Lewis v. Horton

665 F.Supp.3d 801

Ingrid LEWIS v. Demetrius HORTON, et al.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 22-0195

United States District Court, W.D. Louisiana, Shreveport Division

Signed March 29, 2023

Kenneth Maurice Willis, Law Firm of Kenneth M. Willis, Baton Rouge, LA, Daryl K. Washington, Pro Hac Vice, Washington Law Firm, Dallas, TX, for Ingrid Lewis.

Alexander John Mijalis, Harold Ryan Bicknell, III, Lunn Irion Law Firm, Shreveport, LA, for American Alternative Insurance Corp.

Nichole Marie Buckle, Amy Gardner Day, Carmouche Bokenfohr et al., Shreveport, LA, for City of Shreveport, Deyonta Horton.

MEMORANDUM RULING

S. MAURICE HICKS, JR., DISTRICT JUDGE

Before the Court is a Motion for Partial Dismissal Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) (Record Document 14) filed by Defendants, the City of Shreveport ("the City") and Officer Deyonta Horton ("Officer Horton"). The City and Officer Horton seek partial dismissal of Plaintiff Ingrid Lewis's ("Lewis") First Amended Complaint, arguing she cannot maintain a claim against Officer Horton in his official capacity and has failed to set forth sufficient factual details to state a plausible Monell claim. See id. Lewis filed a response and Defendants replied. See Record Documents 16 & 21. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion for Partial Dismissal is GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART. The motion is GRANTED as to the official capacity claim against Officer Horton; GRANTED as to the Monell claim based on the City's alleged facially unconstitutional use of force policy; and DENIED as to the remaining Monell claims against the City.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Lewis filed the instant suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against Officer Horton, the City of Shreveport, and American Alternative Insurance Corporation seeking to recover damages arising from the alleged wrongful death of her son, Desmond Lewis. See Record Document 19 at ¶ 1. Desmond Lewis was killed during an incident involving Officer Horton on September 11, 2021. See id. at ¶¶ 9-11. Lewis describes the incident in her First Amended Complaint:

On September 11, 2021, Lewis was at his mother's residence when he decided to go to a Circle K store to purchase some items. According to Mrs. Ingrid, Lewis had in his possession, two cellular phones, and did not have any weapons on his person. In fact, Lewis was not known to own any guns. While at the Circle K store, at no time did Lewis create any disturbance nor did he harass anyone. No one from the Circle K store reported that Lewis was in possession of a gun or that Lewis was threatening to harm anyone.

For some unknown reason, Defendant Horton arrived at the Circle K store shortly before Lewis left. Lewis was not committing any penal offenses when Defendant Horton approached him. Upon information and belief, Defendant Horton harassed Lewis for no lawful reason. Not wanting any trouble, Lewis decided to immediately leave. For some unknown reason, Defendant Horton started to pursue Lewis. According to witnesses, Lewis was running away from Defendant Horton as if he were scared. After a very short pursuit, Defendant Horton tackled Lewis to the ground and was observed placing Lewis's arms behind his back. According to witnesses, Defendant Horton was straddled on top of Lewis who was faced down and unable to get up when Defendant Horton fired multiple shots at Lewis at close range, hitting Lewis in the back of his head and his left forearm. According to witnesses, who indicated they had a clear view of the incident, Lewis was not in possession of handgun nor did he make any gestures that would make it appear that he had a gun, when Defendant Horton shot Lewis execution style in the back of the head.

Defendant Horton's wrongful action resulted in Lewis's painful death after suffering for a period of time without any medical attention from Defendant Horton or any other Shreveport police officers who arrived on the scene.

Id.

Lewis asserts federal claims of excessive force, Monell claims, and a wrongful death state law claim under Louisiana Civil Code Article 2315. See id. at ¶ 1. The Monell claims are based on an alleged use of force policy that is facially unconstitutional; alleged failure to properly train, supervise, screen, discipline, transfer, counsel or otherwise control officers who are known, or who should have been known, to engage in the use of excessive force; and the City policymakers'¹ alleged failure to implement and/or enforce policies, practices, and procedures for the Shreveport Police Department ("SPD") that respected Desmond Lewis's constitutional rights. See id. at ¶ 2. Lewis asserts that the City and its policymakers' failure to implement the necessary policies and the implementation of facially unconstitutional policies deprived Desmond Lewis of his rights under the Constitution and caused him unwarranted and excruciating physical and mental anguish and eventually death. See id. Lewis further contends that Officer Horton consciously disregarded the rights of Desmond Lewis, knowing that the City's policymakers would ratify and/or approve of his actions. See id.

In her First Amended Complaint, Lewis references "other officer involved shootings" and "a large number of excessive force cases in a four-year period." Id. at ¶ 13. Specifically, she references the following incidents:

14. According to a news report, between 2019 and 2020, five incidents of alleged beatings and tasings by the department—including one that killed a man—resulted in charges for sixteen officers in the SPD. . . .

15. One afternoon in February 2019, Anthony Childs was walking down the street in Shreveport, Louisiana, when he was spotted by Shreveport Police officer Treveion Brooks ("Brooks"). Dashcam video from that day, first obtained by the Shreveport Times, shows Brooks make a U-turn and drive up to Childs, who ran into an open field. It was reported that Brooks was attempting to stop Childs, a 31-year-old Black man, because his shorts were sagging below his waistline, breaking a city ordinance that has since been repealed.

16. In the video, Brooks hops the curb and speeds toward Childs, nearly hitting him. Brooks got out of his patrol vehicle and took cover behind his car's trunk. It was alleged that Brooks believed Childs to be armed so he fired two shots. After a brief pause, three more shots were fired. More than 10 seconds pass, a period during which Brooks calls in the shooting. Then he says, "Hey, show me your hands," and four more shots are fired.

17. Childs died as a result of the incident. . . .

. . .

19. One of the more high-profile examples: the death of 44-year-old Black man Tommie McGlothen Jr. in April 2020. The police were called about McGlothen three times before he died. The first time, McGlothen's family called the Shreveport Police themselves to report another "episode." (In the past, he said, the family had sought help from police officers for McGlothen, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and depression.) The second time, McGlothen had gone missing from his home. The final time was after McGlothen allegedly got into an altercation with another man, according to a report in The Shreveport Times.

20. After police arrived and arrested him, McGlothen was transferred to a local hospital and died early in the morning on April 6, 2020. It was not until cellphone footage was released two months later that it was revealed McGlothen was punched in the head and face, kicked, tased, and struck with a baton by four officers during a struggle on the ground and while getting into a patrol car. . . . After reviewing the files, prosecutors said, there were "missing reports, statements, downloads, and other vital information that is essential to conduct a thorough and complete review," and they asked for anyone with video evidence to come forward.

21. The alleged blackout of information was no one-off thing, Councilwoman LeVette Fuller ("Fuller") said. Fuller pointed to a separate beating of two Black men by police in January 2020 that was only revealed to the public five months later.

22. In another incident, according to the District Attorney's Office, Shreveport Police officers tried to stop Chico Bell, 40, and Damon Robinson, 44, for seatbelt violations as they left a home in a car. After hitting their light and sirens, Bell and Robinson allegedly continued to drive, and a pursuit began. Eventually, a Caddo Parish Sheriff deputy joined the pursuit. When the car with Bell and Robinson came to a stop, the deputies' dashcam shows Bell and Robinson raised their hands and stuck them out the window, according to prosecutors. But Shreveport Police officers pulled Bell out of the car through the window, and punched, kicked and tased him, according to reports. Medical records show Bell suffered a broken orbital plate. Prosecutors concluded that the same footage caught another Shreveport officer punching Robinson multiple times through the car window while other officers held his hands. Robinson was taken to the ground and hit in the face with a flashlight while his hands were behind his back, shattering his nose.

23. In July 2020, Fuller, a city council member in Shreveport, submitted a formal request for a patterns or practice investigation to the Department of Justice after the City Council unanimously approved a resolution to do so. . . . The City was clearly aware that were problems within the SPD.

Id. at ¶¶ 14-23.

Again, the defense now moves for partial dismissal of Lewis's First Amended Complaint, specifically the official capacity claim against Officer Horton and the Monell claims against the City. See Record Document 14. Lewis filed a response, wherein she did not contest dismissal of the official capacity claim against Officer Horton. See Record Document 16. Defendants replied. See Record Document 21.

LAW AND ANALYSIS

As mentioned above, the City and Officer Horton seek partial dismissal of Horton's First Amended Complaint, more specifically the official capacity claim against Officer Horton and the Monell c...