Robinson v. District of Columbia

• Citation: 403 F.Supp.2d 39
• Decision Date: 02 December 2005
• Docket Number: No. Civ.A. 03-2082CKK.,Civ.A. 03-2082CKK.
• Parties: Carmen Jones ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

403 F.Supp.2d 39

Carmen Jones ROBINSON, Plaintiff, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Defendants.

No. Civ.A. 03-2082CKK.

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

December 2, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gregory L. Lattimer, Law Offices of Gregory L. Lattimer, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff.

Lauren J. Birnbaum, Office of the Attorney General, George E. Rickman, Office of Corporation Counsel, Washington, DC, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff Carmen Jones Robinson, individually and as the next best friend of her former husband Joseph N. Robinson, brings this civil action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the Survival Act, D.C.Code § 1201, against Defendants the District of Columbia and Terrence Gainer, former Executive Deputy Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department ("MPD").¹ Plaintiff alleges, inter alia, negligent and wrongful conduct by agents of the District of Columbia in the form of police brutality and excessive force during the apprehension of Mr. Robinson by members of the MPD (Counts I & II); a reckless and indifferent deprivation of Mr. Robinson's civil rights in violation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments of the United States Constitution (Count III); negligent training, supervision, and/or discipline of the MPD officers involved by Defendants (Count IV); and negligent infliction of emotional distress (Count V).

Currently before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law on the Pleadings pursuant to Rule 12(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and for Summary Judgment pursuant to Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Upon a searching examination of Defendants' motion, Plaintiff's Opposition, Defendant's Reply, the relevant case law, and the entire record herein, the Court shall grant-in-part Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, and shall dismiss without prejudice Plaintiff's remaining local law claims.

I: BACKGROUND

At around 12:30 p.m. on October 12, 2000, MPD officers from the Fourth District responded to a call for a burglary in progress in the vicinity of the 600 block of Hamilton Street, in the Northwest section of Washington, D.C. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 1; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 1. Upon encountering a suspect later identified as Joseph N. Robinson, a protracted chase followed during which Robinson was pursued by eight to ten officers. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 2; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 2; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Deposition of Stephen B. Keirn (hereinafter, "Keirn Dep.")) at 9:3-10:6; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B (Deposition of Ernest Grant (hereinafter, "Grant Dep.")) at 8:10-9:6, 10:8-10:13, 19:2-14; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. C (Deposition of Sheldon Hargrove (hereinafter, "Hargrove Dep.")) at 7:14-19. During this chase, Robinson jumped several fences of varying height, gained entry into multiple houses, broke a window, and fell from a tree before ultimately climbing to the rooftop of one of the area houses. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 10:14-13:10; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. C (Hargrove Dep.) at 7:20-9:9.

Robinson was ultimately cornered on the rooftop by Detective Darryl Roberts and MPD Officers Stephen Keirn and Martin Freeman. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 3; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 3; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 15:2-9. Initially, the MPD officers — both on the roof and below on the ground — sought to obtain Robinson's compliance through verbal commands. Id. However, Robinson failed to surrender and comply. Id. Robinson was not obviously armed, but he was fidgeting, agitated, and moving about. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 16:5-19. In an effort to effectuate Robinson's arrest, several of the officers utilized O/C Spray, a form of pepper spray, from a distance. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 4; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 4; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 17:15-1818:21 (noting that he gave Robinson two quick bursts of pepper spray — effective up to twenty feet — from a distance of twelve to fifteen feet); Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B (Grant Dep.) at 15:8-16:22 (testifying that he gave Robinson three bursts of pepper spray, followed by two more bursts); Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. C (Hargrove Dep.) at 9:17-10:18 (explaining that officers on the ground also attempted to spray Robinson with mace). However, the use of pepper spray had no apparent effect on Robinson, a thirty-three year-old African-American male who weighed 156 pounds and who was roughly five feet and eight and one-half inches in height. Id.; see also Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. D (Report of the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner) at 2. Rather, Robinson, who was described as a "large male ... somewhat big" and "sweating," see Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 15:7-9, 15:19-20, still refused to submit to arrest. Id. According to Officer Grant, Robinson wore an expression that indicated he was "going to hurt somebody," Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B (Grant Dep.) at 16:12-13, such that the officers could tell

[t]hat he had intent. He had some ill intent. I mean if he wasn't going to get away, if somebody put their hands on me, he was basically ready to deal with whatever was going to come after that.

Id. at 16-20. The officers were concerned for their safety due to Robinson's strength and refusal to be subdued. Id. at 19:2-7 ("I've never seen nobody with that kind of strength. This guy was strong.").

At this point, Sergeant Hargrove and Officer Colleli joined the officers on the roof in an effort to apprehend Robinson. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B (Grant Dep.) at 19:9-14; id., Ex. C (Hargrove Dep.) at 11:1-11. Confronted by more officers, Robinson attempted to jump from the rooftop. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 5; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 5. However, as Sergeant Hargrove described, "I grabbed him and tr[ied] to prevent him from jumping [off] the roof. Me and him had a confrontation, and he decided that man, he was going to take one of us off the roof." Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. C (Hargrove Dep.) at 11:1-5. According to Hargrove, "[h]e started growling, telling me that one of us was going to get off, just thrown off the roof. I tried to hold him." Id. at 11:15-17; see also Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 21:8-13 (Robinson "was pushing off with one hand, had one hand on Hargrove and then had one hand on the roof, and it was almost like pushing off in order to, you know, escape."). Crying out, "Somebody grab me, I'm falling," Sergeant Hargrove was pulled off balance and towards the alley, which was roughly twenty feet down from the rooftop. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat Facts ¶ 5; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 5; Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. B (Grant Dep.) at 19:9-14.

In defense of Sergeant Hargrove, Officer Grant struck Robinson with his asp, primarily in his arms and lower legs. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 24:3-9; id., Ex. B (Grant Dep.) at 19:17-22:22. Sergeant Hargrove also pulled out his asp, striking Robinson "several times on the arms and legs." Id., Ex. C (Hargrove Dep.) at 11:15-22. Robinson was then brought back completely on the roof, placed face-down on the roof, and put into handcuffs from behind. Def.'s Stmt. of Mat. Facts ¶ 7; Pl.'s Response to Def.'s Stmt. ¶ 7. Robinson was largely uncooperative during the handcuffing process, which took roughly one minute. Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. A (Keirn Dep.) at 24:12-31:22.

Upon his arrest, Robinson was transported to the Fourth District Headquarters, located at 6001 Georgia Avenue, N.W. See Compl. ¶ 9. While at the Fourth District, Robinson went into cardiac arrest. Id. An ambulance was called, and Robinson was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at approximately 1:10 p.m. on October 12, 2000. Id. An autopsy conducted by Deputy Medical Examiner Dr. Gertrude Juste-Hjardemaal, of the District of Columbia Department of Health, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, on October 13, 2000, determined that Robinson's death was "accidental," brought on by "acute cocaine intoxication with agitated delirium." Def.'s Mot. for Summ. J., Ex. D. (Report of the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner) at 1, 6; see also id. 9 (Consultation Report on Contributor Material) (noting that Robinson's blood tested positive for cocaine metabolite, cocaine, and morphine).

On October 14, 2003, Robinson's widow, Mrs. Carmen Jones Robinson, brought this action against Defendants the District of Columbia and former Executive Deputy Chief of the MPD, Terrence Gainer. Plaintiff's Complaint contends that "[a]t the time plaintiff's decedent was beaten, he had done nothing to justify the use of any force whatsoever by members of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department," Compl. ¶ 10, nor "did the police officers have any legitimate reason to believe that he posed a threat of serious bodily harm to them or any third-party," id. ¶ 12. Plaintiff further asserts that "[a]t the time the police officers confronted Joseph N. Robinson, they had no basis to arrest him nor had any felony offense been committed nor had any misdemeanor offense been committed in the presence." Id. ¶ 11. Based upon these contentions, Plaintiff's Complaint brings an action for (1) wrongful and negligent conduct by Defendants against Joseph N. Robinson under the District of Columbia's Survival Act, D.C.Code § 12-101, see id. ¶¶ 15-16 (Count I); (2) negligent excessive force and police brutality by agents of the District of Columbia which, "acting under color of law, approved and/or condoned the wrongful and intentional acts" that were the "direct and proximate" cause of Robinson's death, id. ¶¶ 17-21 (Count II); (3) deprivation of Robinson's civil rights, actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, by the MPD's officers, who acted "with deliberate indifference to and...