Sabbe v. Wash. Cnty. Bd. of Comm'rs
| Citation | 537 F.Supp.3d 1205 |
| Decision Date | 07 May 2021 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 3:19-cv-02106-IM |
| Parties | April SABBE, Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Remi Sabbe, Deceased, Plaintiff, v. WASHINGTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS; Sheriff Patrick Garrett, in His Individual Capacity; Sgt. Chris Bowman, in his individual capacity; Sgt. Chad Lotman, in his individual capacity; Deputy Earl Brown, in his individual capacity; Corporal Cade Edwards, in his individual capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Oregon |
Louren G. Oliveros, Gorence & Oliveros, P.C., 300 Central Ave. SW, Suite 1000E, Albuquerque, NM 87102. Attorney for Plaintiff.
Eugene P. Ramirez, Scott Wm. Davenport, and Tony M. Sain, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester, 801 S. Figueroa Street, 15th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017; Jason M. Bush, Washington County Counsel, 155 N. First Ave, Suite 340, MS #24, Hillsboro, OR 97124. Attorneys for Defendants.
This action arises from a fatal encounter between Remi Sabbe and police officers on January 12, 2018 in Sherwood, Oregon. Plaintiff April Sabbe, individually and as personal representative of the estate of Remi Sabbe, filed suit against Defendants Washington County Board of Commissioners, Sheriff Patrick Garrett, Sergeant Chris Bowman, Sergeant Chad Lotman, Deputy Earl Brown, and Corporal Cade Edwards. ECF 1. This matter comes before the Court on Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. ECF 41. This Court held a hearing on Defendants’ motion on April 15, 2021. ECF 53. After considering the record, written briefs, and arguments of counsel, this Court finds that summary judgment on all of Plaintiff's federal claims is appropriate, and grants Defendants’ motion on those claims. Further, this Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff's remaining state law claims, and dismisses them without prejudice.
The following facts were either undisputed at summary judgment or, if disputed, are recounted in the light most favorable to Plaintiff, the non-moving party. Where an unchallenged video captures portions of the factual background, this Court "allow[s] the videotape to speak for itself." Scott v. Harris , 550 U.S. 372, 378 & n.5, 127 S.Ct. 1769, 167 L.Ed.2d 686 (2007).
At roughly 1:33 p.m. on January 12, 2018, Lloyd Wetzel called 911 from his home to report that a pickup truck was driving around a nearby field and "making a mess of it." ECF 34 at ¶ 5. The field was muddy due to recent weather conditions. Id. at ¶ 2. Mr. Wetzel was referring to a neighboring property in Sherwood, Oregon, consisting of 84 acres of partially wooded areas, fields, structures, and a residence. Id. at ¶ 1. A part of the property abuts two public roadways, SW Roy Rogers Road and SW Scholls-Sherwood Road. Id. ; see also ECF 47-8 at 7 (); ECF 47-8 at 8 (). The property was owned by the Sabbe family and located at 19803 SW Roy Rogers Road. ECF 34 at ¶¶ 1, 3.
Responding to the call, Sherwood Police Department Officer Corey Jentzsch arrived on the scene. Id. at ¶ 8. He pulled over to a turnout bordering the Sabbe property in his marked patrol car. ECF 47-10. When Officer Jentzsch arrived, he saw a Dodge truck being driven by a lone white male, later identified as Remi Sabbe ("Sabbe"). ECF 34 at ¶ 9. The driver, stopped close to the public roadway and turnout on the edge of the field, saw Officer Jentzsch pull in and then almost immediately backed away, driving further into the field. ECF 47-10 (); ECF 47-3 at 2 (CAD report2 from January 12, 2018).
Officer Jentzsch then continued to observe Sabbe from the turnout as he was "tearing up" the fields with his truck. ECF 47-23 at 2:25–30. Shortly thereafter, Officer Jentzsch reported seeing Sabbe hit a tree with his truck, although Sabbe appeared unharmed by the crash. ECF 47-23 at 2:50–3:01; ECF 47-3 at 2–3.
At approximately 1:48 p.m., Mr. Wetzel called 911 again and reported that he may have heard a gunshot or rifle shot nearby. ECF 34 at ¶ 6; ECF 47-22; ECF 47-3 at 2–3. Mr. Wetzel also reported that he knew that the driver of the truck on the field was Remi Sabbe, the property owner. He reported that Sabbe may be impaired and belligerent. ECF 34 at ¶ 7; ECF 47-22; ECF 47-3 at 2–3.
At around 1:53 p.m., Officer Jentzsch also heard gunshots from the Sabbe property, but he did not see who fired them. ECF 47-3 at 3; ECF 47-2 at 2; ECF 47-23 at 3:48–52. He then observed Sabbe holding a black object in his hands, which he thought looked like a rifle. ECF 47-2 at 3; ECF 47-23 at 4:57–5:00 ("It looks like he might have a rifle."). Officer Jentzsch observed Sabbe raise what he believed to be a rifle and point it at the intersection of SW Roy Rogers and SW Scholls-Sherwood roads. ECF 47-2. at 3; see also ECF 47-3 at 3–4; ECF 47-23 at 12:01–10. He never saw Sabbe point a rifle directly towards him. ECF 47-2 at 3. Officer Jentzsch then drove away, seeking to put distance between himself and Sabbe out of concerns for his own safety. Officer Jentzsch then requested for additional units to contain the area. ECF 34 at ¶ 10; ECF 47-2 at 3–4.
Around 2:15 p.m. a police command post was established near the Sabbe property at 16920 SW Roy Rogers Road. ECF 34 at ¶ 11; ECF 47-3 at 4 ("[Command Post] is Al Garden Center"). The command post was initially led by Sergeant Bowman of the Sherwood Police Department. ECF 34 at ¶ 14. Sergeant Bowman ordered two Washington County armored vehicles to come to the command post. Id. at ¶ 15.
After the command post was established, Kevin Sabbe, Remi Sabbe's brother, arrived. ECF 47-7 at 9. While there, Kevin told members of law enforcement3 that his brother was not violent, but that he was probably scared. Id. at 10. Law enforcement never requested Kevin's permission to enter the Sabbe property, nor did Kevin ever consent to the officers entering the family property. Id. at 9.
Sometime before 2:50 p.m., Plaintiff April Sabbe, Remi Sabbe's wife, was contacted by phone by analyst Leah Turner of the Washington County Sheriff's Office while Mrs. Sabbe was at work. ECF 47-26 at 1. Mrs. Sabbe reported to Ms. Turner that the person in the Dodge Ram was likely her husband, Remi Sabbe. ECF 47-9 at 2. According to an email from Ms. Turner to the Critical Negotiation Unit of the Washington County Sheriff's Office, April Sabbe also relayed several pieces of information, including that Sabbe had broken his phone the night before when he was angry, he was an alcoholic and had been drinking that day, he was mean and had anger issues when he was drinking, he did not like police, he had a history of "elude," the couple had no children, and he should be on the property alone. ECF 47-26 at 1. Mrs. Sabbe also shared that Remi Sabbe would likely try to make his way back to their house at some point; his truck had Onstar and could be remotely disabled by Onstar; and a recent burglary at the property was making him angry—he kept going out there to "protect" it. Id. Some of this information was also reported over the radio at 3 p.m. to other officers. ECF 47-3 at 8.
Around 2:30 p.m., Ms. Turner sent an email to the Critical Negotiation Unit that included photographs of Plaintiff Mrs. Sabbe, Remi Sabbe, and Kevin Sabbe. ECF 47-26 at 2–5; ECF 34 at ¶ 12. At approximately 2:25 p.m., Sabbe's Dodge Ram, identified as the suspect vehicle, was reported to be associated with the Sabbe property. Id. at ¶ 13. By 2:45 p.m., the command post leader, Sergeant Bowman, received word that the man driving the truck was Remi Sabbe. ECF 47-5 at 10–11.
Between Officer Jentzsch's initial departure from the Sabbe property at 1:46 and 2:48 p.m., there were no further reports of shots being fired on the Sabbe property. During that time, law enforcement officers worked to close off the public roads surrounding the Sabbe property and position themselves around the perimeter of the Sabbe property to secure Sabbe from entering public roads and posing a risk to the public, and to prevent members of the public from getting close to the scene. ECF 47-5 at 5–6 (), 13–14; ECF 47-23 at 40:56–43:25. Nearby schools were also put on lockdown. ECF 47-3 at 7, 11; ECF 47-23 at 45:32–46:00. The scene drew media attention, and at some point at least one media helicopter hovered over the Sabbe property. ECF 47-6 at 5. It created so much noise that officers had trouble hearing each other over the radio, and asked that the helicopter move farther away from the scene. ECF 47-23 at 1:03:39–52, 1:05:08–12; 1:10:46–11:04; ECF 47-3 at 8 ().
At approximately 2:48 p.m., Lieutenant Chad Lotman arrived at the command center and took over for Sergeant Bowman. ECF 34 at ¶ 14. The armored vehicles arrived shortly thereafter. Id. at ¶¶ 15–16. The armored vehicles included an unmarked armored "V150’ " and a marked armored "BEAR" vehicle. ECF 34 at ¶¶ 15–16; see also ECF 47-24. The V150 was manned by eight officers, including Earl Brown and Cade Edwards, Defendants in this case. ECF 34 at ¶ 17. The V150 was a ECF 47-14 at 3. It was, "[t]o a degree, bullet proof" and would "stop most bullets." ECF 47-18 at 3. The armored vehicles were perched near the driveway to the Sabbe property in a public roadway. ECF 47-6 at 7. Uniformed officers and marked patrol vehicles were also perched in that area with their overhead lights on. Id. at 8.
Around 3:27 p.m., Sabbe started driving his truck again. ECF 47-5 at 9; ECF 47-3 at 10. Lieutenant Lotman then deployed the armored...
To continue reading
Request your trial