Shaw v. Maryland

DAMEON SHAW, Plaintiff, v. STATE OF MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. ELH-18-782

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

September 16, 2019

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This case is rooted in the prosecution of plaintiff Dameon Shaw for two armed robberies that occurred in Baltimore City in 2011. In particular, one occurred on October 2, 2011, at a Price Value Supermarket, and the other occurred on October 11, 2011, at a 7 Eleven store. Shaw was convicted of both offenses following trials in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. However, in an unreported opinion issued by the Maryland Court of Special Appeals on March 19, 2015, the convictions were reversed. See Shaw v. State, No. 2038, Sept. Term 2013 (2015), cert. denied, 443 Md. 736 (2015). That court concluded that there was no probable cause for Shaw's arrest.¹

The appellate ruling spawned this civil rights action, filed by Shaw on March 16, 2018, against the State of Maryland (the "State"); the Baltimore City Police Department ("BPD"); "Baltimore City" (the "City")²; BPD Detective Brandon Echevarria; BPD Detective Dexter Nazareno; BPD Detective Theodore Anderson; Price Value Supermarket Corp. (the"Supermarket"); Dennis Rosario, a store manager for the Supermarket; as well as Jose Ramon; GC Hollins Ferry Corp. ("GC Hollins"); and Carlos Cruz, who are owners and/or operators of the Supermarket. ECF 1 (the "Complaint").³ Eschevarria, Nazareno, and Anderson (collectively, the "Officer Defendants") were sued in their personal and official capacities. Id. ¶ 4.

The Complaint contains seven counts, each lodged against all defendants. Plaintiff seeks damages, injunctive relief, attorneys' fees, and costs. Id. at 16.

Count One, titled "Federal Civil Rights Violation," is founded on "Title 42 U.S.C. [§§] 1983 and 1988; and by Title U.S.C. 245" [sic], and asserts violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments. Id. ¶¶ 64-75.⁴ In particular, plaintiff alleges that defendants' "wrongful conduct consists" of the following: "police misconduct, police brutality, false arrest, false imprisonment, improper supervision, use of unreasonable force, failure to take appropriate and reasonable steps which would reasonably have prevented the need to use force in the first place, failure to adequately assess the need to use force, failure to adequately assess the need for self-defense, and failure to carry out proper police procedure and protocol[.]" Id. ¶ 67.

Count Two, titled "Maryland Civil Rights," asserts violations of Articles 2, 19, 24, and 26 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights. Id. ¶¶ 76-89. Count Three, titled "Negligence," alleges "wrongful harm" to plaintiff from October 12, 2011, to January 2016, when he was released from incarceration. Id. ¶¶ 90-95. Count Four asserts a claim for "Negligent Hiring and Training." Id.¶¶ 96-102. Count Five alleges "Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress." Id. ¶¶ 103-107. In Count Six, plaintiff seeks recovery for "False Imprisonment and Arrest." Id. ¶¶ 108-110. And, Count Seven asserts a "Malicious Prosecution" claim. Id. ¶¶ 111-115.

Four motions to dismiss are now pending. The Officer Defendants have moved to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (ECF 40), supported by a memorandum of law. ECF 40-2 (collectively, "Officer Motion"). The BPD also moved to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (ECF 41), supported by a memorandum. ECF 41-1 (collectively, "BPD Motion"). The City has moved to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) (ECF 42), supported by a memorandum of law. ECF 42-1 (collectively, "City Motion"). And, the State has moved to dismiss (ECF 43) under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1), for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). It is supported by a memorandum of law. ECF 43-1 (collectively, "State Motion").

Plaintiff opposes the motions (ECF 50; ECF 51; ECF 52; ECF 53), and defendants have replied. ECF 54 (State); ECF 55 (City); ECF 56 (Officers); ECF 57 (BPD).

No hearing is necessary to resolve the motions. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I shall grant the Officer Motion (ECF 40), the BPD Motion (ECF 41), the City Motion (ECF 42), and the State Motion (ECF 43).

I. Factual Background⁵

At the relevant time, plaintiff was a "26-year-old man with a dark complexion approximately 5'7 and 140 pounds." ECF 1, ¶ 3. Echevarria, Nazareno, and Anderson "were employed as police officers/detectives" for BPD. Id. ¶ 4.

On October 2, 2011, the Supermarket, located on East Monument Street in Baltimore City, "was robbed at gunpoint by a man wearing a gray and black hooded sweatshirt[.]" Id. ¶ 18. Echevarria, who was assigned to the BPD's Robbery Unit, "responded to the store on October 4, 2011 and viewed a surveillance tape of the robbery[.]" Id. ¶ 19.

According to the Complaint, the surveillance footage from the day of the armed robbery showed a male suspect wearing a black mask and a light-colored glove, with red on the inside, on his right hand. Id. ¶¶ 25-27. The suspect brandished a gun in his right hand, approached the cashier in the store and fled the scene after he obtained money. Id. ¶¶ 25, 28.

Then, on October 11, 2011, a man wearing a black jacket, a mask, and a glove on his right hand entered the 7 Eleven store, located at 6001 Harford Road in Baltimore, and robbed the store at gunpoint. Id. ¶¶ 43, 45. The cashier of the 7 Eleven emptied the money into a black plastic bag, which the man carried in his left hand. Id. ¶¶ 45-46.

Plaintiff alleges that Echevarria and Anderson "conferred and determined the Price Value Supermarket and 7 Eleven Robbery had similar characteristics." Id. ¶ 47. Echevarria "prepared a[nd] distributed a wanted flyer based on a still image obtained from the 7 Eleven store's surveillance camera" and used "this description as the man who committed the Price Value Supermarket robbery as well"[.] Id. ¶ 48.

Nazareno was advised by a City Watch camera operator on October 11, 2011,⁶ that a person who matched the description of the individual who robbed the Supermarket "was walking near the 2400 Block of Monument Street, Baltimore City, Maryland." Id. ¶ 21. In particular, Nazareno was advised that the individual was a "black male" who was "5'8, 180 pounds [and] light skinned," and "wearing a black and gray sweatshirt.'" Id. ¶¶ 21, 22.

With his gun drawn, Nazareno approached Shaw in the 2400 Block of East Monument Street and questioned him for approximately five minutes. Id. ¶ 23. According to the Complaint, Nazareno detained Shaw "solely for walking while black in a neighborhood under heavy police surveillance." Id. ¶ 20. Shortly after Shaw was detained, Nazareno transported him to the BPD's Robbery Unit, where he "turned the Plaintiff over" to Echevarria. Id. ¶ 24.

Following Shaw's arrest, Rosario, a Supermarket employee, watched the surveillance video of the robbery. Id. ¶¶ 29, 39. Rosario confirmed that the camera in the store "does not take pictures of the faces of individuals detected by the surveillance cameras[.]" Id. ¶ 40. Plaintiff also alleges that Rosario "never gave a description of the robber to the police" on October 2, 2011, "was never interviewed at Police Headquarters", and "did not have the name of a suspect in mind" before plaintiff was arrested. Id. ¶¶ 31-33.

Rosario identified plaintiff in a photo array prepared by Echevarria, stating that plaintiff "'looked familiar.'" Id. ¶¶ 29-30, 34, 38. But, plaintiff maintains that the photo array prepared by Echevarria was "suggestive and designed to encourage" Rosario to identify plaintiff as the robber.Id. ¶ 35. According to plaintiff, Rosario knew that "Shaw did not fit the description of the robber." Id. ¶ 37.

The Circuit Court for Baltimore City heard motions to suppress. At the hearing, Echevarria testified that Rosario described the suspect as "a light completed [sic] man weighing approximately 180 pounds." Id. The defense motions were denied, and the case concerning the Supermarket robbery proceeded to a jury trial. Shaw "was convicted of the armed robbery" and related charges. Id. ¶ 41. He "was sentenced to 30 years in prison, the first 5 years without the possibility of parole[.]" Id.

Thereafter, Shaw elected a bench trial in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City with respect to the 7 Eleven robbery. Echevarria and Anderson testified that the surveillance video on the date of the armed robbery "depicted an African American male enter the store with a glove on his right hand, holding a semiautomatic handgun[.]" Id. ¶ 44. Shaw was convicted of the 7 Eleven robbery and sentenced to a concurrent term of 30 years in prison, the first five years without parole. Id. ¶ 51.

Following plaintiff's convictions, he timely appealed to the Maryland Court of Special Appeals. Id. ¶ 52. On March 19, 2015, in an unpublished opinion, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reversed plaintiff's convictions. Shaw v. State, No. 2038, Sept. Term 2013 (Mar. 19, 2015), cert. denied, 443 Md. 736 (2015); ECF 1 at 17-42.⁷

The opinion, on which Shaw relies, includes several noteworthy facts that plaintiff omitted from the Complaint.

For example, a video from the Supermarket, recorded two hours prior to the robbery, captured a person with the same "distinctive hooded sweatshirt" as the robber, with his face uncovered, wearing "a doo-Rag . . . ." ECF 1 at 21. On October 12, 2011, when appellant was apprehended, he was wearing the same black and gray hooded sweatshirt as seen in the video. Id. And, a black doo-rag was found in his possession. Id. In addition, during the robbery of the Supermarket, the assailant wore a "'ninja' type mask with just his eyes exposed, and one glove on his right hand, in which he held the handgun." Id. at 20.

The second robbery occurred on the evening of October 11, 2011, with the assailant wearing a mask and a black jacket. Id. at 22. The robber wore one glove on his right hand, which he used to brandish the gun. Id.

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