was going to close the door, Officer Kush similarly advised Parish that for officer safety reasons the door needed to stay open—to enable the Officers to "see if anyone was walking in or out, as well as to see if there was anybody else in there for a check welfare." (Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶ 33; Doc. 53, p. 7, ¶ 33.) Kush explained that he didn't know the intoxication level or ages of anyone in the house. (Doc. 52, p. 5, ¶ 33; Doc. 53, p. 7, ¶ 33.)
A male occupant of the house tried to pull Parish back into the house and told him he would deal with the police, but Parish continued to scream at Officer Lansdale to get out, and to push the door shut, which he was unable to do because of Officer Lansdale'sfoot. (Doc. 65, ¶ 12.) At some point Officer Lansdale yelled, but Parish began to scream and yell again that the Officers were entering his house and he pushed the door harder. (Doc. 65, ¶ 13.) Officer Lansdale kept his foot on the threshold, and contends it was ultimately trapped in the door. (Doc. 42, ¶ 43; Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 43; Doc. 53, p. 9, ¶ 43.)
As Parish was trying to close the door, Officer Kush heard Officer Lansdale say, "[O]w, you're now hurting my foot[]" and saw "that the door was covering . . . a quarter of the right part of Officer Lansdale's boot, and his foot appeared to be stuck."8 (Doc. 42, ¶ 44; Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 44; Doc. 53, p. 9, ¶ 44.) Officer Kush testified that he was concerned for officer safety and "impact pushed9 the door with two hands," putting a lot momentum into it to release Officer Lansdale's foot. (Doc. 42, ¶ 45; Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 45; Doc. 52, p. 2, ¶ 3; Doc. 53, p. 10, ¶ 45.) The momentum of pushing the door carried Officer Kush about a step and a half or so inside the door, and put him between the door and the door frame. (Doc. 52, p. 2, ¶ 5.) Parish continued to try to shut the door, which, according to Officer Kush, pinned Kush between the door and the door frame. (Doc. 65, ¶ 15.) Officer Kush "impact pushed" the door open a second time. (Doc. 52, p. 2, ¶ 7.) The second push knocked Parish back into the home and allowed Officer Lansdale and Officer Kush to grab onto Parish's jacket and right arm. (Doc. 52 p. 2, ¶¶ 7, 8.)
Officers Lansdale and Kush pulled Parish from his house despite efforts from people inside the house to pull Parish back into the house, and Parish and the Officers all ended up on the ground.10 (Doc. 65, ¶ 17.) Parish asserts that the Officers "reached into . . . [his]home, pulled . . . [him] from inside, and threw him onto his home's concrete front porch." (Doc. 42, ¶ 49.) According to the Officers, Parish's assaultive conduct against Lansdale and Kush justified their attempt to pull him from the house. (Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 49; Doc. 53, pp. 10-11, ¶ 49.) The Officers reasoned that Plaintiff had repeatedly struck Officer Kush with the door, several times, with force, and had resisted his extraction from the house. (Id.)
After being pulled from his house, Parish lay on the ground, on his stomach, with his head against the concrete porch. (Doc. 42, ¶ 50; Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 50; Doc. 53, p. 6, ¶ 50.) The Officers assert that Parish continued to resist and, as they attempted to handcuff him, Plaintiff lay on his stomach and resisted the Officers' efforts to bring his hands from underneath his chest so he could be handcuffed. (Doc. 65, ¶ 18; Doc. 52, p. 6, ¶ 51; Doc. 53, p. 11, ¶ 51.) Officer Lansdale warned Parish that if he did not comply, the officer would strike him, (Doc. 65, ¶ 18; Doc. 42-3, p. 21), and upon concluding that Parish was not complying, Officer Lansdale struck Parish in the head four times with a closed fist while Parish lay on his stomach on the concrete. (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 53, 54; Doc. 52 p. 6 ¶¶ 53, 54; Doc. 53 p. 11, ¶¶ 53, 54; Doc. 65, ¶ 18.) Parish testified that he did not resist the officers: (Doc. 42-5, p. 124.) After striking Parish, the Officers were then able to handcuff Parish and they pulled him up to his feet. (Doc. 65, ¶ 18.)
Parish claims that he suffered a concussion (and other injuries) as a result of the Officers' actions (Doc. 42, ¶¶ 56, 60), and he testified that when officers brought him to a standing position, he felt dizzy and disoriented. (Doc. 42-5, pp. 129-31.) The Officers state that Parish resisted their efforts to escort him to the patrol car by stomping his feet and...
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