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Hope v. City of Shreveport12/17/2003
GASKINS, J., concurring with reasons.
The plaintiff, Donald Brent Hope, appeals the dismissal of his claims of malicious prosecution and defamation stemming from his arrest for driving while intoxicated ("DWI") by D.W. Ramsey, an officer with the Shreveport Police Department. Hope argues that the trial court erred in finding that the arresting officer acted on probable cause, in good faith, and without malice in making the arrest. Finding merit in Hope's arguments, we reverse the trial court's judgment.
FACTS
On July 29, 1999, Hope was arrested for a third offense DWI in Shreveport, Louisiana. The arrest occurred on Commerce Street near the Texas Street Bridge where Hope's black Chevrolet pick-up truck was parked in a parking spot along the street. The facts surrounding the arrest are disputed by the parties.
Ramsey, the arresting officer, claimed that he encountered a black Chevrolet pick-up coming toward him when he turned northbound from Milam Street onto Commerce. By visual estimation, Ramsey determined that the truck was speeding at 37 miles per hour, so he turned his vehicle around to follow the truck and to look for other violations. He followed the truck to Spring Street where he observed it make a right turn onto a pedestrian walkway on the south side of the Texas Street Bridge. Ramsey was driving too fast to make the turn, so he drove to Travis Street where he made a right turn and then made another right turn back onto Commerce where he saw a black Chevy pick-up in a parking space. Hope exited from the driver's side, and Ramsey could see a passenger seated on the passenger's side. Ramsey administered three field sobriety tests to Hope and arrested him for DWI.
Hope denied driving the vehicle as alleged by Ramsey. Instead, Hope claimed that he and a friend, Douglas Connelly, had just walked to the truck after leaving the Blind Tiger, a downtown restaurant and bar, where they had been for the past few hours. Hope, who had prior DWI's and whose license was suspended, had gone out for the evening with Connelly. Connelly had driven Hope's vehicle, and upon arrival, Hope had given his keys to another friend, George Hatfield, for safekeeping. Hatfield left the Blind Tiger before Hope and Connelly, but he later went to Hope's vehicle to retrieve some items. Hatfield testified that he left the truck unlocked and kept the keys. When Hope and Connelly were ready to leave the Blind Tiger, they walked to the truck so that Hope could retrieve his cell phone in order to call his sister for a ride home. Both walked to the passenger side of the truck, at which point Ramsey arrived on the scene. Hope claimed that Ramsey asked who was driving the truck. When he and Connelly denied driving, Ramsey asked who owned the truck. Hope admitted that he owned the truck. Ramsey then directed Hope to step to the front of the police car, and he began administering the sobriety tests, which were recorded on videotape. Hope told Ramsey that they had just left the Blind Tiger and asked him to verify this with another officer who was working there as security for the evening. Ramsey did not attempt to verify Hope's claim. Hope was placed under arrest. His vehicle was impounded and towed away.
Two other officers, K.P. Anderson and Todd Blackmon, arrived on the scene after Hope's arrest. Both checked the front of the truck and found it to be hot. They believed this indicated that the vehicle had recently been driven. The two officers searched Connelly for the keys to the truck, but they found only the keys to Connelly's own vehicle. The record indicates that keys to Hope's vehicle may have been found either stuffed between the seat and the console or inside the co
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