JANET BOND ARTERTON, District Judge.
Plaintiff, incarcerated and
On December 18, 2012, the police went to 19 Maple Street in Shelton in response to a call for assistance. Plaintiff was arrested for disorderly conduct. As a result of this arrest, an order of protection was issued requiring Plaintiff to refrain from assaulting, threatening, harassing, following, interfering with or stalking his girlfriend, Ms. Overton.
On March 5, 2013, Plaintiff was arrested for an incident that occurred in February 2013, and he was charged with disorderly conduct and violation of the 2012 protective order. As a result of this arrest, a second protective order was issued on March 6, 2013. This order required Plaintiff to refrain from assaulting, threatening, harassing, following, interfering with or stalking Ms. Overton; to stay away from Ms. Overton's home, 19 Maple Street, Shelton; to not contact Ms. Overton in any manner; and to stay 100 yards away from Ms. Overton. Plaintiff was aware of and understood the terms and conditions of the 2013 protective order.
On March 19, 2013, Defendant observed Plaintiff traveling toward 19 Maple Street. Defendant verified that the no-contact protective order remained in effect and drove to an area where he could observe 19 Maple Street. Plaintiff parked his truck on a side street perpendicular to Maple Street within 100 yards of 19 Maple Street and Defendant saw Plaintiff leave his vehicle and approach 19 Maple Street. Plaintiff entered the basement to retrieve tools he had stored there.
Defendant and another police officer knocked at the door of 19 Maple Street and asked Ms. Overton if Plaintiff was at the residence. Ms. Overton permitted the officers to search her residence for Plaintiff. During the search, the officers learned that the basement was accessible only through a door in the backyard. Ms. Overton consented to a search of the basement.
When they reached the basement door, Defendant saw recent footprints in the snow leading to the basement steps and noted that the lock to the interior basement door was broken and the door was ajar. The basement was dark. Believing that Plaintiff was hiding in the basement, Defendant decided to utilize his police dog to search the basement for Plaintiff. Before sending the dog into the basement, Defendant made several announcements that he was a police officer, that there was a police dog present, and that the dog would be released if whoever was in the basement did not come out. No one responded to the announcements. The dog was released and located Plaintiff hiding under a tarp in the corner of the basement. Plaintiff states that Defendant ordered the dog to attack him after he had surrendered. Defendant contends that the dog bit Plaintiff while attempting to subdue him. Plaintiff was taken to the Shelton Police Department where emergency medical technicians treated the dog bite. Plaintiff's skin was broken in two places. The technicians dressed the wound and described the injuries in their report as "soft tissue swelling and bruising." Plaintiff did not request further medical treatment from Defendant. The technicians noted that Plaintiff had full range of motion in his arm and no circulation issues. No doctor has diagnosed any nerve damage resulting from the bite.
A motion for summary judgment may be granted only where there are no issues of material fact in dispute and the moving party is therefore entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Rule 56(a), Fed. R. Civ. P.;
When reviewing the record, the court resolves all ambiguities and draws all permissible factual inferences in favor of the party against whom summary judgment is sought.
In his amended complaint, Plaintiff asserts two claims against Defendant. First, he contends that Defendant conducted an illegal search and seizure because he lacked probable cause to enter the property at 19 Maple Street, Shelton, Connecticut. Second, he alleges that Defendant used excessive force against him by ordering his dog to bite Plaintiff after Plaintiff had surrendered.
Defendant first argues that Plaintiff lacks standing to challenge the search of the residence or basement. In addition, he contends that even if the search could be challenged, it was justified under an exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement.
To establish standing to challenge a search, a plaintiff must demonstrate that he had a "subjective expectation of privacy" in the place searched, and that his "expectation of privacy is one that society accepts as reasonable."
"`Wrongful presence' at the scene of a search," however, renders a person unable to object to the legality of that search.
In this case, Plaintiff conceded in his deposition that there was a no-contact protective order in place that required him to stay away from 19 Maple Street and to stay 100 yards away from Ms. Overton. (
Plaintiff contends that Defendant used excessive force against him by ordering his police dog to attack after Plaintiff had surrendered. The use of excessive force by police officers violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures.
Plaintiff has submitted his affidavit stating that the dog found him hiding under a tarp in the basement and was sitting near Plaintiff, whose arms were raised in the air "in a surrendered position" when "Officer Nugent gave his command for K-9 [J]ager to. . . `attack.'" (Pl.'s Aff. [Doc. # 50] ¶¶ 32, 37, 38, 43.) "At that point, K-9 [J]ager leapt and locked onto [Plaintiff's] right bicep." (
Defendant's citation to out-of-circuit cases relating to the use of police dogs with fleeing felons are unavailing.
Because there is a genuine issue of fact regarding the circumstances under which the order to attack was given, Defendant's motion for summary judgment is denied on this claim.
Plaintiff has filed two motions. In the first motion, entitled Motion for Order [Doc. # 61], he seeks a court order requiring the warden to permit him to listen to two CDs that he obtained in discovery. Plaintiff explains that he intends to file a supplemental memorandum in opposition to Defendant's motion for summary judgment, but can only do so after he listens to the CDs. The first CD contains Defendant's call to the dispatcher, which Plaintiff contends could be relevant to Defendant's hot pursuit claim. However, as the Court does not address the hot pursuit claim in considering the motion for summary judgment, further briefing to address this claim is not required. The second recording is a 911 call from December 2012. Plaintiff states that he made the call, but that his girlfriend claimed in her deposition that she made the call. While this information could bear on the girlfriend's credibility should she testify at a trial, it is not relevant to oppose Defendant's motion for summary judgment.
Moreover, the Court does not have jurisdiction to order the warden to permit Plaintiff to listen to the CDs, as Plaintiff has requested, because the warden is not a party to this action.
In his second motion [Doc. # 62], Plaintiff seeks leave to file a "Post Dated/Supplemental Local Rule 56(a)2 re[garding] Disputed Issues of Material Fact" after he gains access to a CD defense counsel was supposed to send to the warden. In support of the motion, Plaintiff notes that the Court previously extended the deadline for his opposition to Defendant's motion to summary judgment to twenty-one days after Defendant submits sends the CD to the warden. Although Plaintiff correctly cites the Court's previous order, his motion for leave to file a supplemental 56(a)2 Statement is denied as moot in light of the Court's denial of summary judgment on the excessive force claim—the only claim to which the CD would have been relevant.
Plaintiff also notes in his motion that he has been denied copies of deposition transcripts and cannot afford to purchase them. To the extent Plaintiff is requesting free copies of transcripts, that request is denied. Even if Plaintiff were proceeding
Plaintiff's Motion for Order
Although Defendant provided the required notice informing Plaintiff of his obligation to respond to the motion for summary judgment and the contents of a proper response, along with copies of Federal and Local Rule 56, Plaintiff did not file a proper Local Rule 56(a)2 Statement, but sought an extension of time to respond to the motion, and later submitted a supplemental exhibit to his memorandum, he has however not submitted a proper Local Rule 56(a)2 Statement. See D. Conn. L. Civ. R. 56(a)1 ("All material facts set forth in said statement will be deemed admitted unless controverted by the statement required to be served by the opposing party in accordance with Rule 56(a)2.").