Samples on Behalf of Samples v. City of Atlanta, 87-8576

• Decision Date: 13 June 1988
• Docket Number: No. 87-8576,87-8576
• Citation: 846 F.2d 1328
• Parties: 25 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1231 Oather Jefferson SAMPLES and Barbara Jackson, on behalf of their minor child David SAMPLES, deceased, and on their own behalf, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF ATLANTA and Officer J.M. Oglesby, Individually and in his official capacity as a police officer for the City of Atlanta, et al., Defendants- Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1328

846 F.2d 1328

25 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1231

Oather Jefferson SAMPLES and Barbara Jackson, on behalf of their minor child David SAMPLES, deceased, and on their own behalf, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF ATLANTA and Officer J.M. Oglesby, Individually and in his official capacity as a police officer for the City of Atlanta, et al., Defendants- Appellees.

No. 87-8576.

United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit.

June 13, 1988.

Yehuda Smolar, Thomas Allan Rice, Atlanta, Ga., for plaintiffs-appellants.

Marva Jones Brooks, Law Dept. City of Atlanta, George R. Ference, W. Roy Mays, III, Atlanta, Ga., for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

Before FAY and CLARK, Circuit Judges, and GUIN ^*, District Judge.

FAY, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs Oather Jefferson Samples and Barbara Jackson ¹ appeal the decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to grant the defendants' summary judgment motion. We agree with the plaintiffs that their claims against both Officer J.M. Oglesby and the city of Atlanta ("the city") raise genuine issues of material fact and that, therefore, summary judgment was inappropriate.

Factual Background

Neither side denies that the background to this case is tragic. At approximately 4:30 a.m. on August 1, 1984, Oglesby shot sixteen-year-old David Samples. Oglesby fired six shots at Samples, emptying his revolver. Five of the bullets hit the youth. Two, which struck him in the chest, were fatal. Two other bullets hit Samples in his left side, and a fifth struck him in the back.

There were no witnesses to the shooting or to the events leading up to it. All that any third parties could attest to was that, at around 4:30 a.m., Oglesby notified the radio dispatcher that he was investigating a "demented person" and that, twenty-eight seconds later, he radioed in news of the shooting. By the time the ambulance arrived a few minutes later, Samples was dead.

Subsequently, the Atlanta police department investigated the shooting and exonerated Oglesby. In addition, the Civilian Review Board, an independent and neutral body commissioned by Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young to investigate incidents of police violence, determined that Oglesby acted reasonably under the circumstances.

Samples' parents, however, were not convinced that Oglesby's actions were justified. Consequently, they filed this suit under 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1983. They claim that Oglesby used excessive force in killing their son, and thus deprived Samples of his life in violation of the fourteenth amendment's due process clause. In addition, they allege that the city is liable for having a practice of condoning such acts of police violence. This practice, the plaintiffs contend, manifests itself most noticeably in the inadequate investigation and punishment of police officers who exercise excessive violence in carrying out their duties. ²

When the defendants moved for summary judgment, the plaintiffs responded with materials that included affidavits, depositions, newspaper articles chronicling the Samples shooting, and documentation regarding claims filed by private citizens against various Atlanta police officers. The district court did not consider all of the information presented. The court struck most of the affidavit of J.T. Miller, a retired investigator formerly employed by Atlanta's Bureau of Police Services, Office of Professional Standards. ³ In addition, the court failed to unseal and consider most of the depositions submitted by the plaintiffs. Based on the two depositions that the court did consider and on the remainder of the evidence before it, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants.

Legal Standards Governing Summary Judgment

Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits courts to grant summary judgment motions in cases in which there is no genuine issue of material fact. Livernois v. Medical Disposables, Inc., 837 F.2d 1018, 1022 (11th Cir.1988). To survive a motion for summary judgment, a plaintiff need " 'only present evidence from which a jury might return a verdict in his favor. If he does so, there is a genuine issue of fact that requires a trial.' " Id. (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

A court evaluating a summary judgment motion must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-movant. If a reasonable fact finder evaluating the evidence could draw more than one inference from the facts, and if that inference introduces a genuine issue of material fact, then the court should not grant the summary judgment motion. Augusta Iron and Steel Works v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, 835 F.2d 855, 856 (11th Cir.1988) (per curiam). An appellate court applies this same legal standard when a party appeals an adverse summary judgment ruling. Livernois, 837 F.2d at 1021-22. ⁴

With this standard in mind, we can evaluate the summary judgments rendered against the two defendants.

Claim Against Police Officer Oglesby

In Gilmere v. City of Atlanta, 774 F.2d 1495 (11th Cir.1985) (en banc), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1115, 106 S.Ct. 1970, 90 L.Ed.2d 654 (1986), this court held that claimants can sue under Sec. 1983 for unreasonable acts of police violence. Gilmere, 774 F.2d at 1499-1502. ⁵ Of course, "[n]ot every push or shove, even if it may later seem unnecessary in the peace of a judge's chambers, violates [an individual's] constitutional rights." Id. at 1500 (quoting Johnson v. Glick, 481 F.2d 1028, 1033 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1033, 94 S.Ct. 462, 38 L.Ed.2d 324 (1973)). Cognizant of this, we attempt to consider the validity of a Sec. 1983 claim of police abuse in light of the situation provoking the violence. This circuit evaluates an excessive force claim by considering such factors as the need for using force, the relationship between the need for using force and the amount of force used, the reason for using force--that is, whether the officer applied force in good faith or with malicious intent, and the extent of the injury suffered. Leslie v. Ingram, 786 F.2d 1533, 1536 (11th Cir.1986); Fundiller v. City of Cooper City, 777 F.2d 1436, 1440 (11th Cir.1985). ⁶

We must determine whether, based on this set of facts and this legal standard, a reasonable fact finder could find that Oglesby applied excessive force. There is uncontroverted evidence establishing that Oglesby shot at Samples six times, and that, as a result of the shooting, Samples died. Therefore, we must weigh the remaining factors to determine whether, as a matter of law, Oglesby's conduct must be said to have been reasonable and motivated by a genuine fear for his own safety or whether it can be found to have been unwarranted.

Because there were no witnesses to the incident, the only available account of the event comes from Oglesby himself. He stated that, as he was driving through the high crime area of Cabbagetown, Oglesby noticed Samples screaming like a demented person in a phone booth. Therefore, Oglesby radioed in his intention to investigate and got out of his car to question Samples. Samples responded by swearing at Oglesby and throwing a Fanta grape soda bottle at the officer. ⁷ In addition, Oglesby said, Samples pulled a knife out of his pocket and began opening it. While opening the knife, Samples approached Oglesby in a threatening manner. Oglesby claimed that he demanded that Samples stop opening the knife but that, instead of listening, Samples moved even closer to Oglesby. Therefore, Oglesby explained, he feared for his life and shot Samples. His first shot did not stop Samples, Oglesby said, but only appeared to increase Samples' anger and intensify his efforts to approach and harm Oglesby. Oglesby stated that he continued to shoot until Samples turned around, took a few steps, and fell to the ground.

Some of the available information supports Oglesby's version of the story. Samples was on the phone around the time of the shooting, talking to his mother. He was admittedly in a very confused and emotional state, ⁸ and had almost gotten into a fight earlier that evening. There was a broken Fanta bottle on the scene; and, a knife lay on the ground not far from Samples' lifeless form.

There are also facts which raise contrary inferences, however. First, the knife that lay near Samples was an unopened pocket knife. Defendants point out that the type of knife found on the scene automatically shuts when opened at less than a forty degree angle. Thus, the fact that the knife was shut when the police later found it does not necessarily conflict with Oglesby's story. It is possible that Samples had tried to open the knife but was shot before he succeeded. However, it is also possible that Samples never attempted to open the knife. If this is true, it raises a serious issue regarding the question of excessive force.

There is also physical evidence from which a fact finder could infer that--even based on Oglesby's version of the facts--Oglesby was excessively violent. The knife itself is one such piece of evidence. For, the knife is a small one, with a three-inch blade. Of course, if it had been brandished by an emotionally overwrought youth at 4:30 a.m., on a quiet and deserted street in a dangerous part of the city, this knife may have seemed life-threatening. And, a jury could reasonably reach such a conclusion. But, it is also possible that a reasonable jury could conclude that Oglesby applied excessive force in reacting as he did to a small, at least partially-unopened pocket knife.

Further, the difference in size between Oglesby and Samples raises an issue of fact. At the time of the shooting, Oglesby was 5'9"' and 225 pounds, and lifted weights. Samples, on the other hand, although as tall as Oglesby, weighed only 128 pounds. Pictures of him show that he was a skinny youth. Although the defendants...