Hudkins v. City of India

BRIAN HUDKINS, ANDREW DAVIS, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF INDIANAPOLIS, T. MICHAEL WILSON, Defendants.

1:13-cv-01179-SEB-DML

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION

August 6, 2015

Order on Pending Motions

This cause is before the Court on three motions: Plaintiffs' objection to the Magistrate Judge's Order on Defendants' motion to quash deposition notice [Docket No. 74], filed on December 10, 2014 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(a); Defendants' Motion for Partial Summary Judgment [Docket No. 81], filed on January 12, 2015 pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56(a); and Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike Notice of Manual Filing [Docket No. 108], filed on July 21, 2015. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs' objection to the Magistrate Judge's Order is OVERRULED, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, and Plaintiffs' motion to strike is GRANTED.

Factual Background

1. The September 6, 2012 incident at the Indianapolis J.W. Marriott

This suit arises out of an unfortunate confrontation between two visitors to Indianapolis and an officer of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD). Plaintiff Brian Hudkins, the president of a company known as Gramophone, traveled to Indianapolis on September 5, 2012; his employee Andrew Davis arrived the next day, on September 6. Both mentraveled to Indianapolis in order to attend the Custom Electronics Design and Installation Association ("CEDIA") trade show, an annual event in which Gramophone regularly participated. Hudkins Dep. 21-22. Around noon on September 6, Davis checked into the J.W. Marriott hotel in downtown Indianapolis and then departed for the trade show, which was being held at the Indiana Convention Center nearby. Davis Dep. 24-25. Before leaving for the convention center, Davis unpacked a number of his belongings, including his laptop computer and his dress clothes, in his hotel room. Id. at 26. After the afternoon session of the convention, Hudkins and Davis met at the J.W. Marriott and went to dinner together at Indianapolis's Rathskeller restaurant; at dinner, Davis drank one full beer and had "several sips" of a second, while Hudkins drank one beer. Id. at 28-30.

Hudkins and Davis returned to the J.W. Marriott after dinner. When Davis arrived at what he knew to be his hotel room and attempted to use his key card, the door lock repeatedly flashed red and denied him access. Id. at 33. Davis heard someone in the room, and became alarmed that he was "walking in . . . on a theft." Id. Davis first flagged down a hotel employee—who told him (erroneously, Davis was sure) that he was on the wrong floor; he then went to the lobby to speak to a manager and called Hudkins to ask for his help in resolving the situation. Id. at 34. In the lobby, a hotel manager told Davis that the hotel had removed Davis's belongings from the room into which he had checked in earlier that day without notifying him. The manager acknowledged that Davis's concern was legitimate and that "something was wrong" with what had happened. Klingerman Dep. 37. Hudkins stood near Davis during the conversation, and according to both Davis and Hudkins, hotel staff members repeatedly "changed their stories" about how the mistake had occurred. Davis Dep. 35; Hudkins Dep. 43-44. Hudkins grew increasingly angry when he "realized that they [hotel staff] were appearing to be unwilling toresolve the situation by returning [Davis] to his room." Hudkins Dep. 43. He acknowledges that in talking to the lobby desk clerk, he used angry hand gestures, yelled, and uttered profanities. Id. at 45-46. Hotel security officers approached Hudkins and Davis warning that they would call the police unless the two men calmed down; both Hudkins and Davis then encouraged them to call the police. Hudkins Dep. 48; Davis. Dep. 41.

The J.W. Marriott's security staff did, in fact, call the police. Defendant T. Michael Wilson, an IMPD officer, arrived in the hotel lobby shortly thereafter. Security staff members told Officer Wilson that there had been an error in the assignment of rooms, while Davis told Officer Wilson that the hotel had "robbed" his room. Wilson Dep. 100. Hudkins approached Officer Wilson, who told him to quiet down; the two exchanged further words. Davis Dep. 45. A video taken by a hotel lobby security camera shows that approximately 31 seconds after arriving in the lobby and 16 seconds after his first words with Hudkins, Officer Wilson tackled Hudkins, taking him to the ground. Marriott Lobby Video 22:11:10-22:11:41.¹ The video shows that Hudkins, Davis, Officer Wilson, and a security officer had been standing in a circle for 10 to 15 seconds, when Officer Wilson rushed at Hudkins, spun Hudkins around with his hands held behind his back, and roughly pinned him to the ground in a spot slightly out of the camera's range. Id. at 22:11:26-22:11:41. Though the security video is without sound, it shows clearly that Hudkins was never physically aggressive towards Officer Wilson before Wilson subjugated him. Id. Hudkins and Davis both recount that Hudkins never resisted Officer Wilson while he was being restrained, and the video footage is consistent with that account. Davis testifies that Officer Wilson nonetheless repeatedly shouted "stop resisting!" to Hudkins as he was restraining him. Davis Dep. 46.

As Officer Wilson was taking Hudkins to the ground, Davis took out his cell phone, announced that he was going to record the confrontation, and then started to do so. See Davis Video.² Davis maintains that he never touched Officer Wilson or physically interfered with the arrest, and his video footage is consistent with that account. Id. Davis testifies, and the video shows, that Officer Wilson pointed his Taser in Davis's direction, directing him to stop his video and to sit down on the ground. Davis Video; Davis Dep. 51, 52. Davis complied, turning off his phone and sitting on the ground; Officer Wilson did not use his Taser on Davis as he had threatened to do. A video taken by a bystander shows Davis sitting with his legs crossed several feet away from Hudkins as Officer Wilson continued to restrain Hudkins. See Bystander Video.³ After he was finished restraining Hudkins, Officer Wilson arrested Davis as well, cuffing his hands behind his back. Id. Davis Dep. 53. Security footage from the J.W. Marriott driveway shows two police officers leading Hudkins and Wilson (both with their hands restrained behind their backs) toward a police squad car. Driveway Video 22:16:42 - 22:23:00.⁴ The video shows one of the officers throwing Hudkins to the ground near the squad car; a short time later, an officer—less roughly—placed Davis on the ground nearby, where both men remained for several minutes before being taken away. Id.

2. The incident's aftermath

After Hudkins and Davis were arrested and driven away from the J.W. Marriott hotel, Officer Wilson signed charging informations against both men. He averred that Hudkins had committed three misdemeanors: resisting law enforcement, public intoxication, and disorderlyconduct, Pls.' Ex. 15; and he accused Davis of disorderly conduct and public intoxication, Pls.' Ex. 16. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office accepted Officer Wilson's affidavits and formally charged the two men. Both appeared at an initial hearing the morning of September 7, 2012, and were released on their own recognizance thereafter. See Defs.' Exs. 6, 7 (Hudkins and Davis Chronological Case Summaries).

Because of the nature of the charges, Hudkins's and Davis's cases were assigned to the Marion Superior Criminal Court, Criminal Division, Room 12—commonly known as Courtroom 12 or Community Court. Id.; Keffer Aff. at ¶¶ 6-7. Hudkins and Davis jointly retained attorney Bradley Keffer, who entered an appearance on their behalf shortly after their initial hearings. Defs.' Ex. 6; Keffer Aff. at ¶¶ 1, 4, 5. On November 13, 2012, Hudkins and Davis traveled to Indianapolis from Maryland to attend a pretrial conference accompanied by attorney Keffer. At the conference, Deputy Prosecutor Kathy Infanger submitted documents entitled "Plea Agreement" to both men, and both Hudkins and Davis signed their names to the documents.

Hudkins's Plea Agreement provided that "the Defendant shall enter a plea of guilty to and provide a factual basis for" each of the three crimes with which Hudkins had been charged, which were listed in the Agreement. Defs.' Ex. 10 (Hudkins Plea Agmt.). The Agreement further provided that if Hudkins complied with a listed series of terms, the State would agree to dismiss all three counts prior to sentencing. The terms imposed on Hudkins as a condition of the deal, listed on a part of the form under the handwritten heading "Agmt on PC," were as follows: he was to stay away from the J.W. Marriott hotel for 60 days, he was to make a $500 donation to the IMPD's "Clothe a Child" campaign, and he was to avoid any further arrests for a period of 60 days. Id. Immediately above Hudkins's signature, the form contains the following statement: "I, Brian Hudkins [name filled in], understand that I am pleading guilty to the charge: ResistingLaw Enf[orcement] [charge filled in], and that my failure to comply in full with the conditions marked agove will result in an executed sentence of not less than 0 days and not more than 365 days to be served in the Marion County Jail or Department of Corrections." Id.

Davis's Plea Agreement followed a similar form, imposing on Davis three conditions for dismissal of the charges under the handwritten section heading "Agmt on PC." He, too, was required to stay away from the J.W. Marriott and avoid any arrest for a period of 60 days, and he was required to donate $300 to the Clothe-a-Child campaign (rather than Hudkins's $500). Defs.' Ex. 11 (Davis Plea Agmt.). Like Hudkins, Davis filled in, and signed his name immediately underneath, the following statement: "I, Andrew Davis [name...