Talley v. Anne Arundel Cnty.

NIKKO TALLEY, Plaintiff, v. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. RDB-21-347

United States District Court, D. Maryland

September 17, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Richard D. Bennett, United States District Judge

This case arises from the arrest and prosecution of Plaintiff Nikko Talley (“Talley, ” or “Plaintiff”) for the November 4, 2016 murder of Trayvon Briscoe. Plaintiff, now acquitted of all charges brings this action against Defendants Kelly M. Harding (“Detective Harding”), Jason R. DiPietro (“Detective DiPietro”), Timothy Altomare (“Altomare” or “Chief Altomare”), and Anne Arundel County, Maryland (the “County”) claiming that the Defendants violated his rights under the state and federal constitutions, and the common law of Maryland, by concealing exculpatory facts from judicial decisionmakers when applying for an arrest warrant and criminal charges. (Am. Compl., ECF No. 13 ¶¶ 2-3.) Plaintiff further asserts that Anne Arundel County has adopted a “policy or custom” of malicious prosecution, suppression of evidence, and coercive interrogation tactics. (Id. ¶¶ 130-80.)

Now pending are two Motions to Dismiss-one filed by the County and another by Detective Harding, Detective DiPietro, and Chief Altomare (collectively, the “Individual Defendants”). (ECF Nos. 14, 15.) The parties' submissions have been reviewed and no hearing is necessary. See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2021). For the reasons that follow, the Defendants' Motions to Dismiss are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. Specifically, the Motion to Dismiss filed by the Individual Defendants (ECF No. 15) is GRANTED as to Defendant Altomare. All claims against him are dismissed with prejudice and he will no longer be a party to this action. That Motion to Dismiss (ECF No. 15) is DENIED with respect to Defendants Harding and DiPietro, and Counts I-IV will proceed against them in their individual capacities. With respect to the Motion to Dismiss filed by the County (ECF No. 14), that motion is GRANTED as to Counts IV-VII, and they are dismissed with prejudice. That motion (ECF No. 14) is DENIED with respect to Count III. Accordingly, for the reasons that follow, Counts I through IV will proceed against Defendants Harding and DiPietro, and Count III will proceed against Defendant Anne Arundel County.

BACKGROUND

In ruling on a motion to dismiss, this Court “accept[s] as true all well-pleaded facts in a complaint and construe[s] them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Wikimedia Found. v. Nat'l Sec. Agency, 857 F.3d 193, 208 (4th Cir. 2017) (citing SD3, LLC v. Black &amp Decker (U.S.) Inc., 801 F.3d 412, 422 (4th Cir. 2015)). The Court may also consider certain sources outside the complaint that are properly deemed part of the pleadings, such as documents incorporated into the complaint by reference and matters of public record that are subject to judicial notice. Philips v. Pitt Cty. Mem'l Hosp., 572 F.3d 176, 180 (4th Cir. 2009); Sec'y of State for Defence v. Trimble Navigation Ltd., 484 F.3d 700, 705 (4th Cir. 2007). Except where otherwise indicated, the following facts are derived from Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, and accepted as true for the purpose of Defendants' Motions to Dismiss.

Plaintiff Nikko Talley is a resident of Maryland. (Am. Compl. ¶ 10.) Defendant Anne Arundel County is a municipal corporation organized under the Constitution of the State of Maryland. (Id. ¶ 11.) During the events at issue in this case, Defendant Timothy Altomare was the Anne Arundel County Chief of Police, and Defendants Kelly M. Harding, #1309, and Jason R. DiPietro, #1249, were police detectives employed by the Anne Arundel County Police Department. (Id. ¶¶ 11-14.) At all relevant times, the Individual Defendants were acting in their official capacities. (Id.)

I. Police Investigation of the Murder of Trayvon Briscoe

Plaintiff's criminal prosecution arose from the murder of Trayvon Dashawn Briscoe. (Id. ¶ 1.) On November 4, 2016, Talley, Briscoe, and mutual friends left a friend's house to visit “Daddy Pa's, ” a nearby corner store. (Id. ¶ 16.) As they left the store and walked along Levin Road, an African-American man approached the group and pulled a mask over his face. (Id. ¶ 17.) Plaintiff immediately recognized this man as Aaron Thomas (“Thomas”). (Id. ¶ 18.) Talley urged Briscoe to run and then fled into a nearby alleyway, but Briscoe remained where he was. (Id.) From the alley, Plaintiff watched as Thomas approached Briscoe, drew a gun, and held him at gunpoint. (Id. ¶ 19.) Briscoe punched Thomas, and Thomas fired “numerous times.” (Id.) Talley continued to run until he reached his girlfriend's home. (Id. ¶ 20.) Briscoe was pronounced dead at the scene. (Id. ¶ 21.)

Investigating officers conducted forensics and canvassed nearby homes for witnesses. (Id. ¶ 22.) One resident, William Barrett Jr. (“Barrett”), told police that Briscoe had fought a member of a local Bloods gang only a few days before his death. (Id. ¶ 24.) Barrett explained that the gang contained a member named “Aaron, ” who drove a white Nissan Altima-and recalled that he had seen the shooter get out of an identical vehicle shortly before the murder. (Id. ¶¶ 25, 26.) Barrett's insights were corroborated by several witnesses and “[m]ultiple video recordings” placing a white Nissan Altima in the vicinity of the shooting, at least one of which allegedly captured the Nissan proceeding to the crime scene. (Id. ¶¶ 23, 26.) According to the Amended Complaint, police concluded that this Nissan belonged to Thomas-the police report assembled by investigators details the Barrett interview, and identifies the white vehicle as “presumably Aaron Thomas' white Nissan Altima.” (Id. ¶ 26.; see also Investigative Report, ECF Nos. 18-5, 19-5, at 9-12.)

Moreover, approximately one week after his first interview, Barrett contacted Detective Carbonaro, claiming that Thomas was threatening him to stay silent about Briscoe's murder. (Am. Compl. ¶ 27.) Barrett claimed that Thomas had approached him one week after Briscoe's death, displaying a semi-automatic pistol and warning him to stop posting about Briscoe's death on social media. (Id. ¶ 28.) Thomas later drove to Barrett's residence in his white Nissan, “slowly rolling by” and pointing a finger at his home. (Id. ¶ 29.).

The police interviewed two additional witnesses during this investigation. One witness, Jordan Fischer (“Fischer”), did not see the shooting, but claimed to have seen a man wearing a grey sweatshirt, grey sweatpants, and a mask approach the scene just before the shooting- and flee through a nearby alley with an automatic pistol in his right hand. (Id. ¶ 35.)^[1] Another, Kyrom Burris (“Burris”), told the detectives that he was with Talley and Briscoe at the time of the murder. (Id. ¶ 34.) Burris claimed that an African American male in a black mask had approached the group, drawn a handgun, shot Briscoe multiple times, and fled in a white vehicle. (Id.). Burris also claimed Talley had run away from the scene before the shooting. (Id.) According to the Amended Complaint, “the detectives press[ed] Mr. Burris to claim that Plaintiff was the shooter, ” but “Mr. Burris refused to change his story.” (Id.).

II. Plaintiff's Arrest and Interrogation

According to a certified copy of the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court File, witness statements and video surveillance identified the suspect in the Briscoe shooting as “a black male subject wearing a grey shirt, grey pants, white shoes, and a black face mask.” (Circuit Ct. File, ECF Nos. 14-2, 15-2, at 005.) The day after the shooting, an investigator noticed a black male wearing the described clothing, and recognized him as Nikko Talley based on a prior interaction. (Id.) The investigators brought Talley in for an initial interview, attended by Detective DiPietro and Detective Harding. (Id.) During this interview, Talley told the Detectives he was present when Briscoe was killed. (Id.) He claimed to have been wearing “a light grey sweat shirt with white shoes and a black hat” on the night of the murder, but acknowledged that he was the person depicted in the police surveillance video. (Investigative Report 13.) Neither the Amended Complaint, the Circuit Court File, nor the Investigative Report suggest that Plaintiff identified Thomas as the killer during this interview.

After Talley's initial interview, the Detectives formally applied for criminal charges against him for Briscoe's murder, and against Thomas for firearm possession. (Am. Compl. ¶ 30.) The Detectives obtained arrest warrants for both Plaintiff and Thomas, and search warrants for their residences. (Id. ¶ 31.) The ensuing search of Thomas' home revealed a .357 Taurus revolver in his bedroom and a white Nissan Altima parked near his residence. (Id. ¶ 32.) Comparatively, officers did not find any firearms in Plaintiff's home. (Id. ¶ 33.) Talley was arrested on November 16, 2016. (Circuit Ct. File 002.) Thomas was neither interviewed nor charged in connection with Briscoe's murder. (Am. Compl. ¶ 41.)

According to the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff suffers from a mental disability that impacts his reading and verbal comprehension. (Id. ¶ 45-48.) On two previous occasions Detectives Harding and DiPietro had accommodated his disability by allowing his mother to attend police interviews and assist with his comprehension. (Id. ¶¶ 43-44, 50.) After Plaintiff's arrest in November 2016, the Detectives interviewed him in custody, and refused to allow his mother to assist him. (Id. ¶ 54). Plaintiff alleges that at this second interview, the Detectives exploited his disability by refusing to discuss why he had been arrested until he signed a written waiver of his Miranda rights. (Id. ¶ 55.) Before trial, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Suppress,...