Tracey White v. Thomas Jackson
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 13926
| 8th Cir. | 2017Background
- Officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014; large, at times violent, demonstrations followed in Ferguson on West Florissant Avenue. Police from St. Louis County and nearby municipalities assisted.
- Six groups of plaintiffs sued individual officers, St. Louis County, and the City of Ferguson alleging § 1983 claims (unlawful seizure/false arrest, excessive force, and municipal failure to train/supervise) and related Missouri state-law claims (false arrest, assault/battery, IIED, negligent supervision).
- Arrests/use of force incidents occurred Aug. 11–13, 2014; facts vary by plaintiff (e.g., Burns pepper-sprayed and arrested; Coleman/Green hit with projectiles then arrested; Harris hit by a projectile; White/Bowers arrested in a car; Tracey White/Davis arrested after refusing police dispersal orders; Matthews shot with beanbags/rubber bullets, fell into a culvert, and alleges a subsequent beating, drowning, and pepper-spraying while handcuffed).
- District court granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants: qualified immunity on § 1983 claims, official immunity on state-law claims, and dismissal of municipal failure-to-train claims because no underlying individual liability was found.
- On appeal the Eighth Circuit reviewed qualified immunity, official immunity, and municipal-liability rulings, affirmed many grants of summary judgment, but reversed as to Matthews’ excessive-force claims against several officers and remanded those claims and the related municipal claim.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qualified immunity for warrantless arrests (refusal to disperse/obstruction) | Arrests lacked probable cause because plaintiffs were not unlawfully assembled or had not been ordered to disperse | Officers had at least arguable probable cause based on violent crowd, dispersal orders, and plaintiffs’ failure to leave | Affirmed — officers had arguable probable cause for arrests in most incidents (Burns, Coleman/Green, Harris’s claims waived, White/Bowers, Tracey White/Davis, Matthews’s arrest) |
| Excessive-force claims for use of less-lethal projectiles | Use of rubber bullets/beanbags constituted excessive force when plaintiffs were not a threat or were not resisting | Use of less-lethal force was reasonable given violent crowd, plaintiff conduct, and officer safety concerns | Affirmed for several plaintiffs (Coleman/Green, Jackson re: Matthews’ approach). Reversed in part for Matthews’s post-arrest alleged beating, drowning, pepper-spraying by specific officers — triable issues exist |
| State-law official immunity (Missouri) | Officers acted with malice or bad faith, so official immunity shouldn't apply | Official immunity shields discretionary acts unless done in bad faith or with malice | Affirmed — plaintiffs failed to present specific evidence of bad faith for most claims (district court properly applied official immunity) |
| Municipal liability (failure to train/supervise) under § 1983 | Municipalities are liable for policies/customs permitting unconstitutional conduct | Municipal liability requires an underlying constitutional violation by individual officers | Affirmed where no individual liability; reversed/remanded as to Matthews only because some individual excessive-force claims survive, permitting municipal claim to proceed |
Key Cases Cited
- Nichols v. Tri-Nat'l Logistics, Inc., 809 F.3d 981 (8th Cir. 2016) (standard of review for summary judgment)
- Scott v. Harris, 550 U.S. 372 (2007) (record video can refute plaintiff’s version of events at summary judgment)
- Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989) (Fourth Amendment reasonableness test for excessive force)
- Devenpeck v. Alford, 543 U.S. 146 (2004) (an officer’s subjective reason for an arrest need not match the charge so long as probable cause exists for some offense)
- Borgman v. Kedley, 646 F.3d 518 (8th Cir. 2011) (arguable probable cause and qualified immunity for arrests)
- Krout v. Goemmer, 583 F.3d 557 (8th Cir. 2009) (gratuitous force on subdued/handcuffed suspect is objectively unreasonable)
- Reasonover v. St. Louis Cty., 447 F.3d 569 (8th Cir. 2006) (Missouri official-immunity doctrine protects discretionary acts absent malice or bad faith)
- Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (2009) (individualized, personal conduct required for § 1983 liability)
- Ehlers v. City of Rapid City, 846 F.3d 1002 (8th Cir. 2017) (treatment of video/audio evidence at summary judgment)