Speight v. Griggs, Civil Action No. 1:11–CV–03163–AT.
| Citation | 13 F.Supp.3d 1298 |
| Decision Date | 24 September 2013 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1:11–CV–03163–AT. |
| Parties | Tony SPEIGHT and Felice Cunningham, Individually and As Parents and Natural Guardians of D.M.C., a Minor, Plaintiffs, v. Corporal Benjamin W. GRIGGS, and Fulton County, Georgia, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia |
Craig Thomas Jones, The Federal Firm, LLC, Atlanta, GA, for Plaintiffs.
James Edward Dearing, Jr., James E. Dearing, Jr., P.C., Atlanta, GA, Steven E. Rosenberg, Office of Fulton County Attorney, for Defendants.
This action arises from injuries Plaintiffs' teenage son, D.M.C., sustained when Defendant Fulton County Police Officer Corporal Benjamin W. Griggs (“Officer Griggs” or “Defendant Griggs”) shot him during an attempted arrest.1 It is now before the Court on Defendant Griggs' Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 59], Fulton County's Motion for Summary Judgment2 [Docs. 60, 89], and Plaintiff's Cross–Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Doc. 73]. The Court's rulings are set forth below.
On the evening of July 28, 2011, D.M.C.4 went joyriding with a friend, Jontavious Darden, in a stolen vehicle given to Darden by a junkie from their neighborhood. Darden drove the vehicle, a Honda Accord, while D.M.C. rode in the front passenger seat.5 Darden and D.M.C. drove from Avondale Estates to Union City because they were bored and there was nothing else to do and decided to go see “Faye” whom D.M.C. referred to as his sister. At some point in the evening after visiting Faye's house, Darden noticed a police officer patrolling the area, panicked, and pulled into a Chevron gas station located on Flat Shoals Road.
Fulton County Police Officer Michael Guin was conducting a “business check” of the Chevron station when he observed Darden and D.M.C. in the Honda Accord and noticed that they matched the description of two individuals involved in a possible incident reported earlier at the Chevron. (Guin Dep. 56:18–57:19, 62:21–63:3.) Officer Guin parked behind the Honda Accord and ran the tag from the computer in his patrol car. (Guin Dep. 58:12–59:3, 62:9–12.) The vehicle had been reported stolen two months earlier. Officer Guin notified “communications” of his location and that he had an occupied stolen vehicle. (Guin Dep. 66:10–14; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 2.)
Officer Guin approached the driver's side door of the Honda Accord “in a felony stop manner” with his gun drawn in a low, ready position. Officer Guin then issued a verbal command to the occupants to keep their hands visible. When Officer Guin opened the driver's side door, Darden took his foot off the brake to exit the vehicle and it began to roll backwards toward Guin's patrol car. To stop the vehicle, Officer Guin reached in behind Darden and pulled the emergency brake located in between the front driver's seat and passenger seat. During this commotion, D.M.C., who was in the front passenger seat, took the opportunity to exit the vehicle and flee the scene on foot, running in the direction of an adjacent Motel 6. Darden made no attempt to pursue D.M.C. and instead focused his efforts on detaining Darden.
Officer Guin holstered his gun, pulled Darden out of the vehicle, and placed one handcuff on Darden's right wrist. Darden refused to comply with Officer Guin's request that he place his left hand behind his back and actively resisted Officer Guin's attempt to place the handcuff on his left wrist. (Guin Dep. 82:11–83:14, 84:17–86:3, 86:20–88:17; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 2–3.) Officer Guin keyed up his shoulder microphone to request that dispatch order responding units to step up their response. (Guin Dep. 82:21–83:14.) During the struggle, Darden was able to turn his body toward Guin and a “push-and-shove match” ensued. (Guin Dep. 84:20–24; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3.)
In order to regain control, Officer Guin drew his ASP expandable baton and struck Darden once in the upper right forearm and once on the lower calf region. (Guin Dep. 84:24–86:25; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3.) Officer Guin was unable to deliver strong blows with the baton because of his close proximity to Darden and the vehicle, and Darden broke free of Officer's Guin's grasp. (Guin Dep. 85:7–87:22; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3.) Darden lunged toward Officer Guin, briefly reached for the baton, and then swung at Officer Guin with his right arm and the handcuff brushed Officer Guin across the face. (Guin Dep. 86:25–90:7; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3.) At that point, Officer Guin drew his gun and Darden took off running in the direction of the Motel 6. (Guin Dep. 88:16–90:25; Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3.) Guin gave a brief chase after Darden, radioed dispatch to provide the location of the subject and a clothing description, and decided to wait for the responding officers to arrive and set up a perimeter. (Guin Dep. 91:10–92:3.)
Several officers who heard Officer Guin's radio call for backup during the struggle with Darden began arriving on the scene, including Defendant Griggs and Detective Marty McHugh. (Guin Dep. 113:12–22; McHugh Dep. 11:4–12:25; Griggs Dep. 208:10–210:25, 212:2–213:18.) At approximately 12:40 a.m., Officer Corey Henry of the K–9 unit of the Fulton County Sheriff's Department also responded with a search dog, “Marco.” (Guin Dep. Ex. 1, at 3; Henry Dep. 9:4–13:9, 17:14–19:16, 45:8–10.) Officer Guin provided a description of the suspect and informed the officers what had happened, including that the driver of the stolen vehicle had assaulted him before fleeing the scene on foot.6 (Guin Dep. 113:12–25; McHenry Dep. 11:25–12:25; Henry Dep. 9:4–13:9, 17:14–19:16, 12:25–13:5, 17:20–23; Griggs Dep. 138:11–13; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 2.) Defendant Griggs and Detective McHugh volunteered to search the woods for the suspect with Officer Henry and the K–9 “Marco.”
The officers followed the K–9 “Marco” into the woodline as he tracked the scent of the suspect through a fence separating the Chevron and the Motel 6. (Griggs Dep. 218:11–219:4; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 3; McHugh Dep. 18:10–16.) Defendant Griggs followed Officer Henry and the K–9 to the left toward some abandoned houses or structures behind the motel, and Detective McHugh fanned out in the opposite direction. (McHugh Dep. 20:12–24:20; Griggs Dep. 218:11–220:20.) The search area behind the Motel 6 was thickly wooded and dark requiring the officers to use flashlights and night vision units for visibility. (Griggs Dep. 124:8–24, 134:7–135:12, 136:2–4, 216:13–24; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 3; Henry Dep. 9:20–10:5, 20:18–21:1, 23:1–24, 45:1–46:8; McHugh Dep. 35:1–19, 52:5–18.) Shortly after crossing the fence line, Detective McHugh and Defendant Griggs heard the dog begin to bark and Officer Henry yell commands to someone to “get down” and “let me see your hands.”7 (McHugh Dep. 24:22–26:16; McHugh Dep. Ex. 1, at 1; McHugh Dep. Ex. 2, at 1; Griggs Dep. 221–13; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 4.) At that point, Defendant Griggs was unable to see the individual subject because his view was obstructed by a large tree.8 (Griggs Dep. 221:6–13; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 4.) Officer Henry heard the suspect say, “Okay, okay, I give” as he began to step out from behind the tree. (Henry Dep. 18:16–18; Henry Dep. Ex. 3, at 1.) He could only see the suspect's silhouette because it was dark. (Henry Dep. 20:21–21:5.) Officer Henry stopped Marco from charging the suspect and maintained a distance of approximately 15 yards from the suspect after which he observed the suspect step out from behind a tree and start to get down on his knees. (Henry Dep. 18:16–22; Henry Dep. Ex. 3, at 1.)
Defendant Griggs rushed over toward Officer Henry and the K–9, and as he came around the tree he also observed a black male—now known to be D.M.C.—step out from behind a tree and start to slowly go down on one knee with his hands out in front of him. (Griggs Dep. 221:14–25; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 4.) Because it was dark, Defendant Griggs illuminated the suspect with the tactical light on his gun and began issuing verbal commands to “get on the ground.” (Griggs Dep. 124:8–25, 221:20–25.) At that time, he could only see the suspect's left hand but not his right hand. (Griggs Dep. 132:22–133:2, 221:22–23.) Defendant Griggs instructed Officer Henry that he was going to “go hands on”9 and needed a light because he was turning off the tactical light and holstering his gun to handcuff the suspect. (Griggs Dep. 133:8–14, 222:5–223:12, 228:5–17; Griggs Dep. Ex. 2, at 4.) Defendant Griggs testified that it was his plan to put the gun up, kneel on the suspect, and then handcuff him. (Griggs Dep. 135:15–28, 223:11–12, 228:13–229:24.)
According to Defendant Griggs, because the suspect “was not getting on the ground,” had only “gone to one knee,” and was acting “like he was unsure of what he was going to do,” Defendant Griggs—in one continuous...
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