Randall Kevin Jones v. Officer S. Fransen
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 8816
| 11th Cir. | 2017Background
- On July 6, 2013, Gwinnett County police responded to a report that Randall Jones had broken into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment and taken a television; officers searched the area.
- Officer Scott Fransen deployed his police dog Draco into a steep, vegetated ravine after issuing K-9 warnings; Jones was found motionless at the ravine bottom.
- Draco bit and held Jones’s left arm for an extended period before officers could separate the dog, causing permanent disfigurement and impairment.
- Jones sued under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (excessive force) against Fransen and other officers for failing to intervene, sued Gwinnett County for municipal liability, and alleged state-law negligence claims against the officers, the County, Chief Ayers, and Draco the dog.
- Defendants moved to dismiss invoking qualified immunity (federal claims), sovereign immunity (County/Ayers), and official immunity (officers); the district court denied dismissal and defendants appealed; Jones did not file an appellate brief.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether officers violated Jones’s Fourth Amendment right via excessive force by using a police dog | Jones: releasing Draco to apprehend him and allowing the bite to continue was excessive force | Officers: use of K-9 was reasonable given flight into hazardous terrain and inability to safely reach suspect; qualified immunity applies | Reversed: Court did not decide constitutional violation because officers are entitled to qualified immunity — Jones’s right was not clearly established in this factual context |
| Whether failure-to-intervene claim against backup officers under § 1983 survives dismissal | Jones: backup officers failed to protect him while Draco bit him | Defendants: backup conduct was discretionary and protected by qualified immunity | Reversed: same qualified-immunity conclusion as to failure-to-intervene claims |
| Whether Gwinnett County and Sheriff Ayers (official capacity) are subject to the state-law negligence suit (sovereign immunity) | Jones: County and Ayers liable in negligence (no waiver alleged in district court) | County/Ayers: Georgia sovereign immunity bars suit absent explicit statutory waiver | Reversed: Jones failed to show waiver; sovereign immunity bars the negligence claims against County and Ayers in official capacity |
| Whether a dog (Draco) may be sued individually for negligence under Georgia law | Jones: Draco alleged as negligent actor causing injury | Defendants: Georgia law limits negligence liability to "persons"; a dog is not a person and practical/ doctrinal problems counsel against permitting suit against an animal | Reversed: A dog cannot be sued individually for negligence under Georgia law; dismissal required |
Key Cases Cited
- Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511 (Sup. Ct.) (qualified immunity is immediately appealable collateral order)
- Saucier v. Katz, 533 U.S. 194 (Sup. Ct.) (framework for qualified-immunity analysis)
- Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (Sup. Ct.) (objective standard for qualified immunity)
- Priester v. City of Riviera Beach, 208 F.3d 919 (11th Cir.) (police-dog bite on a submissive suspect constituted excessive force)
- Crenshaw v. Lister, 556 F.3d 1283 (11th Cir.) (police-dog bite did not violate Fourth Amendment where suspect posed significant threat and fled into dense brush)
- Lee v. Ferraro, 284 F.3d 1188 (11th Cir.) (qualified immunity protects all but plainly incompetent or knowing violators)
- Vinyard v. Wilson, 311 F.3d 1340 (11th Cir.) (narrow obvious-clarity exception to clearly established requirement)
- Hadley v. Gutierrez, 526 F.3d 1324 (11th Cir.) (use of malicious or sadistic force relevant to Fourth Amendment analysis)
- White v. Pauly, 137 S. Ct. 548 (Sup. Ct.) (clearly established law must be particularized to the facts)