Plakas v. Drinski, Civ. No. H91-365.

• Decision Date: 15 January 1993
• Docket Number: Civ. No. H91-365.
• Citation: 811 F. Supp. 1356
• Parties: Jo Ann PLAKAS, individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Konstantino N. Plakas, deceased, Plaintiffs, v. Jeffrey DRINSKI, in both his individual and official capacity and Newton County, Indiana, a municipal unit of government, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana

811 F. Supp. 1356

Jo Ann PLAKAS, individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Konstantino N. Plakas, deceased, Plaintiffs, v. Jeffrey DRINSKI, in both his individual and official capacity and Newton County, Indiana, a municipal unit of government, Defendants.

Civ. No. H91-365.

United States District Court, N.D. Indiana, Hammond Division.

January 15, 1993.

Thomas E. McClure, Elliott & McClure, P.C., Bourbonnais, IL, for plaintiffs.

Daniel C. Blaney, Blaney, Casey and Walton, Morocco, IN, Colleen C. Coburn, Elizabeth A. Knight, Knight, Hoppe, Fanning & Knight, Des Plaines, IL, for defendants.

ORDER

LOZANO, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Motion for Summary Judgment, filed August 24, 1992, by Defendant, Jeffrey Drinski ("Drinski"), and Motion for Summary Judgment, filed October 21, 1992, by Defendant, Newton County, Indiana ("Newton County"). For the reasons set forth herein, Drinski's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, and Newton County's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Jo Ann Plakas ("Plaintiff"), individually and as Administratrix of the Estate of Konstantino N. Plakas ("Plakas"), purportedly states claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Newton County and Drinski, one of its police officers. Drinski's Motion for Summary Judgment argues that as a matter of law, he did not violate the Fourth or Fourteenth Amendment rights of Plaintiff or Plakas and there is no genuine issue of material fact as to the reasonableness of the force Drinski used against Plakas. Alternatively, Drinski argues that he is entitled to qualified immunity. Newton County argues that it is entitled to summary judgment on the ground that there is no constitutional violation. Alternatively, Newton County argues that as a matter of law Drinski was adequately trained in the lawful use of a firearm and in the use of deadly force.

The facts in this case are either undisputed, or are those presented by the Plaintiff, the nonmovant. The facts are derived from the numerous depositions and affidavits in this case.¹

On Saturday, February 2, 1991, at about 11 p.m., Plakas was fatally shot by Newton County Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Drinski. The events which led to this shooting are as follows: Around 9:30 p.m. that night two Newton County Deputy Sheriffs, Corporal David Koby and Sergeant Buddy King, as well as Lake Township Volunteer Fire Department members, Glenn Cain and Stephen Whitt, responded to a call regarding an auto accident on State Road 10. Upon arriving at the scene, the men found Plakas' car in a deep ditch filled with water. The car left the north side of the road and came to rest in the ditch.

Cain found Plakas walking along State Road 10 and stopped to speak with him. Plakas stated that he was the driver of the car found in the ditch, and that he was fine, except that he was cold. Plakas was not injured and was not in need of medical treatment. However, he got in Cain's vehicle and rode west about one mile to the accident scene.

At the scene of the accident, Cain told Officer Koby to check Plakas for intoxication since he could smell alcohol on Plakas' breath and Plakas was dozing off. Plakas signed a waiver of medical treatment after being examined by the Newton County Ambulance Service, and told Koby he would go to the Sheriff's Department for a breathalyzer test. Koby patted down Plakas, then handcuffed him behind his back, and directed him to get into the rear of the squad car to be transported to the county jail for a breathalyzer test. Plakas claimed that being cuffed behind the back would injure his chest, which had extensive scar tissue from a childhood burn. Koby cuffed Plakas behind the back, ignoring his request to be cuffed in front.

As Koby drove towards the jail he heard a noise from the back seat as if one of the car doors had opened. Fearing that Plakas would jump out of the car as it was moving, Koby pulled his squad car off the road and stopped. The back door flew open and Plakas jumped out and started running across a field. Koby radioed that Plakas had escaped from Koby's vehicle two to four miles east of the accident site. The message was heard by Cain and Whitt of the fire department, King and Drinski of the Sheriff's office, and State Trooper Lucien Perras. Cain arrived at the scene and helped Koby search for Plakas in a field north of State Road 10.

Roy and Joyce Ailes lived in a house at the end of a long driveway to the north of State Road 10. Plakas had been dating their daughter, Rachael Ailes, for about four years, and they were engaged to be married. On February 2, 1991, at around 10 p.m., Plakas arrived on the doorstep of the Ailes' home. Joyce Ailes opened door to let Plakas in and he fell through the front door into her living room. Plakas was handcuffed behind the back. Plakas stated that he'd wrecked his car and that he needed help. Joyce Ailes was under the impression that Plakas had multiple lumps to the head and bruises to his legs. It appeared that he was in need of medical attention and was blacking out because of head injuries.

Roy Ailes entered the living room and spoke to Plakas. Plakas kept stating that he didn't do anything wrong. From his living room, Mr. Ailes could see the lights from the police cars on State Road 10. He told Plakas that he could not run from the police and he would help straighten things out. Plakas agreed that Roy Ailes should go talk to the police. Ailes drove to where the officers were, and advised Cain that Plakas was at his house and was willing to come out to talk to them. Ailes directed the officers to his home. Koby, Drinski, and Cain then drove to Mr. Ailes' home. Cain approached the front door of the house to see if Plakas needed medical treatment. He observed Plakas in the process of sliding his arms beneath his buttocks and legs in order to bring his handcuffs in front of him. Cain entered through the front door with Koby behind him. Drinski went to watch the back door of the house.

As soon as Cain and Koby entered the house, Plakas began screaming. He was standing in a corner of the Ailes' living room with his hands now cuffed in front of him. Plakas' demeanor went from calm to upset at the sight of the uniformed fireman and police officer. When Koby entered the house the tension escalated and Plakas began shouting, screaming, and swearing that Koby had hurt him and that Koby would not touch him. Plakas then backed into the corner of the living room and as he backed up he bumped the fireplace tools, reached down and picked up the poker. The fireplace poker was two to three feet long with a hook on the end. Plakas gripped it like a baseball bat as he screamed at Cain and Koby. Several minutes after Plakas picked up the poker he rushed at Officer Koby and swung the poker like an axe at Officer Koby's head. Officer Koby threw his left hand up to protect his head and Plakas hit him on the wrist with the poker. Officer Koby fell into the door and ran out of the house. Officer Koby never drew his gun while in the house.

Plakas then chased Cain with the poker. Cain ran up through a stairway two or three stairs into the kitchen to avoid also being hit with the poker. To avoid Plakas, Cain ran through the house and out into the garage. Having heard the scuffle, Drinski came around to the front of the house and around the same time, Sergeant King and Trooper Perras arrived on the scene. Drinski and Perras then entered the house through the garage door with their guns drawn. As they entered, they saw Plakas run out of the front door of the house. Plakas stopped in the yard after running out of the house. The police officers drew their guns and Mr. Ailes jumped between the police officers and Plakas. Ailes tried to get Plakas to put the poker down and surrender. As Ailes talked to Plakas, Plakas slowly backed down a hill in the Ailes' yard. For a moment it seemed that he might put down the poker and surrender. However, as police moved in behind Mr. Ailes, Plakas turned, tripped over a wire fence, and ran to the north through a nearby open field with Officers King and Drinski, as well as State Trooper Perras in pursuit. The police officers continued to yell, "Stop, police." Plakas was still cuffed in front, palm to back of hand, holding the fireplace poker. The officers had no trouble keeping up with Plakas. It was a clear night, the moon was bright, the snow on the ground further illuminated the field, and the officers had no problem seeing Plakas.

As Plakas entered some thick brush, he slowed down. The officers had their guns drawn and their flashlights trained on Plakas. After moving through the brush, Plakas entered a clearing. Drinski and Perras followed Plakas into the clearing, maintaining a distance of at least ten feet from him, while King stayed on the outside of the brush. Plakas crossed the clearing and stopped and faced the officers when he reached the heavy brush on the far east side. For the next several minutes, the officers kept their distance and tried to convince Plakas to surrender. Plakas attempted to break through the brush behind him and leave the clearing, but the brush was too thick. The officers continued to talk to Plakas, telling him that he should surrender and that he would get himself in more trouble if he didn't. Plakas stated that his life wasn't worth living and that he was going to kill both officers, or they would have to kill him. He carried the poker like a baseball bat in front of him, moving it around some. At all times, Drinski was directly in front of Plakas, and Perras remained five to seven feet to the left of Drinski. The officers continued to talk to Plakas for a few minutes, but were unable to calm him down. Again, Plakas stated that his life wasn't worth living, and that the officers would have to kill him, or he would attempt to kill them both. He then raised the poker like a baseball bat and lunged toward Drinski. Drinski took a step back, and...