Van Luong v. House

669 F.Supp.3d 735

Thuan Van LUONG and Matthew Allen Raper, Plaintiffs, v. Garth L. HOUSE, Jackson Bruckner,and Kaleb Schultz, Defendants.

4:21-cv-00214

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division

Signed April 11, 2023

Gina Messamer, Brown & Bergmann, L.L.P., Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiffs.

Luke DeSmet, Michelle Mackel-Wiederanders, Des Moines City Attorney, Des Moines, IA, for Defendants.

ORDER

ROBERT W. PRATT, Judge

Before the Court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. ECF Nos. 50, 55. Both parties filed responses to the respective motions, ECF Nos. 63, 64, and replies, ECF Nos. 65, 66. Neither party requested oral argument, and the Court does not believe argument will substantially aid it in resolving the pending motions. The matter is fully submitted.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND¹

On June 1, 2020, Plaintiffs Thuan Luong and Matthew Raper and their friend Logan Villhauer² were at a bar in the East Village neighborhood of Des Moines four blocks west of the Iowa State Capitol Building where an organized protest against police violence and racial discrimination was taking place in the aftermath of George Floyd's brutal murder by a Minneapolis Police Department Officer. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 1; see also How George Floyd Died, and What Happened Next, N.Y. Times (July 29, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/article/george-floyd.html. Following the organized protest, hundreds of people peacefully marched approximately ten blocks west from the Capitol to the Des Moines Police Department (DMPD).³ ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 2. The crowd eventually made its way back to the Capitol where it was met by law enforcement officers who attempted to make them leave the Capitol grounds. Id. ¶ 3.

The events related to Plaintiffs' claims occurred late on June 1 and into the early hours of June 2, which marked the fourth consecutive night of peaceful protests and unplanned rioting in downtown Des Moines. ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 1. In the previous nights, law enforcement officers had various harmful objects thrown at them such as rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, empty tear gas canisters, pieces of concrete, signs, traffic cones, and bottles full of water, ice, bleach, and urine. Id. ¶ 2. The rioting also resulted in significant property damage to several buildings in the area, including this Court's own courthouse. Id. ¶ 4. In response, the Polk County Board of Supervisors held an emergency meeting and established a mandatory curfew on May 31 requiring all residents to remain at home between the hours of 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. unless they were working, traveling to or from work, experiencing a medical or family emergency, or participating in an official religious observance. Id. ¶¶ 8, 9; ECF No. 50-2 at 11-12. The Curfew Order "authorize[d] any peace officer employed thereby, when in full and distinctive uniform or displaying a badge or other insignia of authority, to arrest without warrant any person violating or attempting to violate this Curfew Order in that officer's presence." ECF No. 50-2 at 13.

On the night of June 1, Plaintiffs and Villhauer left their apartment for the East Village bar around 10 or 10:30 p.m. intending to protect the bar from potential rioters and to render first aid to protestors. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 8; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 58-60. The bar was not open for business that night, and none of the three friends had been working at the bar that night. ECF No. 50-2 at 529, 534, 536, 626, 686. The friends were dressed in long sleeves and jeans to protect themselves from chemical dispersants and were prepared with a first-aid kit, water bottles, paper towels, suckers, and spray bottles containing milk of magnesia and baking soda to counteract the effects of chemical dispersants. ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 13, 85, 86; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 57, 68, 69. None of them carried any dangerous items with them. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 14. All three were aware the Curfew Order was in effect that night. ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 62. They first walked around the East Village neighborhood and considered joining the protest at the DMPD before retreating to the closed bar after learning the area was unsafe. Id. ¶¶ 64, 65, 67, 71. Once safely at the bar, Plaintiff Luong posted a warning on social media to deter people from joining the protest because it seemed dangerous. Id. ¶ 66. They stayed inside the closed bar waiting, socializing, and watching the news and goings on outside the bar. Id. ¶ 70.

There was a protest taking place at the Capitol grounds a few blocks to the east. Id. ¶ 37. Defendant Sergeant Garth House and his team were ordered to the area around the Capitol. Id. ¶ 38. The Iowa State Patrol was about to give dispersal orders when Defendant House's team arrived. Id. ¶¶ 39, 92. Before the dispersal orders were read, Defendant House observed people in the crowd throwing objects at officers. Id. ¶ 40. Law enforcement officers read five dispersal orders at the Capitol between 11:31 p.m. and 11:43 p.m. Id. ¶ 48. A substantial number of people complied with the orders to disperse, several of whom traveled west. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 6; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 51, 93. Around 11:45 p.m., officers deployed tear gas to clear the crowd. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 7; ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 50. Defendant House's team began to move west along Locust Street. ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 94, 98. Officers in the area were telling people they passed to leave the area, and soon most of the protestors had left the Capitol grounds. Id. ¶¶ 95, 97.

Upon learning that dispersal orders had been given at the Capitol and tear gas deployed, Plaintiffs and Villhauer left the bar to render aid to people who had been exposed to tear gas at the Capitol. Id. ¶¶ 72-74. People who had been exposed to tear gas were leaving the Capitol and a small group of three or four people sat down outside the bar to rinse their eyes with water. Id. ¶ 77. Other people continued to walk past the bar on East 5th Street. Id. ¶¶ 78, 79. Plaintiffs and Villhauer walked south and stopped near the corner of East 5th Street and Locust Avenue—approximately half a block south of the bar and four blocks west of the Capitol—to help someone who had been exposed to tear gas. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 12; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 76, 80, 81. After about five minutes of helping the person rinse his eyes, Plaintiffs and Villhauer started to slowly make their way north back toward the bar walking by several people. ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 15, 19; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 81, 84, 86.

Meanwhile, Defendant House's team of fifteen officers walked west from the Capitol until they reached the corner of Locust and East 6th Street, at which point they loaded into two white, unmarked pickup trucks with officers sitting in the truck beds. Id. ¶¶ 96, 99-102; ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 23, 24. Defendants House and Jackson Bruckner were in the first truck while Defendant Kaleb Schultz was in the second. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 23. House directed his team to drive west toward the river and City Hall after receiving reports that a crowd was gathering at Locust and East 2nd Street. Id. ¶ 106, 107. House ordered the driver of the truck he was in to turn north onto East 5th Street where he observed ten to fifteen people along the street, including Plaintiffs and Villhauer walking northbound on the west sidewalk and other people near the bar. Id. ¶¶ 109-111, 113. One person near the three friends saw the vehicles and fled into an alley. Id. ¶ 112.

Defendant House testified in his deposition that it looked like Plaintiffs and Villhauer were coming from the protest at the Capitol because they had backpacks, looked sweaty,⁴ and were coming from the direction of the group of people who had left the Capitol. ECF No. 50-2 at 60. One of the officers reported to House that he thought the trio was carrying what looked like a Molotov cocktail. ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 120, 121. House ordered the officer who was driving the first truck to stop. Id. ¶ 122. Upon seeing the trucks stop, people on the street fled up and down the street, some entered the bar, some got into a car and drove away, and others—including Plaintiffs—continued walking with their hands up. Id. ¶¶ 124, 125, 129; ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 25, 26.

House got out and approached Plaintiffs and Villhauer believing they were carrying Molotov cocktails. ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 27; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 122, 123. As the officers approached, Plaintiffs and Villhauer continued walking toward the entrance of the bar with their hands up. ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 21, 25. Defendant House ordered the friends to "Drop it!" and "Get on the ground!" while aiming his rifle at them. ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 126; see also ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 27-29. Plaintiffs and Villhauer complied with House's commands and lied face down on the ground. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 30; ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 128. Other officers quickly surrounded the trio. Id. ¶ 127. House ordered the friends to put their hands behind their heads, and they complied. Id. ¶ 131. He then ordered officers to handcuff them, secure a perimeter around them, and clear the bar. Id. ¶¶ 132, 136, 137; ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 31, 34. After they were handcuffed, the officers questioned Plaintiffs and Villhauer about what they had with them. Id. ¶ 135. House picked up one of the spray bottles, sniffed it, and inquired about the contents of both bottles. ECF No. 63-1 ¶¶ 36, 38, 39; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 138-40. Villhauer responded one bottle contained milk of magnesia and water and the other contained baking soda and water. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 40; ECF No. 64-1 ¶¶ 138, 139. After smelling the contents of the bottles, House determined they did not contain an accelerant and therefore were not Molotov cocktails. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 41. The friends admitted to having first-aid supplies in their possession. Id. ¶ 141. Officers then helped them up and searched them. Id. ¶¶ 144, 145. House decided to arrest Plaintiffs and Villhauer. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 53; ECF No. 64-1 ¶ 146. He ordered officers to secure them and await transport. Id. ¶ 147; ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 49. Defendant Bruckner handcuffed Plaintiff Luong. ECF No. 63-1 ¶ 33. Defendants Bruckner and House then got back into the...