United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Southern Division
Michael D. Bradley, Plaintiff,
v.
Randolph A. Williams, et al., Defendants.
Mona
K. Majzoub U.S. Magistrate Judge
OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN
PART THE CITY OF DETROIT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
[41] AND GRANTING JOHN STOKES' AND GINO VILLAREAL'S
MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [42]
ARTHUR
J. TARNOW SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This
case arises from the arrest of Michael Bradley, a paraplegic
confined to a wheelchair, for disorderly conduct on March 2,
2015 at the Greektown Casino in Detroit, Michigan. Plaintiff,
Michael Bradley, brings this suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
for excessive force and false arrest. Plaintiff also brings
state law claims of assault and battery, gross negligence,
intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent
hiring, training and supervision. The City of Detroit Police
Department, Officer Randolph Williams, Officer Timothy Flake,
Officer Gary Posluszny, and Officer Terry Bonds have moved
for Summary Judgment [41]. Greektown Casino and Security
Supervisors John Stokes and Gino Villareal have also filed a
Motion for Summary Judgment [42].
Factual
Background
Plaintiff,
Michael Bradley, is paraplegic who is confined to a
wheelchair. He was arrested on March 2, 2015 at the Greektown
Casino in Detroit, Michigan for disorderly conduct. (Ex. B,
page ID 448, ticket # U-240-881-15). The incident was
captured on casino surveillance footage provided by
Defendants. (Ex. L).
At
around 12:00 a.m. on March 2, 2015, Bradley left the casino
gaming area to go to the food court located outside of the
casino entrance. When he saw that the food court was closed,
he went around the security ropes and attempted to reenter
the casino. (Ex. E, Bradley Dep. 61, page ID 461). Terrence
Dysard, a security guard at the entrance post, stopped
Bradley and asked for identification. (Id.) Bradley
refused, believing Dysard saw him exit. (Id.)
“[Dysard] ke[pt] watching me come outside the casino,
” Bradley testified. “He was staring at me,
that's why I don't understand how anything else
happened, because he [was] looking directly at me.”
(Id.). Bradley then requested to speak with a
security manager. (Ex. F, Bradley Dep. 65, page ID 464).
At
12:03 a.m. on March 2, 2015, Greektown Casino Security
Supervisors John Stokes and Gino Villareal arrived. (Ex. L,
00:03:36, 00:03:50). Stokes asked Bradley what the issue was,
and, according to Bradley, he told Stokes that Dysard
wouldn't let him enter the casino even though he had
already been inside. (Ex. F, Bradley Dep. 66-67, page ID
465-66). Stokes then proceeded to ask for Bradley's
identification. (Id. at 466). Bradley complied.
(Id.; Ex. L, 00:04:56).
The
video footage shows Bradley moving over to the side of the
entrance to speak with Stokes. (Ex. L, 00:05:20). When
Bradley repositions his wheelchair to face the gaming area,
the video shows Stokes stepping out in front of Bradley, as
if to block him from entering. (Ex. L, 00:05:49). Bradley
says that he began entering the gaming area because he
believed the supervisors cleared him. (Ex. F, Bradley Dep.
67, 76, page ID 466, 473). The supervisors claim they refused
to let Bradley enter the casino because he called the
original security guard a “fat mother fucker.”
(Ex. B, page ID 442; Ex. C, page ID 454).
Bradley
was quarreling with Stokes and Villareal as he wheeled
himself away from the gaming area towards the exit. (Ex. L,
00:06:15). When Bradley was almost completely out of the
gaming area, he turned his wheelchair around (Id. at
00:06:25). Bradley recounts that one of the managers
“stuck his foot down” in front of his wheelchair
to stop him from entering the gaming area. (Ex. F, Bradley
Dep. 68, page ID 467). The surveillance video reveals
Villareal putting his foot down in front of Bradley's
wheelchair. (Ex. L, 00:06:23). When Bradley threatened to
file a police report, the supervisors informed him that the
police were already on their way. (Id.) Officer
Williams testified that he received a phone call from Stokes
for a “disorderly person who refused to leave”
(Ex. H, Williams Dep. 7, page ID 475). Bradley insisted on
waiting for the officers' arrival. (Ex. F, Bradley Dep.
68, page ID 467).
When
Officers Randolph Williams and Timothy Flake arrived at the
casino around 12:24 a.m. they found Bradley “cussing
out the security staff at the entrance of the casino
floor.” (Ex. B 5, page ID 440). The officers explained
that Greektown wanted Bradley to leave the premises and then
asked him to leave. (Ex. B 6, page ID 441; Ex. G, Bradley
Dep. 76, page ID 473).
Officer
Flake told Bradley that “he needed to leave [for the
day] or he would be arrested.” (Ex. B 2, page ID 437,
439-40; Ex. J, Flake Dep. 26, page ID 481). Flake later
claimed that his de-escalation techniques were ineffective
and that Bradley “got louder with profanity and
threatening comments towards the police and security.”
(Ex. B 5, page ID 440). “He threatened to come back to
shoot me, my partner and the security staff, if we didn't
let him enter the casino.” (Ex. M, Flake Dep. 10, page
ID 489; Ex. B 5, page ID 440). The officers then initiated an
arrest for disorderly conduct. (Ex. B, page ID 440; Ex. L,
00:27:19-00:29:04).
Bradley
testified that he “pulled up” when the officers
grabbed his arms to handcuff him because he has a
“bullet in one arm” which restricted his
mobility. (Ex. K, Bradley Dep. 124-25, page ID 484-85). The
officers eventually managed to handcuff Bradley, and Officer
Williams then began wheeling him away from the podium. (Ex. B
2, page ID 445; Ex. M, Flake Dep. 10, page ID 489; Ex. L,
00:29:04).
Officers
Williams and Flake struggled to maneuver Bradley in his
wheelchair. At first, Flake grabbed Bradley's arms while
Williams tilted his wheelchair up, balancing it on its two
back wheels. After a few feet of movement, Flake released
Bradley's arms and held him by his shoulders. (Ex. L,
00:29:22-00:20:57). Flake grabbed Bradley by his hair several
times in an attempt to “try to control him with the use
of his dreadlocks.” (Ex. M, Flake Dep. 27, page ID 490;
Ex. P, Flake Dep. 27, page ID 498; Ex. L, 00:30:44). After
being held by or pushed by his shoulders, Bradley fell face
first onto the casino floor from his wheelchair.
(Id. at 00:33:01).
Bradley
remained on the casino floor for 40 minutes-from 12:33 a.m.
to 1:13 a.m.- until emergency medical personnel arrived on
the scene. (Compl. ¶ 33; Ex. L, 00:33:01-1:13:45). The
officers and casino employees made no attempt to assist
Bradley. According to the incident report filed by Williams,
“there was a need to safely remove Bradley from the
casino floor [and he] thought [waiting for EMS to arrive] was
the best method to achieve this goal.” (Ex. B 4, page
ID 439). Officer Williams testified that he was complying
with Bradley's requests to not be touched (Ex. O,
Williams Dep. 25, page ID 495). At 1:13 a.m., Bradley, still
handcuffed, was lifted onto the stretcher by Defendant
officers. (Ex. L, 1:13:45).
Procedural
History
Plaintiff
filed his complaint on March 3, 2017 [Dkt. #1]. On December
4, 2017, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to file his First
Amended Complaint [28]. The Court granted that motion on May
25, 2018 [36]. Discovery closed on November 30, 2018, and, on
December 31, 3018, the City of Detroit Defendants filed a
Motion for Summary Judgment [41]. The Greektown Casino
Defendants filed a Concurrence & Joinder to the City of
Detroit's motion on January 2, 2019 [42]. Those motions
are fully briefed and were the subject of a hearing on July
30, 2019.
Legal
Standard
“The
question on summary judgment is whether the moving party has
demonstrated that the evidence available to the court
establishes no genuine issue of material fact such that it is
entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.”
Dobrowski v. Jay Dee Contractors, Inc., 571 F.3d
551, 554 (6th Cir. 2009). The moving party has the burden of
establishing that there are no genuine issues of material
fact, which may be accomplished by demonstrating that the
nonmoving party lacks evidence to support an essential
element of its case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477
U.S. 317, 322 (1986). A genuine issue of material fact ...