Walker v. Jackson

952 F.Supp.2d 343

Donovan WALKER and Nancy Walker, Plaintiffs,

v.Dwain JACKSON, Timothy Horan, Richard McNeill, Richard McCormack, Matthew Wosny, Michael Golden, Timothy Hancock, Steven Dodd, and James Galvin, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 12–10267–JLT.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

July 8, 2013.

Garrett J. Lee, Denzil D. McKenzie, McKenzie & Associates, P.C., Boston, MA, for Plaintiffs.

Michelle K. Hinkley, Lisa Skehill Maki, City Of Boston Law Department, Boston, MA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

TAURO, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Plaintiffs Donovan and Nancy Walker initiated this suit against members of the Boston Police Department for alleged police misconduct. They claim that officers conducted an illegal search of their home and used excessive force against Mr. Walker. Before the court are eight separate motions to dismiss the Walkers' Third Amended Complaint [# 60]. For the reasons below, the motions are ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

II. BackgroundA. Factual Background¹

Early in the morning on February 15, 2011, the Boston Police Department (“BPD”) received several 911 calls from a man who identified himself as “Demetrius” and claimed to reside at 4 Burton Avenue in Roxbury, Massachusetts. During the first call, he indicated that he “needed a lot of police to report” because “someone is dead” and an unidentified individual had a gun. Later he said that “someone is in the hallway, under the porch, in the back yard, and on the first floor or upstairs” and that “there's someone on the first floor, the second floor and third floor and the roof.” During his third call, a State Police dispatcher notified the BPD dispatcher that “this is the fifth time he has called in. He's trying to tell me there's one person with a gun and somehow they're in the basement, the first floor, the second floor, and the third floor and the roof all at once.” The BPD dispatcher asked the caller for a description of the gunman. He responded that actually there were “twenty people all in black,” they had guns, and they intended to kill someone. ²

The dispatchers traced the calls to a Sylvester McDuffie at 4 Burton Street in Brighton, Massachusetts, who the BPD knew had made prior false reports. The BPD dispatched units to both the Brighton and Roxbury addresses. They found nothing of concern at McDuffie's address.³

The BPD arrived at the Roxbury address, where the Walkers resided, around 6:30 a.m.⁴ The BPD, including Defendant Officer Dwain Jackson, had some familiarity with Mr. Walker through his work for the Black Ministerial Alliance. Mr. Walker frequently contacted and collaborated with the BPD, elected officials, clergy members, and other municipal employees.⁵

Upon arrival, the BPD surrounded the Walkers' residence, a first-floor, two-and-a-half bedroom apartment in a multifamily structure. They knocked on the door and a window. Mr. Walker opened the door to Defendant Officers Jackson, Richard McCormack, Richard McNeill, and Matthew Wosny standing in the doorway. Defendant Officers Michael Golden, Timothy Hancock, and Steven Dodd, along with Defendant Sergeant Detective Timothy Horan, accompanied them. Officer McCormack informed Mr. Walker that they had received a 911 report of a dead body and gunman in the apartment. Mr. Walker denied the report.⁶

The officers insisted that they needed to search the apartment to confirm Mr. Walker's statement. Although the officers did not produce a warrant, Mr. Walker believed he had to allow the search. The officers agreed, at Mr. Walker's request, to limit the search to two officers, Officers McCormack and McNeill.⁷

Mrs. Walker accompanied Officers McCormack and McNeill through the apartment while Mr. Walker waited outside. Neither officer seemed concerned for his own or Mrs. Walker's safety, and neither officer drew his gun. Mrs. Walker had to remind them to check behind the closed shower curtain when they searched the bathroom. The officers found neither a body nor a shooter. ⁸

Meanwhile, Mr. Walker blocked further entry to the apartment.⁹ After Officers McCormack and McNeill had completed their search, Officer Jackson, waiting outside with the others, became agitated and impatient. He told Mr. Walker that Mr. Walker could not stop him from entering the apartment, and he stepped forward to confront him. Officer Jackson then thrust his forearm into Mr. Walker's chest, pushing him backward into a wall. He threw Mr. Walker to the ground, where Mr. Walker landed on a bicycle and injured his back. While the other BPD members watched, Officer Jackson stepped over Mr. Walker, kicked him in the side of the head, and entered the apartment.¹⁰ The remaining BPD members waiting outside joined Officers Jackson, McCormack, and McNeill in the apartment and proceeded to search the areas already searched and cleared by Officers McCormack and McNeill.¹¹

While lying on the ground, Mr. Walker yelled for the BPD members to leave immediately.¹² They ignored him and continued to search the apartment for approximately forty-five minutes.¹³ At some point during this search, Defendant Sergeant James Galvin arrived and assisted the other BPD members. None of the BPD members drew their weapons or seemed concerned for their safety during the search.¹⁴

Mrs. Walker tried to help her injured husband, but Sergeant Horan blocked her path and confined her to the living room. Several officers indicated their disbelief that Mr. Walker was injured, and two pulled on his arms.¹⁵ Mr. Walker continued to yell for them to leave, and he managed to call Boston Police Superintendent Daniel Linskey. When the BPD members heard Mr. Walker speaking with Superintendent Linskey, they immediately vacated the apartment. An ambulance then transported Mr. Walker to the hospital at approximately 7:30 a.m.¹⁶

That same evening, Sergeant Horan returned to the Walkers' residence with his supervisor. He admitted that Officer Jackson had acted inappropriately but said that “it would take a long time” for the Walkers to see any recovery if they tried to sue the BPD.¹⁷

Two days later, McDuffie was arrested for making false 911 calls and disturbing the peace.¹⁸

B. Procedural Background

The Walkers filed their initial complaint on February 10, 2012. They then filed amended complaints on February 13, 2012, and June 15, 2012. Each defendant filed a motion to dismiss the second amended complaint. The Walkers subsequently moved to file a third amended complaint, which this court allowed. The Third Amended Complaint [# 60] brings claims for: 1) unreasonable search under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Jackson; 2) aiding and abetting an unreasonable search under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, Dodd, McCormack, and McNeill; 3) use of excessive force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Jackson; 4) aiding and abetting excessive use of force under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendants Horan, Wosny, Golden, Hancock, and Dodd; 5) supervisory liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against Defendant Horan; 6) violation of the Massachusetts Civil Rights Act, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 12, § 11, against Defendant Jackson; 7) assault and battery, against Defendant Jackson; 8) civil trespass, against all defendants; 9) false imprisonment, against Defendant Horan; 10) invasion of privacy, against Defendant Jackson; and 11) emotional distress, against Defendant Jackson.

The defendants then filed eight separate motions to dismiss. Officer Jackson moves to dismiss Counts I (unreasonable search), VIII (civil trespass), and X (invasion of privacy). Sergeant Horan moves to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search), IV (aiding and abetting excessive use of force), V (supervisory liability), and VIII (civil trespass). Defendants McCormack and McNeill move to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search) and VIII (civil trespass). Defendants Wosny, Hancock, Dodd, and Golden move to dismiss Counts II (aiding and abetting unreasonable search), IV (aiding and abetting excessive use of force), and VIII (civil trespass). Defendant Galvin moves to dismiss Count VIII (civil trespass).

III. DiscussionA. Standard of Review

To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must include factual allegations that demonstrate a plausible claim for relief.¹⁹ The “court must ‘take all factual allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff.’ ” ²⁰ Nevertheless, the court need not accept the plaintiff's legal conclusions, and the plaintiff must provide more than “labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action.” ²¹

B. Defendants' Motions to Dismiss

The court addresses each challenged count in turn.

i. Count I: Violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Unreasonable Search

Officer Jackson argues that he conducted a legal search pursuant to the emergency aid exception to the warrant requirement. He also raises qualified immunity.

“It is a basic principle of Fourth Amendment law that searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable.” ²² But the warrant requirement has exceptions, including the emergency aid exception, which allows law enforcement officers to “enter a home without a warrant to render emergency assistance to an injured occupant or to protect an occupant from imminent injury.” ²³ An officer must have a reasonable basis, approximating probable cause, to believe an emergency exists and to associate that emergency with the place to be searched.²⁴ A reviewing court must consider the totality of circumstances facing the officer, including the “need for an on-the-spot judgment based on incomplete information and sometimes ambiguous facts bearing upon the potential for serious consequences.” ²⁵

The 911 calls reporting a gunman and dead body may have justified the initial search of the Walkers' apartment by Officers McCormack and McNeill. But the complaint, read in the light most...