Wallisa v. City of Hesparia

• Decision Date: 20 March 2019
• Docket Number: Case No. ED CV 16-2638 FMO (KKx)
• Citation: 369 F.Supp.3d 990
• Parties: Amber WALLISA, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF HESPARIA, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Central District of California

369 F.Supp.3d 990

Amber WALLISA, Plaintiff,

v.CITY OF HESPARIA, et al., Defendants.

Case No. ED CV 16-2638 FMO (KKx)

United States District Court, C.D. California.

Signed March 20, 2019

DeWitt M. Lacy, John L. Burris Law Offices, Beverly Hills, CA, K. Chike Odiwe, John Leonard Burris, Law Offices of John L. Burris, Oakland, CA, for Plaintiff.

Andrea Katherine Kornblau, Anthony M. Sain, Jessica Wynette Rosen, Lynn Louise Carpenter, Mildred K. O'Linn, Manning and Kass Ellrod Ramirez Trester LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER RE: DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Fernando M. Olguin, United States District Judge

Having reviewed and considered all briefing filed with respect to the Motion for Summary Judgment or, in the Alternative, Partial Summary Judgment (Dkt. 101, "Joint Br."), filed by Jonathan Flores ("Flores"), Spencer Wilt ("Wilt"), Kent Watson ("Watson"), and the County of San Bernardino ("County") (collectively, "defendants"), the court finds that oral argument is not necessary to resolve the Motion, see Fed. R. Civ. P. 78 ; Local Rule 7-15; Willis v. Pac. Mar. Ass'n, 244 F.3d 675, 684 n. 2 (9th Cir. 2001), and concludes as follows.

BACKGROUND

Amber Wallisa ("Wallisa" or "plaintiff"), individually and as successor-in-interest to decedent Stephen Schenck ("Schenck"), filed the instant action against defendants, asserting various causes of action arising from an incident that led to Schenck's death. (See Dkt. 1, Complaint at ¶¶ 10-14). Plaintiff filed her Second Amended Complaint (Dkt. 43, "SAC"), the operative complaint, on December 22, 2017. (See id. ). Pursuant to the parties' stipulation, plaintiff dismissed several of her claims, (see Dkt. 100, Stipulation for Partial Dismissal; Dkt. 103, Court's Order of August 30, 2018), such that the remaining claims are:

(1) use of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment; (2) wrongful death in violation of the Fourth Amendment; (3) violation of plaintiff's right to familial relationship in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; (4) failure to render medical care in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; (5) wrongful death/negligence in violation of California Code of Civil Procedure §§ 377.60 and 377.61 ; (6) violation of Schenk's right to enjoy civil rights in violation of the Bane Act, Cal. Civil Code § 52.1 ; (7) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (8) assault; and (9) battery. (See Dkt. 101, Joint Br. at 2-3).

STATEMENT OF FACTS ¹

Shortly after 4:00 a.m. on January 25, 2016, San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department Deputies Flores, Wilt, and Watson (collectively, "officers") responded to a call regarding an unknown disturbance on 11th Avenue in Hesperia, California. (See Dkt. 101-1, Statement of Uncontroverted Facts ("SUF") at D1; Dkt. 101-3, Joint Evidentiary Appendix ("JEA"), Exhibit ("Exh.") 1, Audio of Radio Dispatch, dated January 25, 2016 ("Dispatch"); Dkt. 101-4, Exh. 2, Call History Log Re: 8831 Eleventh Ave., dated January 25, 2016 ("Call Log"); Dkt. 101-5, Exh. 3, Deposition of Jonathan Flores ("Flores Depo.") at 74-76). Dispatch advised the officers that a male suspect had forced his way into a residence ("11th Avenue Residence"), assaulted a resident with a bat, stolen a motorcycle, and had set a big rig on fire. (Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 00:31-0:40; 2:07-2:12 & 4:15-4:19; see Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D2 & D4-D6; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 76-79; Dkt. 101-6, Exh. 4, Deposition of Kent Watson ("Watson Depo.") at 19 & 41; Dkt. 101-7, Exh. 5, Deposition of Spencer Wilt ("Wilt Depo.") at 22-23 & 30-31). Several officers responded to the call as a "Code 3[,]" with lights and sirens. (Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D3; see Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 75-76 & 77-79; Dkt. 101-2, Watson Depo. at 19-22).

Around 4:23 a.m., Flores arrived at the 11th Avenue Residence and saw a woman in the driveway waving her arms yelling, "He's in the back[.]" (Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D7; see Dkt. 101-4, Call Log at ECF 1932; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 91; Dkt. 101-20, Exh. 18, Transcript of Jonathan Flores Statement to Homicide Detail ("Flores St.") at ECF 2306-07). Flores walked past the woman in the driveway and noticed a male near the front door of the 11th Avenue Residence, (see Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D9-D10; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 91), who had minor scratches and a cut on one finger later treated by paramedics with band-aids. (See Dkt. 101-9, Exh. 7, Statement of Ben Mestas ("Mestas St."); Dkt. 101-10, Exh. 8, Statement of Craig Cummings ("Cummings St.") ).

Flores made his way to the backyard of the 11th Avenue Residence and saw an individual – later identified as Schenck – wearing black clothing and running eastbound toward the back fence. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D10-D12; Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 6:21; Dkt. 101-4, Call Log at ECF 1932; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 91 & 94). Flores did not see a bat in Schenck's hands. (See Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 98). As Schenck continued toward the back fence of the 11th Avenue Residence, Flores began to chase him. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D14-D15; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 96-97). Schenck hopped over the fence onto the easement behind the 11th Avenue Residence and neighboring houses, (see Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D15; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 96-97), then ran northbound through the easement and scaled a fence to another backyard. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D17; Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 6:46-7:45; Dkt. 101-4, Call Log at ECF 1932; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 98-100).

Flores requested backup, (see Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D18; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 101; Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 10:30-10:42), and radioed for a perimeter to be set up to prevent Schenck from fleeing the area. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D19; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 102). Around 4:29 a.m., Flores confirmed with Dispatch that there was no big rig on fire. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at P6; Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 9:33-9:39). Flores then waited between five to ten minutes for additional deputies to arrive. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D20; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 105-06).

Wilt soon arrived, and he and Flores hopped over the fence to search for Schenck, (see Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D19-D21; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 105-07; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 31-32), entering a backyard filled with debris and vehicles. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D22; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 108). Flores found Schenck hiding face down, under a bus, and alerted Wilt to Schenck's presence. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D23 & D27; Dkt. 101-3, Dispatch at 15:00; Dkt. 101-4, Call Log at ECF 1932; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 109-11; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at ECF 2058). Although there was some light in the backyard, there was a carport blocking much of the light in the area where the bus was parked. (See Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 110-11 & 114-15; Dkt. 101-6, Watson Depo. at 28).

Wilt stood at the front of the bus and Flores stood on the left side of the bus. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D32; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 115; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 41). Both officers drew their guns and began yelling conflicting commands at Schenck. (See Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 111-12; Dkt. 101-8, Exh. 6, Audio of Radio Belt Recording from Spencer Wilt ("Wilt Audio") at 00:01; Dkt. 101-20, Flores St. at ECF 2308; 101-21, Exh. 19, Transcript of Spencer Wilt's Statement to Homicide Detail ("Wilt St.") at ECF 2325). Wilt yelled, "You're gonna get shot if you don't show me your fucking hands!" (Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:01-0:03). Immediately afterwards, Wilt yelled, "Crawl out now," followed shortly by Flores yelling, "let me see your hands[.]" (Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:04; see Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 35-36; Dkt. 101-20, Flores St. at ECF 2309). One second later, Flores yelled, "Don't reach in your ..., " and was interrupted by Wilt saying, "Fucking pop him!" (Dkt. 101-1, SUF at P19; Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:07-0:08). A few seconds later, Flores yelled, "You reach in your pocket and you're fucking dead!" (Dkt. 101-1, P20; Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:10). Schenck initially laid still and offered no response to the conflicting commands, (see Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 114; Dkt. 101-20, Flores St. at ECF 2309-10), but within about 15 seconds of being discovered under the bus, Schenck said, "Okay." (Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:15).

Very soon thereafter, Flores holstered his firearm, unholstered his taser, and pointed it at Schenck, who was still under the bus. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D43; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 134; Dkt. 101-20, Flores St. at ECF 2308-09). The officers and Schenck then had the following exchange:

Flores: Show me your hands! Come out! Come out now or I'm tasing you!

Schenck: I'm coming out! I'm coming out!

Flores: Come out! Let me see your hands!

Wilt: Fucking pop him!

Flores: Come out or I'm gonna fucking tase you! Let me see your hands!

(Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 00:24-00:35; Dkt. 101-1, SUF at P27). Schenck showed his hands to Flores, said he was going to come out, and then started to crawl out. (See Dkt. 101-20, Flores St. at ECF 2310). As Schenk began to crawl out from underneath the bus on the side where Flores was standing, Flores told Wilt that Schenck was coming out on Flores's side of the bus. (See Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:43). Wilt then walked around the back of the bus to assist Flores in taking Schenck into custody. (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D35; Dkt. 101-5, Flores Depo. at 119; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 48).

Within seconds, as Schenck was in the process of crawling out from under the bus, Wilt struck him in the back three to four times with a closed fist, yelling, "Let me see your fucking hands!" (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at P30; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 56-57; see Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:50). Schenck, who was lying flat on his stomach, yelled, "Ow, Ow!" (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at P31; Dkt. 101-7, Wilt Depo. at 51, 52, 56; Dkt. 101-8, Wilt Audio at 0:54; Dkt. 101-21, Wilt Tr. at ECF 2331). Flores then placed his taser on Schenck's lower back and deployed it in drive-stun mode.² (See Dkt. 101-1, SUF at D43; ...