Estate of Garcia Toribio v. City of Santa Rosa

381 F.Supp.3d 1179

The ESTATE OF Pablo GARCIA TORIBIO, et al., Plaintiffs,

v.CITY OF SANTA ROSA, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 18-cv-02151-YGR

United States District Court, N.D. California.

Signed April 4, 2019

Carl Edwin Douglas, Jamon Rahi Hicks, Douglas/Hicks Law, APC, Los Angeles, CA, Sandra Ruvalcaba Romero, Ventura, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Robert Lear Jackson, City of Santa Rosa Office of the City Attorney, Santa Rosa, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Dkt. No. 45

Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, United States District Court Judge Decedent Pablo Garcia Toribio ("Garcia") was shot and killed by an officer of the Santa Rosa Police Department ("SRPD") on August 5, 2017. Plaintiffs herein are Pablo Garcia Santos and Margarita Toribio Dominguez, the parents of decedent Pablo Garcia Toribio, as well as decedent's estate. The operative complaint in this matter alleges twelve causes of action against defendants SRPD Officers Vlahandreas, Badger, and McAllister; SRPD Chief of Police Hank Schreeder; and City of Santa Rosa.

Pending before the Court is defendants' motion for summary judgment, which came on regularly for hearing on February 26, 2019. (Dkt. No. 45.) At the hearing on this matter, plaintiffs declared that they were withdrawing their claims against all defendants except Officer Vlahandreas. (See Order Dismissing Claims Against Defendants City of Santa Rosa, Schreeder, Badger, and Mcallister, Dkt. No. 72.) Thus, the remaining claims, against Officer Vlahandreas only, are: wrongful death; negligence based upon wrongful death and failure to intercede; violation of California Civil Code section 52.1 (the Bane Act); and, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. section 1983, violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution based upon excessive force and interference with familial association.

Defendant argues the undisputed material facts demonstrate that he has no liability on any claim. Defendant contends the evidence does not establish that he used objectively unreasonable force in responding to the incident at issue and, as a matter of law, qualified immunity and California statutory immunities would bar the claims.

Having carefully considered the papers submitted, the arguments of the parties at the hearing, the admissible evidence,¹ and the pleadings in this action, and for the reasons set forth below, the Court ORDERS that the motion is GRANTED .

I. SUMMARY OF FACTS

Unless otherwise noted, the facts stated below are undisputed. The Court recounts the events in some detail but notes that the interaction between decedent and the officers here unfolded in a matter of about ten minutes from the time they arrived in response to the 911 call to the time Officer Vlahandreas fired his gun.

At 5:45 a.m. on August 5, 2017, Augustin Salgado Chavez ("Salgado") was awakened by his roommate, decedent Garcia, who was in their shared bedroom shouting obscenities, naked, and acting erratically. (Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Facts and evidence cited therein [hereinafter "Def. Fact"] 3; Plaintiffs' Additional Facts, Dkt. No. 69, and evidence cited therein [hereinafter "Pl. Fact"] 2.) Garcia was wielding a 12-inch long kitchen knife with an 8-inch long blade. Garcia jumped onto Salgado's bed and blocked Salgado from leaving through the bedroom door, screaming, "You're not getting out, asshole." (Def. Facts 3, 4.) Garcia slashed at Salgado with the knife twice. Salgado avoided being cut in his mid-section by arching his body away, but suffered a cut on his right leg, just above the knee.² (Def. Facts 4, 5.) From Garcia's statements and actions, it appeared to Salgado that Garcia was hallucinating about a chicken running around in the room. (Jackson Decl., Exh. A at 32:3-17.)

Salgado jumped out the bedroom window, circled around the house, knocked on the bedroom window of the home's owner, Ventura Hernandez, telling him that Garcia was acting "really crazy" and had cut him with a knife. (Def. Fact 6.) A few minutes later, Hernandez called 911 and told the dispatcher, in Spanish:

I need for [police] to come fast here, because there is a guy who is acting all crazy here. I don't know if he drinks something or something ... he was in his room. He was taking a nap there. And, also, he has a knife.

(Def. Fact 7.) When asked what the man did with the knife, Hernandez replied, "yes, he did threaten someone." (Id. ) Salgado then got on the phone line and, speaking through an interpreter and crying, told the 911 operator "he's my roommate and he was acting crazy." (Id. )

At 5:59:55 a.m., the 911 dispatcher broadcast a "415" (fighting/disturbance of the peace) and notified officers of "a male requesting police quickly" who "says there's a subject here acting crazy." (Def. Fact 8.) At 6:02:43 a.m., the 911 dispatcher broadcast:

Units responding to West Steele Lane. Apparently the subject rents a room there. He was sleeping, woke up acting strange, and RP heard somebody saying something about a knife, but the RP has not seen the knife for himself.

(Id. )

At approximately 6:00 a.m., Officers Badger and Turner arrived at the home, noticed the front door was wide open, and waited for backup to arrive. (Def. Fact 9.) At approximately 6:06 a.m., Officers Turner and Badger walked to the front door, knocked and announced themselves, and entered through the open front door. (Def. Fact 10.) Hernandez came to the door and spoke to the officers in Spanish, which they were unable to understand. Defendant Officer Vlahandreas, who could speak and understand some Spanish, arrived shortly thereafter and spoke in Spanish to Hernandez. (Id. ) The three officers walked into the entryway of the home and encountered Salgado, who they observed was still talking to the 911 dispatcher on the telephone, visibly distraught, crying, and bleeding. (Def. Fact 11.) Salgado also spoke to the officers in Spanish. Officer Vlahandreas was not able to understand all that Salgado said, but understood Salgado was indicating he had been cut. The officers observed a bleeding cut on Salgado's leg, although the severity of the cut is disputed by the parties. (Id. )

At 6:07 a.m., Officer Badger radioed dispatch to send a medical unit to treat Salgado. (Def. Fact 12.) Hernandez and Salgado indicated to the officers that the man with the knife was in a bedroom. (Id. ) Officer Badger tried the door to the bedroom, found the door locked, and requested the keys from Hernandez. They unlocked the bedroom door, and Officers Turner and Badger announced themselves as "Santa Rosa Police," while opening it. With their flashlights they peered into the dark bedroom. They observed overturned beds and mattresses, and did not see Garcia initially. (Id. )

At 6:09 a.m., Officer Badger directed Officer Vlahandreas to remain inside while he and Officer Turner went to the back of the house to see if Garcia might have escaped through the bedroom window to the back yard.³ Officer Vlahandreas remained in the home and spoke more to Hernandez and Salgado in Spanish in the living room down the hallway from the bedroom. Officer Vlahandreas concluded that Salgado had been cut by a knife, which could be charged as assault with a deadly weapon, a felony. (Def. Fact 13.)

Officer Vlahandreas suddenly heard a sound come from the bedroom the officers previously had checked. He went back to the doorway of the bedroom, announced himself "policia," looked inside, and radioed to Officer Turner to return from the backyard. (Def. Fact 14.) Officers Turner and Badger returned, and Officer Turner escorted Salgado outside to receive medical attention for his cut. Officer Badger joined Officer Vlahandreas at the doorway to the bedroom.⁴ (Def. Fact 15.)

At 6:11 a.m., Officer Vlahandreas discovered Garcia, naked and lying beneath an overturned mattress in the bedroom. Officers Vlahandreas and Badger both announced themselves in Spanish as "policia" and ordered Garcia to "come out now" from beneath the mattress several times, but Garcia did not comply.⁵ (Def. Fact 16.) Garcia remained in the room and in his unclothed state.

At 6:12 a.m., the officers saw that Garcia had a 12-inch kitchen knife in his hand. Officer Badger told Vlahandreas to "get your Taser out." Officer Vlahandreas radioed to dispatch, "subject has a knife." (Id. ) The officers commanded Garcia to drop the knife, "manos arriba" ("hands up," in Spanish), "put the knife on the ground," and "put the knife down and let me see your hands," while Vlahandreas pointed the Taser at him. (Def. Fact 20, Declaration of Jeffrey Badger, Exh. I [Body Worn Camera Video ("Badger BWC") ] at 6:12.) Garcia did not comply or respond. (Def. Fact 16, 19.) He was silent as the officers gave their orders. (Badger BWC 6:12.)

At 6:13 a.m., Garcia placed the knife on his stomach as he lay with his back on the floor. (Def. Fact 21.) Officer Badger stated "it's on his stomach" to Officer Vlahandreas. (Badger BWC 6:13.) The officers continued to repeat in Spanish and English, "policia," "manos arriba," "let me see your hands," "put the knife down." (Def. Fact 21.) Garcia began mumbling and groaning. (Badger BWC at 6:13.)

At 6:14 a.m., the officers continued to command Garcia to put the knife down and "manos arriba." (Def. Fact 21.) Officer Badger stated, "he's grabbing it." (Badger BWC at 6:14.) The officers continued to state "put the knife down" and "manos arriba." (Id. ) The officers were inside the doorway of the bedroom as they spoke to him. (Id. ) Suddenly, Garcia sat up, holding the knife and muttering, and the officers backed away from him and toward the doorway. (Id. ) Officer Vlahandreas spoke to Garcia in Spanish, "Señor, está bien" ("Sir, it's okay.")⁶ Garcia did not put the knife down. Officer Vlahandreas aimed at Garcia and discharged his Taser. (Def. Fact 21, 22.) The officers continued to command Garcia to "put it down now." (Badger BWC at 6:14.) Still, Garcia continued to hold onto the knife. (Def. Fact 23.) The officers backed away from the...