Click Back Button to Return to Publication
DOUGLAS A. TURPIN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JAMES E. MUELLER, Defendant-Appellee.
No. 00-4585
UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
37 Fed. Appx. 151; 2002 U.S.
App. Lexis 9766
May 17, 2002, Filed
NOTICE:
NOT RECOMMENDED FOR
FULL-TEXT PUBLICATION. SIXTH CIRCUIT RULE 28(g) LIMITS CITATION TO SPECIFIC
SITUATIONS. PLEASE SEE RULE 28(g) BEFORE CITING IN A PROCEEDING IN A COURT IN
THE SIXTH CIRCUIT. IF CITED, A COPY MUST BE SERVED ON OTHER PARTIES AND THE
COURT. THIS NOTICE IS TO BE PROMINENTLY DISPLAYED IF THIS DECISION IS
REPRODUCED.
PER
CURIAM. In this section 1983 action, Plaintiff Douglas A. Turpin appeals
summary judgment [*152] entered in favor of defendant James E. Mueller in which
Turpin alleges that Mueller violated his Fourth Amendment rights by using
excessive force when arresting him. For the following reasons, we AFFIRM the
district court.
I.
The following facts are
undisputed by the parties. On November 18, 1996, Turpin and his girlfriend,
Teresa Fields, went to Frank Cox's home for the purpose of executing a false
robbery, supposedly with Cox's full consent. While at Cox's home, they took a
number of guns, video games, and compact discs, and left in Cox's truck. Soon
thereafter, a sheriff in a patrol car started chasing the truck. Turpin pulled
the truck to the side of the road, and began running from the sheriff. The
sheriff quickly caught Fields, but Turpin escaped on foot.
Turpin successfully eluded
police officers, search dogs, and a police helicopter until the next day. The
next morning, Turpin spotted a police helicopter circling overhead. He started
running away from the helicopter towards a bridge.
The following facts are in dispute. Turpin
alleges that while he was running towards the bridge, suddenly several police
officers ambushed him, and he immediately surrendered. Turpin claims that, as
he was attempting to surrender, deputy sheriff James E. Mueller shot him twice,
once in the face, and once in the right arm. He claims that Mueller did not
identify himself as a police officer, and did not give a warning before
shooting him. He submits that Mueller was positioned such that Turpin could not
see that he was wearing a police uniform. Turpin also alleges that after he was
wounded, Mueller shot him a third time.
Mueller tells a different story.
Mueller says that he was hiding behind a tree, dressed in his sheriff uniform,
when he saw Turpin running towards the bridge. As Turpin approached the tree,
Mueller emerged from behind the tree, and repeatedly ordered plaintiff, by
name, while facing him, to stop and fall to the ground. Turpin did not comply,
but raised his hand to the middle of his body, and shot at Mueller with a
shotgun.
In response, Mueller fired two shots at
Turpin. Turpin's arm continued up and out toward the center of his body, and
Mueller fired the third shot. Then
Turpin fell to the ground and Mueller ran to his side where he saw a
small handgun, a Springfield Armory .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. Turpin
does not claim that the gun was not his. Mueller immediately called for medical
attention. After Turpin was arrested, officers removed a second hand gun from
Turpin's pocket, a Colt Mustang IV .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol.
On
January 16, 1997, the State of Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Identification and
Investigation conducted several post-shooting tests on the two principal
weapons found on, and near, Turpin. On March 19, Turpin pleaded guilty to
felonious assault with a gun. He also pleaded guilty to charges of robbery and
grand theft of a motor vehicle.
As a result of the incident
described above, Turpin filed a section 1983 action against Mueller, in his
individual capacity, claiming that he used excessive force in apprehending him
in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable
seizures. Mueller filed a motion for summary judgment. The magistrate
judge's report and recommendation advised that Mueller's motion for summary
judgment be denied. The district court reviewed the magistrate judge's report
and recommendation and Mueller's motion [*153] for summary judgment, and
decided to grant Mueller's motion.
II.
On
an appeal from a motion for summary judgment, this court reviews the district
court's opinion de novo, reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to
the non-moving party. Grand Rapids,
Inc. v. Lakian, 188 F.3d 401, 405 (6th Cir. 1999). We decide whether there
exists a "genuine issue as to any material fact and [whether] the moving
party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c).
A "genuine issue of material fact" is a fact which, if proven at
trial, could lead a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the non-moving
party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc,
477 U.S. 242, 248, 91 L. Ed. 2d 202, 106 S. Ct. 2505 (1986). If there is a
"genuine issue of material fact" then summary judgment should be
denied. Id. "Once the moving party has presented evidence sufficient to
support a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party is not entitled to
trial merely on the basis of allegations; significant probative evidence must
be presented to support the complaint." Goins v. Clorox Co., 926 F.2d 559,
561 (6th Cir. 1991).
III.
In this section 1983 action, we
are asked to decide whether Mueller used excessive force in apprehending Turpin
in violation of the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable seizures.
An
officer's seizure of a suspect is unreasonable if he uses excessive force
during an arrest or investigatory stop.
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 394, 104 L. Ed. 2d 443, 109 S. Ct. 1865
(1989). In determining whether the force used to effect a seizure is
reasonable, we balance "'the nature of the quality of the intrusion on the
individual's Fourth Amendment interests against the countervailing government
interest at stake.'" Id. at 396 (quoting United State v. Place, 462 U.S.
696, 703, 462 U.S. 696, 77 L. Ed. 2d 110, 103 S. Ct. 2637 (1983)). We assess
whether the officer was "objectively reasonable," analyzing the
circumstances "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene,
not with the 20/20 vision of hindsight." Id. A number of factors enter
into our analysis including "the severity of the crime at issue, whether
the suspect poses an immediate threat
to the safety of the officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting
arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight." Pleasant v. Zamieski, 895
F.2d 272, 276 (6th Cir. 1990) (quoting Graham , 490 U.S. at 396.). We must keep in mind that the
officer is often forced to make split-second decisions in extremely dangerous
situations. Graham, 490 U.S. at
396-97.
As to the use of deadly force,
the Supreme Court concluded in Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 11-12, 85 L.
Ed. 2d 1, 105 S. Ct. 1694 (1985) that its use is reasonable to apprehend a
fleeing suspect when (1) the police officer has probable cause to believe the
suspect poses a threat of serious physical harm; (2) deadly force is necessary
to prevent escape, and; (3) if feasible, some warning has been given.
Viewing the facts in the light
most favorable to Turpin, Mueller used reasonable force to apprehend him. Under
the test set out in Garner, the first question is whether Mueller had probable
cause to believe he was in danger. Id.
at 11. On the morning of November 19, Mueller was sent to apprehend a suspect
to an aggravated robbery, who had stolen a number of firearms. When Mueller
encountered him, Turpin pulled, or seemed to pull, a gun from his waistband.
Then, Turpin fired, or seemed to fire, the gun at Mueller. Therefore, Mueller
undoubtedly had probable cause to believe he was in danger.
[*154] The second question under
Garner is whether Mueller reasonably believed the use of force was necessary to
apprehend the suspect. Id. Turpin admits that he was running away from the
police helicopter. Also, Turpin had eluded the police for approximately twelve
hours, and was still fleeing when Mueller encountered him. Because Turpin quite
obviously was not surrendering, Mueller reasonably believed the use of force
was necessary to apprehend him.
Third, some warning must be given where feasible. Id. at 12.
Turpin claims Mueller did not give a warning, and Turpin could not see that he
was in his uniform. Even if this is
true, because Mueller reasonably believed that he was in imminent danger,
giving a warning would not have been feasible. See Boyd v. Baeppler, 215 F.3d 594, 601 (6th Cir. 2000).
Furthermore, it is undisputed that Turpin was running from a police helicopter
that was circling above him. The helicopter provided a sufficient warning to
Turpin that the police were after him. See id. For the foregoing reasons,
Mueller satisfied his burden of showing the absence of a genuine issue of
material fact as to an essential element of Turpin's case.
Then the burden shifts to Turpin to show there is a genuine issue for
trial. Turpin offers no corroborating evidence to his story. We have held that
once the moving party shows sufficient evidence to support a summary judgment
motion, the non-movant may not rely solely on his uncorroborated assertions. Goins
, 926 F.2d at 561. In particular,
Turpin offers no explanation as to why, shortly after the incident, he pleaded
guilty to felonious assault with a gun.
IV.
Based on these undisputed facts, we conclude that the seizure was
reasonable, and thus there was no constitutional violation, and no section 1983
claim. Summary judgment
was properly granted. Thus, we AFFIRM the district court.