Amos v. City of Chicago

1

JASON AMOS, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF CHICAGO, et al., Defendants.

No. 22 C 1564

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division

February 15, 2024

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Charles P. Kocoras United States District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. For the reasons that follow, the Motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Jason Amos brings this action against the City of Chicago and Defendant Police Officers Alejandro Velez, Derrick Martin and Gregory Smith (“Defendant Officers”). In his Complaint, Plaintiff alleges claims of unreasonable seizure false arrest, and malicious prosecution in connection with Plaintiff's arrest on December 19, 2020. Defendants move for summary judgment on all claims.

In resolving a motion for summary judgment, the Court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant. Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). The following facts are taken from the record and are undisputed unless otherwise noted.^[1]

On December 19, 2020, Plaintiff was a guest at the residence of Tasheika Ramsey (“T. Ramsey”), located at 18 West 114th Street in Chicago. Also present were T. Ramsey's two children, her sister, Gwendolyn Ramsey (“G Ramsey”), and her mother, Evelyn Ramsey (“E. Ramsey”). At some point that evening, Plaintiff and E. Ramsey went outside to sit on the front porch.

Meanwhile, Defendant Officers Velez, Martin, and Smith and non-defendant Officer Diniene Cheatom^[2], were on duty working as a tactical team in the area. At around 9:54 p.m., police dispatch informed the officers that a gunshot was detected by ShotSpotter.^[3] The officers were assigned to respond, and dispatch provided an address of 22 West 114th Street. The officers were in full uniform and riding in the same marked SUV. They arrived at the scene approximately two to three minutes after receiving the report from dispatch.

The house at 22 West 114th Street is directly to the left and just west of T. Ramsey's home at 18 West 114th Street and the houses are separated by a gangway. The house at 22 West 114th Street has been vacant since at least February 2018. T. Ramsey estimated that the center of the gangway's pathway is approximately four feet from the porch of her residence.

At the time dispatch contacted the officers, Plaintiff and E. Ramsey were on the porch. Plaintiff testified that he heard a “faint” noise, like a little “pow,” that did not sound like a gunshot, and E. Ramsey testified she did not hear anything. G. Ramsey testified that, while down in the basement, she heard a “loud sound” that was “almost like a pop,” though it did not sound like a gunshot. Dkt. # 37-6, at 68. T. Ramsey testified that she heard a gunshot, but it was not close to her house. Plaintiff and E. Ramsey were the only two out on the porch; neither recalled seeing anyone else in the area.

Upon arriving at the location provided by dispatch, the officers observed Plaintiff sitting on the porch steps of the Ramsey residence, and E. Ramsey standing next to him. The officers exited their vehicle and approached the porch. Given their proximity to the location dispatch provided and the fact that they were the only ones in the area, the officers wanted to ask Plaintiff and E. Ramsey if they saw anything, if they were okay, and if they heard anything before the gunshot.

What happened next is hotly disputed. According to Plaintiff, when the officers arrived, he stood up, walked the few feet to the front door of the residence, and entered through the front door. The officers pursued him and yanked the door open as he was trying to close it. Officer Martin entered and pushed Plaintiff farther into the house and, eventually, to the floor.

The Defendant Officers tell a much different story. Officers Velez, Martin, and Cheatom all testified that, as they exited their vehicle and approached the porch, they observed Plaintiff stand up, adjust an object in his waistband and “run” or “flee” into the house. They believed the object to be a gun. Plaintiff denies doing anything with his hands near his waist or having anything in his right hand at any point during the interaction.

Body worn camera footage from Officer Martin provides some clarity as to how the events unfolded, though not much. It is impossible to tell from the video whether Plaintiff adjusted anything in his waistband after standing up. It is clear, however, that Plaintiff was not “running” into the house. As Plaintiff was moving into the house, Officer Smith shouted at him to “come back.”

Officer Martin pursued Plaintiff, followed by the other officers. Officer Martin's body worn camera footage shows Plaintiff attempting to pull the security door closed behind him, but Martin manages to grab the door before it's pulled closed. He reaches for Plaintiff but is unable to grab him. At 2:10 into the Martin video, you can see Plaintiff's right hand flat on the door-there's nothing in his hand. At 2:11, Plaintiff is in the entryway of the house, has his hands up, and is facing Martin. His right hand is empty; he has a cell phone in his left hand. Martin attempts to detain Plaintiff by grabbing Plaintiff's hands, but at 2:12, Plaintiff turns away from the officers and continues moving farther into the house. At 2:14, Martin's right hand can be seen on Plaintiff's arm as Plaintiff continues to move farther into the house, either on his own or by force. The video goes dark for several seconds. At 2:28, you can see Plaintiff face down on the ground with his right arm extended into the space between pillows on the couch.

The view of Plaintiff's arm is then obstructed by the other officers. Officer Velez's body worn camera footage shows Officer Martin pulling Plaintiff's left arm behind Plaintiff's back-before Plaintiff ends up on the ground.

At around 2:18 into the Velez video, Plaintiff's right hand can be seen extended into the space between some pillows on the couch, and his left hand is on top, holding a cell phone.

Plaintiff claims Officer Martin pushed him farther into the residence; Officer Martin says he did not. The two are about the same size and weight. Plaintiff also claims that upon entering the house the officers had control of both Plaintiff's hands as the officers pushed him further into the house until they fell. Officer Martin also asserts that, as Plaintiff was fleeing from him, Plaintiff tripped over an object on the floor and fell. Officer Martin testified that he did not trip or fall onto the couch and did not touch Plaintiff besides their right hands overlapping. As Plaintiff was on the floor, Officer Velez assisted in attempting to gain control of Plaintiff's hands but was only able to grab Plaintiff's left hand.

According to Officer Martin, as Plaintiff was falling, he observed an object in Plaintiff's right hand, which was going towards the couch. He could not tell what the object was at that time. Officer Martin followed Plaintiff's right hand into the couch and recovered a firearm. Plaintiff vehemently denies ever possessing a gun and denies that his hand was ever in the couch. The video at this point is obscured; none of this can be seen in the footage. The firearm Martin reportedly recovered was a two toned semiautomatic F.I.E. Titan .25 Caliber handgun, small enough to fit inside a person's hand. The weapon was not loaded and did not contain a magazine.

When Plaintiff and the other officers come back into view, at 2:30 into the Martin video, Officer Martin says “I got it, I got it.” While Officers Velez and Smith work to secure Plaintiff, Officer Martin walks through the rooms to the front door and back to where Plaintiff is being handcuffed. Upon reentering the room, at 2:56, Martin leans over and puts his right hand on the arm of the couch and reaches towards one of the officers with his left hand. There is nothing in his left hand. There is no gun in the picture between the time Officer Martin said, “I got it,” and when he rejoined the officers at 2:56. Officer Martin testified that he immediately took precautions to make sure the firearm was safe by performing a visual and physical inspection of the gun but conceded that none of the body worn camera footage shows a gun.

Once Plaintiff was securely handcuffed, Officers Martin and Smith stood him up and escorted him out of the house. While being escorted out of the home, Plaintiff admitted he was a convicted felon. He was placed under arrest.

T. Ramsey testified she did not see a gun on Plaintiff at that time or at any point that night, she did not know him to carry a gun, she did not own a gun, and she would never allow a gun in her home. E. Ramsey testified she did not have a gun, had never seen T. Ramsey or G. Ramsey with a gun, and believes neither woman would leave a firearm in the house with children. G. Ramsey also testified that she did not own a gun and did not see any guns in the house that day.

The State's Attorney approved charges for one count of Unlawful Use of a Weapon by a Felon at 11:57 p.m. on December 19, 2020. On January 12, 2021, the case was presented to a grand jury and Plaintiff was indicted on two counts of armed habitual criminal, and three counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Plaintiff was on felony probation at the time of his arrest on December 19, 2020, and could not violate any criminal statutes or possess firearms. Officer Velez testified before the grand jury.

On August 30, 2021, a hearing was held on a motion to quash and suppress evidence. Officers Martin and Velez testified. The judge granted the motion, finding that the officers lacked sufficient probable cause to enter the Ramsey residence without a warrant and arrest Plaintiff.

Following the suppression of the handgun, Pl...