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Topic: Excessive force cases from county jail

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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

Federal appeals court says excessive force lawsuit against Genesee County sheriff's deputies can move forward

Court of Appeals hearing on Davis v Pickell
Attorneys argue in front of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on whether or not Genesee County Sheriffs deputies are immune from allegations that they beat an inmate at the Genesee County Jail.
Print Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com By Gary Ridley | gridley@mlive.com
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on April 16, 2014 at 6:00 AM, updated April 16, 2014 at 7:41 AM


FLINT, MI -- A federal appeals court has refused to overturn a lower court's ruling that allows an excessive force lawsuit against four Genesee County Sheriff's deputies to move forward.

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, April 8, that the four deputies are not eligible for governmental immunity in a lawsuit filed by an inmate who claims he was beaten and pepper sprayed after being lodged at the Genesee County Jail for suspicion of drunken driving.

Fernando Davis filed the lawsuit in March 2011 claiming he was severely injured when multiple deputies allegedly beat him and sprayed him with pepper spray inside the jail after being transported there March 24, 2009, by the Michigan State Police.

The deputies claim that Davis was resisting them and they had to respond accordingly to obtain compliance, according to arguments made by their attorneys in the case.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell declined to comment on the allegations or the court's ruling, citing the pending litigation.

Attorney H. William Reising, who represents the deputies, said he does not plan to challenge the appeals court's ruling.

The appeals court refused to overturn a decision by Detroit U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson stating that jurors could rule in Davis' favor after watching security footage of the attack.

"The videotape tends to support (Davis') version of the events, or at least it can be viewed that way," Lawson wrote in his March 26, 2013, ruling on a summary disposition motion brought by the deputies.

Attorneys representing Davis and the deputies have differing views on what the low-quality, silent security video shows.

Davis' attorneys, from Pleasant Ridge-based Romano Law, claim that the video shows their client complying with the deputies' orders to remove his shoes after being placed in a single-inmate safety cell before he is beaten by the deputies.

But the deputies' attorneys, from the Plunkett Cooney law firm, say that the video shows Davis acting agitated and kicking a shoe at a deputy.

Lawson, in his ruling, said he didn't necessarily agree with either side's interpretation of the video.

"In fact, the video contradicts the accounts of both the plaintiff and the defendants, but the court finds that a jury reasonably could conclude upon viewing it that the deputies did engage in conscience-shocking conduct and committed an assault and battery on the plaintiff," Lawson wrote.

Lawson ruled that the shoe in question does appear to be moving very close to the floor before the deputies rush the cell, but that it does not appear to be "flying," as the deputies' suggest. He added that it is not apparent at all from the video that the shoe was thrown or kicked with any substantial force or that it struck anything.

He wrote that footage from an in-cell camera was ambiguous because it shows Davis making a movement with his leg, but it did not appear to be especially dramatic or forceful. Lawson ruled that the video could reasonably be interpreted to show either a "flip" or "drop" of the shoe just as well as a "kick."

"If you review the video, you will see a compliant detainee," Davis' attorney David Blake told the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals when the case was argued March 20.

Blake said that his client has had multiple surgeries to correct injuries from the incident and that he is undergoing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Davis is seeking money to cover his medical bills as well as punitive damages against the deputies.

Reising said he is confident in the legality of the deputies' actions and he is ready to take the case to trial.

Genesee County Commissioners met in a closed session Wednesday, April 9, to discuss the case. Reising declined to comment on the specifics of the discussion.

"I still stand by the premise the deputies acted accordingly," Reising said.

There is no trial date scheduled in the case.

The county is currently facing a dozen lawsuits stemming from allegations of excessive force at the jail and Flint city lockup.
Post Wed Apr 16, 2014 7:29 am 
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo

will this incident be on one of the flyrs supporting Dan Allen for Sheriff?
Post Thu Jun 23, 2016 7:08 pm 
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