Womack v. Bradshaw
| Decision Date | 10 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 12–03483–CV–S–DGK. |
| Citation | 49 F.Supp.3d 624 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Missouri |
| Parties | Marie WOMACK, Plaintiff, v. Deputy Paul BRADSHAW, et al., Defendants. |
Brandon C. Potter, Whiteaker & Wilson, P.C., Springfield, MO, for Plaintiff.
Patricia A. Keck, Jill Patterson, Keck & Austin, LLC, Springfield, MO, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This civil rights action arises from injuries sustained by Plaintiff Marie Womack during her arrest for two misdemeanors. Plaintiff alleges that Howell County Sheriff's Deputy Paul Bradshaw used excessive force in wrestling her to the ground following her initial detention. After the incident, Plaintiff filed a three-count lawsuit in this Court against Defendants Paul Bradshaw (“Sergeant Bradshaw”) and Howell County, Missouri (“Howell County”) (collectively “Defendants”). The complaint alleges an excessive force claim against Sergeant Bradshaw under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count I), a municipal liability claim against Howell County under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count II), and a claim for attorneys' fees under 42 U.S.C. § 1988(b) (Count III).
Now before the Court is Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. 55). Finding no genuine dispute as to any material fact and that Defendants are entitled to judgment as a matter of law, the Court GRANTS Defendants' motion.
In the early morning hours of April 26, 2012, Howell County Sheriff's Deputy Derek Hughston (“Deputy Hughston”) responded to a call that four individuals in a vehicle were engaged in suspicious activity. As Deputy Hughston approached the scene, he noticed a vehicle leaving a driveway. Deputy Hughston followed the vehicle, and eventually stopped it after it veered into the other lane of traffic. The vehicle contained two occupants: Plaintiff in the driver's seat and William D. Burnside in the passenger's seat. While speaking with Plaintiff, Deputy Hughston observed that she had bloodshot, glassy, and watery eyes, displayed slurred speech, and smelled of alcohol.
Deputy Hughston instructed Plaintiff to exit the vehicle and requested she take a breathalyzer test. She eventually submitted to the test, and it gauged her blood alcohol content at .26, over three times the legal limit. This test, combined with his previous observations, led Deputy Hughston to arrest Plaintiff for driving while intoxicated. Deputy Hughston handcuffed Plaintiff's arms in front of her body and placed her in the back of his unlocked car. After securing her, he waited at the scene for a tow truck to arrive.
Sergeant Bradshaw, the only other Howell County officer on duty, overheard that Deputy Hughston had stopped two individuals in the vehicle, so he decided to assist him. When Sergeant Bradshaw arrived at the scene, he parked his car behind Deputy Hughston's. Sergeant Bradshaw's car, unlike Deputy Hughston's, had a functioning dashboard camera, which videotaped the events. Since Sergeant Bradshaw did not activate his lights, the microphones in his car and on his person were not on during the relevant events. Deputy Hughston, however, had a functioning microphone both on his person and in his squad car.
Sergeant Bradshaw's dashboard camera and Deputy Hughston's squad car microphone captured the majority of the following events. After arriving on the scene, Sergeant Bradshaw talked with Deputy Hughston at the front of Deputy Hughston's car. Deputy Hughston's personal microphone did not record this conversation because he deactived it to ensure that their discussion did not override the recording of any statements made by Plaintiff while in the squad car. The microphone in the squad car, however, recorded several statements from Plaintiff. She remarked that she wanted out of the vehicle to smoke a cigarette and that she could exit the vehicle if she really wanted to do so. Plaintiff then knocked on the window to get the officers' attention.
Sergeant Bradshaw looked around inquisitively before realizing that the noise was coming from the back of Deputy Hughston's squad car. He then approached the rear passenger-side door, which Plaintiff unlocked.2 Sergeant Bradshaw opened the door about one-half to three-quarters of its capacity. He then rested his right arm on the top and side of the door and slightly leaned his body into the car. Sergeant Bradshaw maintained this pose for approximately forty-five seconds as he talked with Plaintiff.
Upon opening the door, Sergeant Bradshaw asked, “Yes, ma'am?” Plaintiff requested to exit the vehicle in order to smoke a cigarette. Sergeant Bradshaw said, “No.” She then inquired why she could not have a cigarette while waiting for the tow truck to arrive. Sergeant Bradshaw responded that she could not exit the vehicle because she was under arrest and that she could not have a cigarette in her mouth because they suspected her of driving while intoxicated. Plaintiff retorted that she had gum in her mouth. Sergeant Bradshaw quickly requested that she spit out the gum. She refused. Bradshaw again ordered her to expel the gum, and again she refused. Sergeant Bradshaw then alerted Deputy Hughston that Plaintiff had gum in her mouth. Plaintiff then yelled that she had it the entire time.
As Deputy Hughston approached the rear passenger-side door, Plaintiff ducked under Sergeant Bradshaw's arm and exited the vehicle. Sergeant Bradshaw then grasped her left arm as she faced the approaching Deputy Hughston. Both Sergeant Bradshaw's and Plaintiff's backs were turned away from the dashboard camera as they stood a few feet to the right of the open car door. Plaintiff then stated that she wanted a cigarette, and Sergeant Bradshaw responded by telling her to return to the vehicle. As Sergeant Bradshaw pulled her towards the back door, she said, “No.” Plaintiff then pulled back from Sergeant Bradshaw as he held her left arm. Once she pulled away, she quickly kicked the door shut, and in her follow-through, she struck Sergeant Bradshaw's right shin with her foot.
While still grasping her left arm, Sergeant Bradshaw quickly turned to his left, taking Plaintiff to the ground. In the process, Plaintiff's face struck the road. Once on the ground, Sergeant Bradshaw continued to hold Plaintiff's left arm and placed his right arm on her shoulder to prevent her from moving.3 Eventually, Plaintiff rolled over onto her back, causing Sergeant Bradshaw to almost fall on top of her. Upon regaining his balance, Sergeant Bradshaw lifted Plaintiff up by her arms and moved her back towards the car.
As Sergeant Bradshaw lifted Plaintiff to her feet, Deputy Hughston opened the rear passenger-side door. Sergeant Bradshaw then pushed her towards the open door and told her to get in the car. She once again yelled, “No,” and tried to pull away from him. With the assistance of Deputy Hughston, Sergeant Bradshaw finally pushed Plaintiff into the back seat.
Once in the car, Plaintiff continued to resist by placing her feet against the doorjamb. Sergeant Bradshaw then told her that he never said to get out of the car, that she needed to sit down, and that she should quit resisting. The officers eventually secured her and shut the door.
After Deputy Hughston entered the car, Plaintiff told him that Sergeant Bradshaw's actions broke her jaw. Deputy Hughston eventually transported her to the Howell County Sheriff's Office. Once there, Deputy Hughston contacted paramedics to evaluate her injuries and take a blood sample. Plaintiff consented to the blood sample, and later tests revealed that she had a blood alcohol content of .24. Medical personnel also diagnosed Plaintiff with a fractured jaw
.
As a result of the incident, Deputy Hughston cited Plaintiff for driving while intoxicated and Sergeant Bradshaw cited her for resisting arrest and assault on a law enforcement officer. On November 26, 2012, Plaintiff pled guilty to driving while intoxicated and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors.
At the time of the incident, Howell County had the following use of force policy: With respect to training, including use of force, each police officer was responsible for his own continuing education and maintaining his or her Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training (“POST”) certification. Howell County did not provide any use of force training. At the time of the incident, Sergeant Bradshaw in particular received the following training: (1) a 600–hour Basic Law Enforcement Training in 2003 as part of his police academy education, which included forty hours on use of force; (2) an eight-hour refresher course in 2006 on use of force; and (3) 100 hours of training since 2011 in order to maintain his POST certification.
Following the incident, Sergeant Bradshaw completed a use of force form. The form discussed the incident, but did not mention that Plaintiff was handcuffed when he pulled her to the ground. Captain Jared Peterman (“Captain Peterman”) reviewed the use of force form, but he did not complete a separate review form. Rather, he discussed the incident with Sergeant Bradshaw, informed Sheriff Michael Shannon of the incident, and filed Sergeant Bradshaw's report. At the time of incident, Howell County did not initiate an investigation into an officer's use of force unless an individual complained or Captain Peterman, after reviewing an officer's report, determined that an officer may have used an unreasonable amount of force. Howell County did not institute an investigation into Sergeant Bradshaw's use of force.
A moving party is entitled to summary judgment “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to...
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