Walker v. City of Newark
| Decision Date | 16 May 2023 |
| Docket Number | Civ. 19-16853 (KM) (ESK) |
| Parties | BRAD C. WALKER, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF NEWARK, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
This action arises out of an altercation between plaintiff Brad Walker, whose family owns and manages a bar in Newark, and defendant Newark police officers Zaynah Pickett, Dwayne Mays Jr., and Maurice McKelvin, who patronized the bar on the evening of June 2, 2018. Alleging that he suffered physical and psychological injuries as a result of that altercation Walker brought constitutional and tort claims against Pickett, Mays, and McKelvin (the “officer defendants”) and against the City of Newark (“the City”).[1] The officer defendants now move for summary judgment on all claims asserted against them, while the City separately moves for summary judgment on the two remaining claims asserted against it. For the reasons set forth below, the City's motion for summary judgment (DE 94) is GRANTED and the officer defendants' motion for summary judgment (DE 100) is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.[2]
On the night of June 2, 2018, defendant Zaynah Pickett hosted a birthday party for herself at the Allure Lounge in Newark. (Off. SOMF ¶2; Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶2.) Defendants Dwayne Mays, Jr. and Maurice McKelvin attended the party. (Off. SOMF ¶1.)
The Allure Lounge is a bar owned by Walker's parents. (Off SOMF ¶5.; Walker Dep. 21:16-25.) Walker's father, who manages the bar, had agreed to rent out the private second-floor space to Pickett for the evening. (Off. SOMF ¶5.) Because Walker's father was out of town on the night of Pickett's party, Walker was acting as bar manager in his place. (Newark SOMF ¶2; Walker Dep. 130:11-131:8.) Walker had never interacted with any of the officer defendants prior to the night of the party. (Off. SOMF ¶6.)
Guests at Pickett's birthday party were required to dress entirely in white, while Pickett wore a gold-colored dress. (Off. SOMF ¶7; Newark SOMF ¶3.; Walker Dep. 58:18-20.) It is implied that no one associated with the party was in uniform. At some point during the evening, Pickett noticed that there were individuals present in the second-floor space who were not wearing white, and she complained to Walker. (Off. SOMF ¶7; Newark SOMF ¶3.) These individuals were business associates of Walker's who were meeting him at the Lounge. (Walker Dep. 35:11-18.)
According to Pickett, Walker and his associates had also been touching her guests inappropriately. (Off. SOMF ¶8.) When she requested that they leave the second-floor space, Walker responded aggressively and said something to the effect of “it's my club and I can do what I want.” (Id. ¶¶9-10.) The security guard had to intervene in their conversation and was able to get Walker's associates to leave the second floor. (Id.)
Walker's account of the evening, beginning with this particular interaction, differs significantly. Walker maintains that he never touched any of Pickett's guests inappropriately; nor did he state that he could do whatever he wanted because it was his club. (Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶¶8-9.) According to Walker, it was Pickett who became aggressive with him during their conversation, and it was Walker, not a security guard, who asked his associates to go downstairs at the request of Pickett. (Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶10.) Indeed, Walker maintains that there was no security guard present that night. (Id. ¶¶11-12.)
Following their encounter, Pickett went outside of the Lounge to the street, while Walker remained inside on the second floor. (Off. SOMF ¶¶12-13.) Walker subsequently witnessed one of Pickett's guests bring out a birthday cake, which had four bottles of tequila stuck on top of it. (Off. SOMF ¶13; Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶13.) The tequila was not purchased at the Lounge. (Off. SOMF ¶13; Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶13.)
According to Walker, he explained to a group of guests that outside alcohol is not permitted on the premises, which led to a verbal disagreement between the guests and Walker. (Walker Dep. 41:12-42:9.) The disagreement turned physical when one of the male guests pushed Walker, who proceeded to exit the Lounge with the cake. (Newark SOMF ¶5; Off. SOMF ¶14.) Pickett claims that Walker, before exiting the Lounge, threw cake in her friend's face because the friend had rebuffed Walker's continued advances. (Off. SOMF ¶14.)
Walker maintains that once he was outside of the Lounge, an attendee at Pickett's party confronted him and began verbally threatening him. (Walker Dep. 47:5-48:11.) Walker contends that his two business associates were next to him outside, and “they end[ed] up getting into it” with another attendee. (Id. 49:14-20.) After arguing for a bit, the guest “took a swing” at one of the associates and hit the other. (Id. 51:2-9.) Pickett says that she then announced that the party was over, while Walker denies that she made any such pronouncement. (Off. SOMF ¶15.)
At that point, Walker went back inside the Lounge and up to the second-floor office, where he recovered a firearm. (Off. SOMF ¶16; Newark SOMF ¶6.) The firearm was registered to Walker's mother and was stored on the premises by the family. (Off. SOMF ¶17.) Walker admits that he did not call the police or ask any of Pickett's guests to leave the premises. (Id. ¶18.)
What occurred when Walker returned to the street is disputed. According to Pickett, once Walker was back outside, he followed her to an adjacent parking lot as she walked toward her car. (Off. SOMF ¶19.) At that time, the firearm was still concealed in his waistband. (Id. ¶20.) He then began yelling at Pickett in an aggressive and threatening manner and “got in her face.” (Id. ¶21.) According to Pickett, Walker's eyes were “glassy, red, and beady,” and “he was foaming at the mouth.” (Id.) Afraid, Pickett punched Walker once with a closed fist in order to protect herself. (Id. ¶22.) Walker immediately took out his weapon and fired a shot. (Id. ¶23.)
Walker's version of events is that he armed himself in order to protect his associates, who had remained outside while he went to retrieve the gun. (Walker Dep. 52:5-10; Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶19.) He contends that he went back outside in order to locate his associates, but he was immediately confronted by Pickett, who pursued him and began physically attacking him. (Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶19, 22; Walker Dep. ¶59:12-17; Newark SOMF ¶7.) While attempting to protect himself from Pickett, Walker noticed four or five men dressed in white approaching him. (Walker Dep. 63:3-13.) Feeling threatened, Walker pulled out the gun, fired a single shot into the air, then pointed the gun at the ground. (Newark SOMF ¶7; Resp. to Newark SOMF ¶7; Off. SOMF ¶24; Walker Dep. 68:3-6.) It is not clear whether the officer defendants dispute that Walker fired straight into the air; the City, however, does not dispute this. (Newark SOMF ¶7.)
The parties agree that after Walker fired the gun, an individual dressed in white yelled “Newark police” and then fired his own weapon directly at Walker (who was not hit). (Off. SOMF ¶25; Newark SOMF ¶8.) Walker immediately got down on the ground and tossed his firearm away from his body. (Off. SOMF ¶26.) Walker claims that, until this moment, he had been unaware that any of the guests at the birthday party were police officers.
It is also undisputed that the individual who had shot at Walker proceeded to kneel on his back and place him in handcuffs. (Off. SOMF ¶26; Newark SOMF ¶9.) According to Walker, the individual then said, “You're going to shoot at cops?”, to which Walker replied, “I didn't know you all was cops.” (Walker Dep. 74:4-9.) The individual then told him to “shut up” and hit him in the face with a gun. (Id.; Off. SOMF ¶26; Newark SOMF ¶10.)
While Walker was still on the ground, he was punched, kicked, and dragged by at least two individuals, one of whom was the person who had handcuffed him. (Off. SOMF ¶26; Walker Dep. 2-9.) At that point, says Walker, an employee at the Allure Lounge named Michael Bullock walked over to where the officers were beating him. (Walker Dep. 77:14-16.) According to Walker, Bullock said, at which point the individuals backed away from Walker. (Id. 79:8-12.) The individual who had handcuffed Walker then pulled out his phone and called the police. (Id. 79:17-22.)
According to Walker, the individual who shot at him, handcuffed him, and then struck him in the face was defendant Mays. Defendant McKelvin, he says, was one of the individuals, including Mays, who punched and kicked him. (Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶25; Walker Dep. 78:1-23; 149:3-19.)
Both Mays and McKelvin deny playing any part in these events:
Mays says he was outside of the Lounge when he saw Walker exit the building and head towards the parking lot. (Off. SOMF ¶28.) Mays saw Walker following Pickett and began to walk towards the parking lot himself. (Id. ¶¶29-30.) Mays then heard a gunshot and saw a muzzle flash, and later saw Walker on the ground. (Id. ¶¶30, 34.) Mays maintains that he drew his service weapon but did not use it at any point that night, and that he did not speak to Walker at all. (Id. ¶¶31, 34.)
Defendant McKelvin's denial is complete. He states that although he attended Pickett's party, he did not interact with Walker at any point, was not in the vicinity of the parking lot when gunshots were fired, and did not learn about the incident until the following day. (Off. SOMF ¶¶38-40.)
According to Walker, all of the officer defendants left the area before uniformed Newark police officers arrived. (Resp. to Off. SOMF ¶¶35-36.) Mays, however, contends that he remained at the scene until uniformed officers arrived. Pickett maintains that she was...
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