King v. ChideKing v. Chide
Plaintiff, William King (King) filed this action against the City of Galveston, Police Chief Robert Steen, and Police Officers Jason Chide (Chide) and Mark Gonzales (Gonzales) alleging violations of
FACTS
The facts, taken in the light most favorable to King, the non-moving party on the summary judgment motion at issue in this appeal, are as follows.
On Halloween night 1987, officers Chide and Gonzales responded to a disturbance call at King‘s residence. When they arrived a yellow cab was parked outside the residence, and Martha Fergison was on the front porch yelling at King who was inside the house. Both Fergison and King
After booking, King was taken to a local emergency room complaining of abrasions on his face, a sore neck and an injury to his foot. He was checked by a physician and discharged, with a notation that a plastic surgeon should look at his foot. King had been in a motorcycle wreck some years before and had suffered an injury to his heel. The heel had been reconstructed by plastic surgery. During the scuffle with the police officers, King‘s boot was pulled off and the heel was punctured. The puncture later resulted in infection and ulceration. King, who was a self employed laborer, has been unable to work since 1987 because of recurring problems with the heel.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Review of a district court‘s ruling on a motion for summary judgment is plenary. Lodge Hall Music, Inc. v. Waco Wrangler Club, Inc., 831 F.2d 77, 79 (5th Cir.1987). The court of appeals applies the same standards as those that govern the district court‘s determination. Id. at 79. Summary judgment must be granted if the court determines that “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
SUFFICIENCY OF THE COMPLAINT
In their first point of error, Chide and Gonzales contend that the district court erred in denying the officers’ summary judgment because King‘s complaint was deficient in specific facts. The Fifth Circuit has adopted the heightened pleading requirement for cases against state actors in their individual capacities. Elliott v. Perez, 751 F.2d 1472 (5th Cir.1985). Because the doctrine of immunity should accord the defendant-official not only immunity from liability, but also immunity from defending against a lawsuit, a plaintiff‘s complaint must state with factual detail and particularity the basis for the claim, including why the defendant-official cannot successfully maintain the defense of immunity. Id. 1473. See also Leatherman v. Tarrant County Narcotics Intelligence & Coordination Unit, 954 F.2d 1054 (5th Cir.1992). Appellants complain that the lower Court erred by failing to grant their summary judgment because King‘s complaint was deficient. However, when reviewing a summary judgment order this court may not limit its consideration to the facts alleged in the complaint. Rather we must examine the record as a whole to determine whether there are genuine issues of material fact and whether the movant is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.
NONMOVANT‘S BURDEN OF PROOF ON SUMMARY JUDGMENT MOTION
Appellants’ second point of error alleges that because King did not properly oppose their motion for summary judgment, they are entitled to reversal of the trial court‘s order denying it. As
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY
Finally, the Appellants contend that the district court erred in denying their summary judgment because they were entitled to qualified immunity as a matter of law.
Our first inquiry in the examination of a defendant‘s claim of qualified immunity is whether the Plaintiff has “alleg[ed] the violation of a clearly established constitutional right.” Siegert v. Gilley, ––– U.S. ––––, 111 S.Ct. 1789, 114 L.Ed.2d 277 (1991). King‘s complaint alleges that Chide and Gonzales used excessive force to unlawfully arrest him. It is well settled that if a law enforcement officer uses excessive force in the course of making an arrest, the Fourth Amendment guarantee against unreasonable seizure is implicated. Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394–95, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 1870–71, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989); Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1694, 85 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985); Reese v. Anderson, 926 F.2d 494, 500 (5th Cir.1991). A police officer may arrest a person if he has probable cause to believe that person committed a crime. However, the Fourth Amendment requires that we examine not only whether probable cause existed, but also the reasonableness of the manner in which such a seizure is conducted. Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1694, 85 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985).
King‘s Amended Complaint identifies his Constitutional claims as the “abridgement of rights and immunities secured by the
The next step in a qualified immunity analysis is to determine the standard by which to judge the reasonableness of the officers’ behavior. Qualified immunity cloaks a police officer from liability if a reasonably competent law enforcement agent would not have known that his actions violated clearly established law. Jackson v. Beaumont Police Dept., 958 F.2d 616, 620 (5th Cir.1992) (citing James v. Sadler, 909 F.2d 834, 838 (5th Cir.1990). Although the standard for determining reasonableness in excessive use of force cases has evolved considerably since October of 19872, “the objective reasonableness of an officer‘s conduct must be measured with reference to the law as it existed at the time of the conduct in question.” Pfannstiel v. Marion, 918 F.2d 1178, 1185 (5th Cir.1990). Shillingford v. Holmes, 634 F.2d 263 (5th Cir.1981) the controlling authority in October 1987, recognized that an injury inflicted by an officer must rise above a minor tort claim to occasion a constitutional violation. Id. at 265. In Shillingford some policemen were apprehending a boy, when they noticed Mr. Shillingford, a tourist, photographing the incident. Shillingford was holding a camera up to his face. An officer struck the camera and Shillingford with his nightstick, destroying the camera, smashing it into Shillingford‘s face and lacerating his forehead. Shillingford was not involved in the arrest incident and did not interfere with the police in any fashion. The Fifth Circuit applied a three prong test to the facts of Shillingford to determine the reasonableness of the officer‘s action: one, did the action cause severe injury; two, was the action grossly disproportionate to the
Finally, then, we must apply the Shillingford test to King‘s facts. The trial Court‘s written order merely recites the nature of the motions pending before the Court and the rulings. However, in a supporting opinion, delivered orally, the Court says,
“The dispute, it seems to me on the 1983 claim centers on two critical factors: one the severity of [King‘s] injury. The definition legally as to what is quote “a significant’ end quote injury, I think is open to question, and you have stated sufficient claim to get to the trier of fact on that particular issue.
“The next one is malice, and with regard to that aspect of the case, I think you probably ought to get to the trier of fact on the 1983 case, but I‘ve got to tell you, reviewing this case, I think that‘s a relatively slender reed. By not granting the motion for summary judgment, I am not saying that I think this is a completely viable case, and I‘m not saying that I would not consider taking it away from the jury if you do not state a sufficient prima facie case in your opening case in chief to demonstrate that you satisfy those prima facie requirements.”
The District Court‘s reference to “significant injury” indicates that the Court applied the wrong test in making the Summary Judgment determination. Johnson v. Morel, 876 F.2d 477 (5th Cir.1989) changed the standard for Fourth Amendment excessive force claims, and among other things, reformulated Shillingford‘s “severe injury” prong to “significant injury“. Jackson v. Beaumont Police Dept., 958 F.2d 616, 621, n. 6 (5th Cir.1992). However, because the standard was revised at a point in time after Officers Chide and Gonzales arrested King, we must reevaluate their conduct under the earlier Shillingford standard.
The Plaintiff conceded that his injury was not medically intensive. He contends, instead, that the wound to his heel resulted in severe injury because the doctors were unable to correct the ulceration and breakdown of the heel and the only cure they could offer was to advise him to stay off
King‘s case also fails under the second prong of the test. The officers’ conduct was not grossly disproportionate to the need for action under the circumstances. There is no evidence in the record that the officers harbored ill-will toward King. King does not dispute that he resisted arrest after he had been told that he was under arrest and what the charge was, or that he was intoxicated and belligerent, or that the officers believed they had been summoned to intervene in a domestic altercation. All of these facts have been held relevant to the inquiry of whether an officer‘s conduct is grossly disproportionate to the need for action under the circumstances. Brown v. Glossip, 878 F.2d 871 (5th Cir.1989.) King‘s strongest argument is that he was in his own home, alone, with the door locked when the police arrived, and was entitled to be left alone unless the police had a warrant or legally adequate probable cause to disturb him. The problem with King‘s position is that the officers did not arbitrarily enter his property to disturb him. They answered a disturbance call, and were faced with what appeared to be a domestic fight. An angry, drunken woman and a child were locked out of their own residence in the middle of the night. The need for action under these circumstances was not clearly outweighed by the fact that King wanted to be left alone behind his locked door. There is no mention of this prong of the test in the District Court‘s written order or oral
The third prong, whether the action was inspired by malice, rather than carelessness or unwise excess of zeal, was addressed by the District Court in its oral opinion supporting its order. The Court apparently found a fact issue on this prong. It is unnecessary for us to reach the question of the correctness of that finding. Since we find that King fails to meet the first two prongs of the test, Appellants were entitled to summary judgment based on qualified immunity.
CONCLUSION
The District Court‘s Order denying the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Officers Chide and Gonzales is REVERSED.