Walker v. Jackson
Walker v. Jackson
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
I. Introduction
Plaintiffs Donovan and Nancy Walker initiated this suit against members of the Boston Police Department for alleged police misconduct. They claim that officers conducted an illegal search of their home and used excessive force against Mr. Walker. Before the court are eight separate motions to dismiss the Walkers’ Third Amended Complaint [# 60]. For the reasons below, the motions are ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
II. Background
A. Factual Background
Early in the morning on February 15, 2011, the Boston Police Department (“BPD”) received several 911 calls from a man who identified himself as “Demetrius” and claimed to reside at 4 Burton Avenue in Roxbury, Massachusetts. During the first call, he indicated that he “needed a lot of police to report” because “someone is dead” and an unidentified individual had a gun. Later he said that “someone is in the hallway, under the porch, in the back yard, and on the first floor or upstairs” and that “there’s someone on the first floor, the second floor and third floor and the roof.” During his third call, a State Police dispatcher notified the BPD dispatcher that “this is the fifth time he has called in. He’s trying to tell me there’s one person with a gun and somehow they’re in the basement, the first floor, the second floor, and the third floor and the roof all at once.” The BPD dispatcher asked the caller for a description of the gunman. He responded that actually there were “twenty people all in black,” they had guns, and they intended to kill someone.
The dispatchers traced the calls to a Sylvester McDuffie at 4 Burton Street in Brighton, Massachusetts, who the BPD knew had made prior false reports. The BPD dispatched units to both the Brighton and Roxbury addresses. They found nothing of concern at McDuffie’s address.
The BPD arrived at the Roxbury address, where the Walkers resided, around 6:30 a.m.
Upon arrival, the BPD surrounded the Walkers’ residence, a first-floor, two-and-a-half bedroom apartment in a multifamily structure. They knocked on the door and a window. Mr. Walker opened the door to Defendant Officers Jackson, Richard McCormack, Richard McNeill, and Matthew Wosny standing in the doorway. Defendant Officers Michael Golden, Timothy Hancock, and Steven Dodd, along with Defendant Sergeant Detective Timothy Horan, accompanied them. Officer McCormack informed Mr. Walker that they had received a 911 report of a dead body and gunman in the apartment. Mr. Walker denied the report.
The officers insisted that they needed to search the apartment to confirm Mr. Walker’s statement. Although the officers did not produce a warrant, Mr. Walker believed he had to allow the search. The officers agreed, at Mr. Walker’s request, to limit the search to two officers, Officers McCormack and McNeill.
Mrs. Walker accompanied Officers McCormack and McNeill through the apartment while Mr. Walker waited outside. Neither officer seemed concerned for his own or Mrs. Walker’s safety, and neither officer drew his gun. Mrs. Walker had to remind them to check behind the closed shower curtain when they searched the bathroom. The officers found neither a body nor a shooter.
Meanwhile, Mr. Walker blocked further entry to the apartment.
While lying on the ground, Mr. Walker yelled for the BPD members to leave immediately.
That same evening, Sergeant Horan returned to the Walkers’ residence with his supervisor. He admitted that Officer Jackson had acted inappropriately but said that “it would take a long time” for the Walkers to see any recovery if they tried to sue the BPD.
Two days later, McDuffie was arrested for making false 911 calls and disturbing the peace.
B. Procedural Background
The Walkers filed their initial complaint on February 10, 2012. They then filed amended complaints on February 13, 2012, and June 15, 2012. Each defendant filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint. The Walkers subsequently moved to file a third amended complaint, which this court allowed. The Third Amended Complaint [# 60] brings claims for: 1) unreasonable search under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Jackson; 2) aiding and abetting an unreasonable search under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, Dodd, McCormack, and McNeill; 3) use of excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Jackson; 4) aiding and abetting excessive use of force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, and Dodd; 5) supervisory liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Horan; 6) violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 11, against Defendant Jackson; 7) assault and battery, against Defendant Jackson; 8) civil trespass, against all defendants; 9) false imprisonment, against Defendant Horan; 10) invasion of privacy, against Defendant Jackson; and 11) emotional distress, against Defendant Jackson.
The defendants then filed eight separate motions to dismiss. Officer Jackson moves to dismiss Counts I (unreasonable search), VIII (civil trespass), and X (invasion of privacy). Sergeant Horan moves to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search), IV (aiding and abetting excessive use of force), V (supervisory liability), and VIII (civil trespass). Defendants McCormack and McNeill move to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search) and VIII (civil trespass). Defendants Wosny, Hancock, Dodd, and Golden move to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search), IV (aiding and abetting excessive use of force), and VIII (civil trespass). Defendant Galvin moves to dismiss Count VIII (civil trespass).
III. Discussion
A. Standard of Review
To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must include factual allegations that demonstrate a
B. Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss
The court addresses each challenged count in turn.
i. Count I: Violation of 4-2 U.S.C. § 1983, Unreasonable Search
Officer Jackson argues that he conducted a legal search pursuant to the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement. He also raises qualified immunity.
“It is a basic principle of Fourth Amendment law that searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable.”
The 911 calls reporting a gunman and dead body may have justified the initial search of the Walkers’ apartment by Officers McCormack and McNeill. But the complaint, read in the light most favorable to the Walkers, alleges that Officer Jackson conducted a second, separate search of the apartment. This search allegedly occurred after Officers McCormack and McNeill had completed their search and failed to find any evidence corroborating the 911 calls. Accepting as true that Officers McCormack and McNeill completed their search before Officer Jackson conducted his search, Officer Jackson had no reasonable basis to believe an emergency existed inside the Walkers’ apartment.
ii. Count II: Violation of Jp2 U.S.C.
§ 1983, Aiding and Abetting Unreasonable Search
The Walkers allege that Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, Dodd, McCormack, and McNeill violated their constitutional rights by failing to stop Officer Jackson from conducting an unreasonable search. Each of these defendants challenges the Walkers’ claim on two grounds. First, they argue that liability cannot attach because they had no reasonable opportunity to intervene to prevent Officer Jackson’s conduct. Second, they argue that they have qualified immunity because the right at issue was not clearly established at the ■ time of their alleged violation. Defendants claim that no case, either before the Supreme Court or in the First Circuit, has imposed liability for failure to intervene in an unreasonable residence search.
Qualified immunity protects government officials “from liability for civil damages insofar as their conduct does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.”
The district court has discretion to decide which qualified immunity question to address first.
“Liability under section 1983 may be imposed both for action that deprives a plaintiff of a constitutional right and for failure to act, when there is a duty to act, to prevent such a deprivation.”
The Walkers seek to hold the defendants liable for failing to intervene to prevent Officer Jackson’s allegedly unreasonable search. But the court has not found any cases holding officers liable in analogous circumstances. Indéed, the cases within the First Circuit deal almost exclusively with the failure to intervene in the use of excessive force.
It is plain, however, that the contours of the constitutional right were not sufficiently clear to give the defendants notice that their conduct in this case was unconstitutional. The court has not found any support for the proposition that allowing a fellow officer to enter a residence and participating in the subsequent search constitutes a claim for failure to intervene. Accordingly,, the court agrees that the defendants have qualified immunity as to Count II.
iii. Count IV: Violation of 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983, Aiding and Abetting Excessive Use of Force
Defendants Horan, Wosny, Hancock, Dodd, and Golden move to dismiss Count IV of the complaint. They argue that they did not have a realistic opportunity to intervene in Officer Jackson’s allegedly unlawful conduct and that they have qualified immunity.
“An officer who is present at the scene and who fails to take reasonable steps to protect the victim of another officer’s' use of excessive force can be held liable under section 1983 for his nonfeasanee.”
Additionally, it is well settled that an officer may be liable for another officer’s excessive use of force.
iv. Count V: Violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Supervisory Liability
The Walkers seek to hold Sergeant Horan liable for failing to prevent his subordinate, Officer Jackson, from ' violating their constitutional rights. Sergeant Horan argues that the complaint fails to affirmatively link his conduct to the alleged violations and lacks any allegation that he acted with reckless and callous indifference. Sergeant Horan also claims, without providing any reasons, that he has qualified immunity.
v. Count VIII: Civil Trespass
All nine defendants seek dismissal of the civil trespass claim. They argue that they entered the apartment legally under the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement.
To establish trespass, a plaintiff must prove “actual possession of the plaintiff, and an illegal entry by the defendant.”
vi. Count X: Invasion of Privacy
Officer Jackson seeks to dismiss Count X because the emergency aid exception justified his entry into the Walkers’ home.
Massachusetts recognizes a statutory right of privacy. “A person shall have a right against unreasonable, substantial or serious interference with his privacy.”
Jackson argues that the Walkers have failed to allege an unreasonable invasion of privacy. But his conclusion rests on his determination that he “was entirely justified in entering Plaintiffs’ residence because of the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement.”
IV. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, the defendants’ motions to dismiss are ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Count II is dismissed. All other counts remain. AN ORDER HAS ISSUED.
ORDER
For the reasons stated in the accompanying memorandum, this court hereby orders that:
1. Defendant Dodd’s Motion to Dismiss [# 63] is ALLOWED IN PART D and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to all other challenged counts.
2. Defendant Galvin’s Motion to Dismiss [# 65] is DENIED.
3. Defendant Golden’s Motion to Dismiss [# 67] is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to all other challenged counts.
4. Defendant Hancock’s Motion to Dismiss [# 69] is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to all other challenged counts.
5. Defendant Horan’s Partial Motion to Dismiss [# 71] is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to all other challenged counts.
6. Defendant Jackson’s Partial Motion to Dismiss [# 73] is DENIED.
7. Defendants McNeill’s and McCormack’s Motion to Dismiss [# 75] is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to Count VIII.
8. Defendant Wosny’s Motion to Dismiss [# 77] is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. The motion is ALLOWED as to Count II and DENIED as to all other challenged counts.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
. The court presents the facts, drawn from the Third Amended Complaint [# 60] [hereinafter Compl.], in the light most favorable to the Walkers.
. Compl. ¶¶ 17-19.
. Compl. ¶ 20.
. Compl. ¶ 21.
. Compl. ¶ 15.
. Compl. ¶¶ 21-23.
. Compl. ¶¶ 24-26.
. Compl. If 27.
. Compl. ¶ 26.
. Compl. ¶¶ 28-30.
. Compl. ¶¶ 31-32.
. Compl. ¶ 32.
. Compl. ¶ 36.
. Compl. ¶¶ 32-33.
. Compl. ¶¶ 34-35.
. Compl. ¶ 36.
. Compl. ¶ 37.
. Compl. ¶ 38.
. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-58, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007).
. Pettengill v. Curtis, 584 F.Supp.2d 348, 362 (D.Mass. 2008) (quoting Rodriguez-Ortiz v. Margo Caribe, Inc., 490 F.3d 92, 96 (1st Cir. 2007) (emphasis omitted)).
. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted).
. Brigham City, Utah v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398, 403, 126 S.Ct. 1943, 164 L.Ed.2d 650 (2006) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted); see United States v. Beaudoin, 362 F.3d 60, 65 (1st Cir. 2004).
. Brigham City, 547 U.S. at 403, 126 S.Ct. 1943 (citing Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 392, 98 S.Ct. 2408, 57 L.Ed.2d 290 (1978)); see Beaudoin, 362 F.3d at 66.
. Beaudoin, 362 F.3d at 66.
. United States v. Infante, 701 F.3d 386, 393 (1st Cir. 2012) (quoting United States v. Martins, 413 F.3d 139, 147 (1st Cir. 2005)).
. See Beaudoin, 362 F.3d at 69-70 (upholding warrantless search where defendant’s suspicious behavior, coupled with anonymous 911 call reporting dead body, provided reasonable basis to believe there was an emergency in motel room); Fontanez v. City of Worcester, No. 09-40203-FDS, 2012 WL 2829613, at *5 (D.Mass. July 9, 2012) (denying summary judgment where second search occurred after conclusion of hot pursuit of
. The court elaborates the qualified immunity standard in the next section.
. Brigham City, 547 U.S. at 403, 126 S.Ct. 1943 (internal citations and quotation marks omitted); Beaudoin, 362 F.3d at 65:
. See Sanchez v. Pereira-Castillo, 590 F.3d 31, 52-53 (1st Cir. 2009); Fontanez, 2012 WL 2829613, at *7 (citing Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 269-71 (1st Cir. 2009)).
. Although the Walkers label this count "aiding and abetting unreasonable search,” the parties all address it as a "failure to intervene” in an unreasonable search. The Walkers’ complaint does not seek to hold Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, Dodd, McCormack, or McNeill directly liable for their participation in the allegedly unconstitutional search.
. Pearson v. Callahan, 555 U.S. 223, 231, 129 S.Ct. 808, 172 L.Ed.2d 565 (2009) (quoting Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982)).
. Id. at 231-32, 129 S.Ct. 808 (quoting Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 227, 112 S.Ct. 534, 116 L.Ed.2d 589 (1991) (per curiam)).
. Maldonado, 568 F.3d at 268-69.
. Sanchez, 590 F.3d at 52-53.
. Maldonado, 568 F.3d at 269 (citing Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730, 741, 122 S.Ct. 2508, 153 L.Ed.2d 666 (2002)).
. Pearson, 555 U.S. at 236-37, 129 S.Ct. 808; Maldonado, 568 F.3d at 269-70.
. Pearson, 555 U.S. at 237, 129 S.Ct. 808.
. Clark v. Taylor, 710 F.2d 4, 9 (1st Cir. 1983).
. Id.
. See Wilson v. Town of Mendon, 294 F.3d 1, 6 (1st Cir. 2002) (failure to intervene in use of excessive force); Davis v. Rennie, 264 F.3d 86, 98 (1st Cir. 2001) (same); Martinez v. Colon, 54 F.3d 980, 985 (1st Cir. 1995) (same); Gaudreault v. Municipality of Salem, Mass., 923 F.2d 203, 207 n. 3 (1st Cir. 1990) (same); Santiago v. Keyes, 890 F.Supp.2d 149, 158 (D.Mass. 2012) (failure to intervene in unlawful arrest); Howe v. Town of N. Andover, 854 F.Supp.2d 131, 142 (D.Mass. 2012) (failure to intervene in use of excessive force); Farrah ex rel. Estate of Santana v. Gondella, 725 F.Supp.2d 238, 246 (D.Mass. 2010) (same); Hathaway v. Stone, 687 F.Supp. 708, 711-12 (D.Mass. 1988) (same).
. Anderson v. Branen, 17 F.3d 552, 557 (2d Cir. 1994) (emphasis added) (citations omitted); accord Boyd v. Benton Cnty., 374 F.3d 773, 780 (9th Cir. 2004); Randall v. Prince
. See, e.g., Smith v. Kenny, 678 F.Supp.2d 1093, 1111 (D.N.M. 2009) (collecting cases); Bolden v. Vill. of Monticello, 344 F.Supp.2d 407, 421 (S.D.N.Y. 2004) (failure to intervene in strip search); Fermaglich v. Indiana, No. IP-01-1859-T/K, 2004 WL 2750262, at *32 (S.D.Ind. Sept. 29, 2004) (collecting cases).
. Davis, 264 F.3d at 98 (quoting Gaudreault, 923 F.2d at 207 n. 3).
. Gaudreault, 923 F.2d at 207 n. 3; see Farrah ex rel. Estate of Santana, 725 F.Supp.2d at 246.
. See Wilson, 294 F.3d at 6; Davis, 264 F.3d at 98; Gaudreault, 923 F.2d at 207 n. 3; Clark v. Taylor, 710 F.2d 4, 9 (1st Cir. 1983); Farrah ex rel. Estate of Santana, 725 F.Supp.2d at 246; Hathaway, 687 F.Supp. at 712.
. Maldonado v. Fontanes, 568 F.3d 263, 269 (1st Cir. 2009).
. Gaudreault, 923 F.2d at 209.
. Grajales v. P.R. Ports Auth., 682 F.3d 40, 47 (1st Cir. 2012); Leavitt v. Corr. Med. Servs., Inc., 645 F.3d 484, 502 (1st Cir. 2011); Gutierrez-Rodriguez v. Cartagena, 882 F.2d 553, 562 (1st Cir. 1989).
. Whitfield v. Melendez-Rivera, 431 F.3d 1, 14 (1st Cir. 2005) (alteration in original) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted); see Hegarty v. Somerset Cnty., 53 F.3d 1367, 1379-80 (1st Cir. 1995); Petricca v. City of Gardner, 429 F.Supp.2d 216, 221-22 (D.Mass. 2006); see also Braddy v. Fla. Dep’t of Labor & Emp’t Sec., 133 F.3d 797, 802 (11th Cir. 1998); Otey v. Marshall, 121 F.3d 1150, 1155 (8th Cir. 1997).
. New Eng. Box Co. v. C & R Const. Co., 313 Mass. 696, 49 N.E.2d 121, 128 (1943).
. Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 214, § IB.
. Amato v. Dist. Attorney for Cape & Islands Dist., 80 Mass.App.Ct. 230, 952 N.E.2d 400, 409 (2011); see Ayash v. Dana-Farber Cancer Inst., 443 Mass. 367, 822 N.E.2d 667, 699 n. 16 (2005); Ellis v. Safety Ins. Co., 41 Mass. App.Ct. 630, 672 N.E.2d 979, 984 (1996).
. Schlesinger v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 409 Mass. 514, 567 N.E.2d
. See Tedeschi v. Reardon, 5 F.Supp.2d 40, 46 (D.Mass. 1998); Ellis, 672 N.E.2d at 984-85 (“Whether the conduct complained of in the plaintiffs' affidavits is unreasonable, as well as either serious or substantial, is a matter to be resolved by the trier of fact.”).
. Def. Jackson’s Mem. Supp. Partial Mot. to Dismiss 10 [# 74].
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Donovan WALKER and Nancy Walker v. Dwain JACKSON, Timothy Horan, Richard McNeill, Richard McCormack, Matthew Wosny, Michael Golden, Timothy Hancock, Steven Dodd, and James Galvin
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published