Summary
In this unpublished Fifth Circuit opinion, the court affirmed summary judgment for the City of Fort Worth on a § 1983 municipal liability claim alleging failure to train officers on the use of no-knock warrants, Tasers, and excessive force. The plaintiff relied on the single-incident exception but failed to show a genuine dispute that the constitutional violation was a highly predictable consequence of the City’s training program, as the City had existing policies largely restating applicable law and the plaintiff did not specify how training for the Zero-Tolerance Unit should differ from general training. The court held that the plaintiff’s failure to identify a specific defect in the training program, supported only by a conclusory expert affidavit, meant the City was entitled to summary judgment. The case also noted that state-law claims were forfeited on appeal.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the City on the failure-to-train claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.
Holdings
- The City is entitled to summary judgment because there is no genuine dispute of material fact regarding the inadequacy of the training policy. The plaintiff failed to provide specific evidence of how the training was defective, and the City's existing policies counsel against a finding of failure to train.
Key quotations
“With respect to the failure-to-train claim, the district court granted summary judgment in the City’s favor. We affirm.” (at 2)
“In order to succeed at this stage, the City must show that there is no genuine dispute as to a material fact regarding (1) whether there was an inadequacy in the City’s training policy; (2) whether the City was deliberately indifferent in its adoption of that policy; or (3) whether the inadequate training policy directly caused the constitutional violation allegedly suffered by Mr. Darden.” (at 5)
“Given this gap in Plaintiff-Appellant’s allegations and summary judgment evidence, we conclude that the City is entitled to summary judgment.” (at 7)
Factual background
On May 16, 2013, police executed a no-knock warrant on a residence. The entry team broke down the door, and Jermaine Darden, who weighed approximately 340 pounds, was kneeling on a couch. He raised his hands. Officer Snow ripped his shirt and used a Taser twice. Mr. Darden said he could not breathe and pushed himself up to breathe. After being handcuffed, he went limp and was left sitting. He suffered a heart attack and died.
Procedural history
The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City on the municipal liability claim. Plaintiff appealed. The Fifth Circuit previously reversed the dismissal of the claims against the officers and vacated the dismissal of the claims against the City, remanding for further proceedings. On remand, the district court again granted summary judgment to the City. This appeal followed.