 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Jackson v. Powell11/10/2005
NATURE OF THE CASE: CIVIL - TORTS-OTHER THAN PERSONAL INJURY & PROPERTY DAMAGE
DISPOSITION: REVERSED AND RENDERED - 11/10/2005
BEFORE COBB, P.J., CARLSON AND RANDOLPH, JJ.
. The City of Jackson appeals a judgment in favor of Frederick Powell, entered in the Hinds County Circuit Court. Powell claimed that certain Jackson Police Department officers committed on him acts of assault and battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence. The case was tried without a jury, before Circuit Judge Winston L. Kidd, who found that: (1) the officers used excessive force; (2) Powell was not engaged in criminal activity at the time of the injury to him; and (3) the officers' actions were intentional and malicious. Judge Kidd also found that the city was deliberately indifferent to citizens' complaints, was negligent in the supervision of its officers, and approved the use of excessive force.
. Two separate orders were entered by the trial court on February 4, 2003. In one, Judge Kidd found that Powell had proved his claim against all defendants and was entitled to $100,000 in compensatory damages from the City of Jackson and the two officers, jointly and severally. He further found that the two officers were jointly and severally liable to Powell for an additional $50,000 in punitive damages. Judge Kidd also further found that, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 11-46-7(3) the city was responsible for all damage awards against the two officers. Thus, judgment was entered against the city for $150,000. In the second order, Judge Kidd cited 42 U.S.C. § 1988 (a), (b) and (c), and granted Powell $31,350 in attorney's fees and $3,300 in litigation costs, and again ordered that the City of Jackson was responsible for all costs, attorney's fees and money damages in the suit as a result of the action of the officers.
. After the judgment was entered, the City of Jackson filed a Motion for Judgment Notwithstanding the Verdict and/or an Alternative Motion for New Trial, which the trial court denied. The city now appeals from the trial court's decision, asserting that the trial court erred by failing to find that Powell was engaged in criminal activity at the time of the injury and by finding that the officers used excessive force against Powell. The city also asserted that if the trial court was correct in determining that the officers acted with malice, then the city was not liable for their actions. The city's final assertion of error was that the judgment of the lower court was against the overwhelming weight of the evidence. We reverse and render.
FACTS
. Between the hours of 11:00 P.M. and 12:00 A.M. on March 16, 1995, Officers Donald McCluskey and Gil Baker noticed a car driven by Frederick Powell going the wrong way on a one-way street. The testimony reveals two totally different versions of what happened thereafter. Powell initially attempted to drive away from the officers, claiming that he had only seen their headlights where they were parked, heading the wrong way, on the street he was entering. He testified that he did not know the identity of his pursuers until the officers activated their blue lights. Officer McCluskey, however, testified that the officers turned their blue lights on when they saw Powell turn the wrong way onto another one way street, well before they pulled him over.
. After coming to the end of a dead-end street, Powell stopped his vehicle, and the officers approached the vehicle and requested Powell's driver's license, which he did not have. Powell testified that at this point, Officer Baker said "get out the car, N-----." Officer Baker placed Powell in the patrol vehicle with
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Mississippi DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|