BROWN, Chief Judge.
In this lawsuit, plaintiff, Annette Brown, asserted claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution
On September 30, 2009, Monroe Police Officer Darren Canales responded to a complaint. His report played a material part in the ensuing drama and reads as follows:
Significantly, Carroll's girlfriend's name was Annette "Bryant," who resided with Carroll at the Colonial Manor Apartments at 5330 DeSiard Street. Annette "Bryant" was born on March 4, 1970. The affidavit of the apartment complex manager, Vicki Smith, was admitted into evidence and stated that she had managed the apartment complex since 1999 and was familiar with all the tenants. She stated that Annette "Bryant" was listed as the tenant of Apartment 41 (not #42), and that the electric meter for that unit was registered under Carroll's name. She stated that she did not know Annette Brown. Further, she had never been contacted by any law enforcement officer concerning Annette Bryant or Annette Brown or about the stabbing.
Officer Canales filed his report on September 30, 2009. The case was assigned to Detective Jeffery Dowdy whose report states the following:
Det. Dowdy's report identified the suspect as Annette "Brown" born on February 17, 1966, and residing at 5330 DeSiard Street, Apt. 42. The name and birth date
On October 2, 2009, after reviewing Officer Canales' report, Det. Dowdy conducted an identification search on the Think-Stream computer database. His search produced a list of 18 black females named "Annette Brown" who resided in the state of Louisiana. Plaintiff was the only one of the 18 women who resided in Ouachita Parish. According to Det. Dowdy, he either called or went to apartment 42 at the DeSiard address and no one was home. He did not go to the Highland Drive address where Officer. Canales reported the victim resided. The same day, October 2, 2009, Det. Dowdy sent the case to the district attorney.
In November 2009, the district attorney's office filed charges against plaintiff, "Annette Brown," then subsequently procured an arrest warrant. Ouachita Parish Sheriff Office ("OPSO") record clerk Deputy Lia Fontana testified that the warrant she received had the name, race, date of birth and the DeSiard address. Deputy Fontana checked the OPSO's record and found one record involving Annette Brown. Everything matched except the address which was 2612 Deloach Circle. Deputy Fontana inputted the 5330 DeSiard address. She stated that Annette Brown was never associated in the law enforcement database with the 5330 DeSiard Street address until Deputy Fontana entered it into the OPSO database when logging in the arrest warrant information in January 2010.
Detective Dowdy, however, testified that Annette Brown was connected to DeSiard address via the ThinkStream search he performed on October 2, 2009. He sent the file to the D.A. for an arrest warrant because the name, gender, race and the address matched. He did not make a copy of what he pulled up from the database.
The trial court had Detective Dowdy repeat his search at the time of trial in 2013. That search showed 222 Vernon, which was plaintiff's grandmother's address; 103 Cedar Creek, which was plaintiff's mother's address; 2612 Deloach; and finally, 5330 DeSiard. The source for these addresses was the OPSO. The trial court concluded that:
On January 25, 2010, Annette Brown was at work at The Oaks Nursing Home in West Monroe when Dep. David Germany of the OPSO came in with a warrant for her arrest. The arrest warrant named Annette Brown, 5330 DeSiard #42, and the charge was aggravated battery. Ms. Brown protested to Dep. Germany that he had the wrong person; she showed him her driver's license, which listed her address on Deloach Circle, in the Bernstein Park area and nowhere near DeSiard Street, and insisted that she knew nothing
After her release, she went to the Monroe Police Department, looked at the offense report and saw that she was charged with battering her alleged boyfriend, Lamar Carroll, outside a lounge on DeSiard Street on September 30, 2009. She assembled her documents and went to the district attorney's office. Ms. Brown was able to show that she has resided at 2612 Deloach Circle since 2007 and was never associated with the DeSiard Street address or Carroll, the complainant. Ms. Brown produced her driver's license and hospital records that showed she was released from E.A. Conway Hospital at approximately 4:00 p.m. on September 29, 2009, following an extended stay due to complications from gall bladder surgery. The stabbing occurred at approximately 1:00 a.m. on September 30, 2009. Within 48 hours of her arrest, the D.A.'s office confirmed Ms. Brown's account, dismissed the charge, and cancelled the warrant.
Ms. Brown made numerous requests to city and parish officials for reimbursement of her $1,255 bond fee but was unsuccessful.
A claim for negligent infliction of genuine and serious emotional distress is a viable claim in Louisiana. See, Moresi v. State Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, 567 So.2d 1081 (La.1990); see also, Barrino v. East Baton Rouge Parish School Bd., 96-1824 (La.App.1st Cir.06/20/97), 697 So.2d 27. Recovery for mental anguish or emotional distress is based on La. C.C. art. 2315, which provides in part that every act whatever of man that causes damage to another obliges him by whose fault it happened to repair it. Courts use the duty-risk analysis to determine recovery under article 2315. Barrino, 697 So.2d at 33. For liability to attach under the duty-risk analysis, the plaintiff must prove that the conduct in question was a cause-in-fact of the resulting harm or damages, the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, the requisite duty was breached by the defendant, and the risk of harm was within the scope of protection afforded by the duty breached. Hardy v. Bowie, 98-2821 (La.09/08/99), 744 So.2d 606.
Probable cause to arrest is an absolute defense to any claim against police officers for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment, or malicious prosecution. Harris v. Eckerd Corp., 35,135 (La.App.2d Cir.09/26/01), 796 So.2d 719. Police officers have probable cause to arrest an individual when the facts and circumstances within their knowledge and of which they have reasonably trustworthy information
A duty exists for any law enforcement agency to correctly identify the suspect prior to his arrest and incarceration. Hayes v. Kelly, 625 So.2d 628 (La.App. 3rd Cir. 1993), writs denied, 93-3026, 93-3048 (La.02/04/94), 633 So.2d 171, 580. In Hayes, supra, a police detective incorrectly identified the plaintiff as being the person named in an arrest warrant because he shared a similar nickname to that of the actual suspect. Plaintiff was subsequently charged and incarcerated. Plaintiff's original and subsequent arrest reports showed different addresses and different nicknames for the individuals sought. The court in Hayes held that the sheriff was negligent in his investigation. In the case sub judice, the MPD owed a duty to Ms. Brown to properly discern whether or not she was the correct suspect prior to transmitting a report to the district attorney's office that would lead to an arrest warrant.
The dissenting opinion of Justice Stevens, joined by Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall, in Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 155-6, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2700-1, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979), is instructive:
We also find the conclusion of the majority in Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. at 146, 99 S.Ct. at 2695-6, to be instructive:
As did the trial court, we believe that Officer Dowdy is a conscientious police officer operating under the strictest procedures; however, his one-day cursory investigation fell short of reasonableness or probable cause. As a result, Officer Dowdy breached the duty of care owed to plaintiff, Annette Brown. If he had but put forth a reasonable effort to find the true identity of the suspect, the plaintiff would not have been arrested.
First of all, Officer Dowdy should have proceeded with greater caution given that the name "Annette Brown" was provided by a victim who had already falsely identified his attacker, an accusation that led to a misdemeanor charge of filing a false report. Secondly, once informed of the name Annette Brown, Det. Dowdy's identification search on the ThinkStream computer database on October 2, 2009, failed to produce sufficient information to form the basis for probable cause to arrest. The evidence presented before this court shows that his search produced a list of 18 women named "Annette Brown" who resided in the state of Louisiana. Plaintiff was the only one of the 18 women who resided in Ouachita Parish. Apparently Det. Dowdy presumptively assumed that plaintiff was the suspect because she was from Monroe.
Additionally, based upon the testimony of Deputy Lia Fontana, Annette Brown was never associated in any law enforcement database with the 5330 DeSiard Street address until Deputy Fontana entered it into the OPSO database when logging in the arrest warrant information in January 2010. Prior to 2010, Annette Brown's address was 2612 Deloach Circle, Monroe, La. 71202, and not associated with the 5330 DeSiard Street, Apartment 41 address. Det. Dowdy testified that Ms. Brown was connected to this address via the ThinkStream search performed on October 2, 2009; this court concurs with the lower court's finding that his account of events was mistaken due to a lapse of time of more than three years.
This court finds that Det. Dowdy could have conducted additional measures to ensure a more accurate investigation. For instance, Officer Dowdy could have gone to the apartment complex where the incident took place and interviewed Vicki Smith, the Colonial Manor Apartment Manager. He would have easily discovered that no individual named Annette "Brown" resided in the complex. He would have also found that the inhabitant of 5330 DeSiard Street, Apartment 41 (not #42), was named Annette "Bryant," and that the utilities for that apartment unit were listed under Lamar Carroll's name. Additionally, a cross check on Lamar Carroll on the OPSO's computer database would have revealed the true identity of Carroll's girlfriend as being Annette "Bryant," not Annette "Brown."
This court concurs with plaintiff's argument that because Det. Dowdy's investigation was substandard, he failed to perform his duty to correctly identify the suspect prior to her arrest and incarceration and this was the cause-in-fact of the Ms. Brown's wrongful arrest at her place of employment in the presence of her co-workers. The law imposes a duty on law enforcement officers to correctly identify a suspect prior to arresting and jailing her specifically in instances such as these to prevent injuries of the exact nature that Ms. Brown suffered.
Special damages must be specially pled or the amount of the damages must have the capability of being determined with relative certainty. Smith v.
This court reverses the trial court's decision to deny Ms. Brown damages. We find that Ms. Brown presented sufficient evidence to prove that she wrongfully incurred a $1,255 fee to compensate a bail bondsman and a loss of $145 in wages as a result of her inability to work for two days. Ms. Brown was a lady of modest means who worked two jobs. She had no criminal record but is now in the criminal database. She was arrested at her place of employment and had to meet and explain her arrest to her employer.
We agree with Ms. Brown that she should be awarded general damages in the amount of $20,000 as a result of the mental suffering she experienced from being arrested at work in front of her co-workers, booked and incarcerated in the city jail.
For the foregoing reasons:
IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that there be judgment against the City of Monroe and in favor of plaintiff, Annette Brown, in the amount of $21,400. Cost as allowed by law are assessed to the City of Monroe.
