IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION

Transcription

1 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 1 of 13 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA ATLANTA DIVISION MARTHE BIEN-AIME, R.N., * * Plaintiff, * * CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. v. * * OFFICER CHRISTY VICE, * LT. MARK TINKEY, * OFFICER C.L. HYATT and * OFFICER SHAWN HUMPHREYS, * * Defendants. * COMPLAINT COMES NOW Marthe Bien-Aime, R.N., Plaintiff herein, and hereby files her Complaint against Defendants as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. This is a 42 U.S.C action brought under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution arising from the Defendant police officers use of excessive force against Plaintiff, a registered nurse, because she would not let the officers enter the mental health facility where she was working as a charge nurse without first obtaining permission from her supervisor.

2 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 2 of 13 JURISDICTION AND VENUE 2. This action is brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C and 1988, as well as the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Jurisdiction is founded upon 28 U.S.C. 1331, 1343, and the aforementioned constitutional and statutory provisions. 3. Venue is proper in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1391(b) and N.D.L.R. 3.1B(3) because the event giving rise to this claim occurred in Gwinnett County, Georgia, which is situated within the district and divisional boundaries of the Atlanta Division of the Northern District of Georgia, and one or more of the parties reside within the Northern District of Georgia. 4. All of the parties herein are subject to the jurisdiction of this Court. PARTIES 5. Plaintiff Marthe Bien-Aime, R.N. (hereafter Plaintiff or Nurse Bien-Aime ) was, at all times relevant herein, an individual residing within the boundaries of the Northern District of Georgia and a licensed nurse under the laws of the State of 2

3 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 3 of 13 Georgia. 6. Defendant Officer Christy Vice (hereafter Defendant Vice or Officer Vice ) is an individual who was, at all times relevant herein, a police officer employed by the City of Lawrenceville who acted within the scope of his employment as a Lawrenceville police officer. 7. Defendant Lieutenant Mark Tinkey (hereafter Defendant Tinkey or Lt. Tinkey ) is an individual who was, at all times relevant herein, a police officer employed by the City of Lawrenceville who acted within the scope of his employment as a Lawrenceville police officer. 8. Defendant Officer C.L Hyatt (hereafter Defendant Hyatt or Officer Hyatt ) is an individual who was, at all times relevant herein, a police officer employed by the City of Lawrenceville who acted within the scope of his employment as a Lawrenceville police officer. 9. Defendant Officer Shawn Humphreys (hereafter Defendant Humphreys or Officer Humphreys ) is an individual who was, at all times relevant herein, a police 3

4 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 4 of 13 officer employed by the City of Lawrenceville who acted within the scope of his employment as a Lawrenceville police officer. 10. At all times relevant herein, all of the Defendants acted under color of state law and on behalf of the City of Lawrenceville, Georgia. FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS 11. At 10:45 p.m. on the evening of October 30, 2011, Plaintiff Marthe Bien-Aime arrived at work on her job as a charge nurse at the Summit Ridge mental health facility in Lawrenceville, Georgia. 12. At approximately 11:40 p.m., Nurse Bien-Aime was stopped in the hall by an assessment staff member who informed her as follows: that a female patient had called her husband and told him that she had been assaulted by a male patient, that the husband had called the police, and that the police were on the premises. 13. Nurse Bien-Aime then called the Director of Nursing, Shelley Beaubrun and relayed what had been reported to her by the staff member. 4

5 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 5 of On her way back to the unit desk, Nurse Bien-Aime saw the female patient being questioned by police officers. 15. After questioning the female patient who had reportedly been assaulted, the police left Summit Ridge. 16. Later that shift at approximately 1:30 a.m., Nurse Bien-Aime saw several police officers including Defendants Vice, Hyatt and Humphreys return to the unit with an assessment staff member, and she heard one of the officers say that they were there to arrest the guy. 17. Nurse Bien-Aime did not know who the guy was. 18. Nurse Bien-Aime told the officers that she as the nurse in charge of the unit, she had a professional duty to protect her patients and had taken an oath to do so. She also said that she would need to call the Director of Nursing to get permission to let the officers into the unit. 5

6 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 6 of Officer Vice told Nurse Bien-Aime that they had an arrest warrant for a patient and that she could be arrested for obstrung the officers from doing their duties. 20. Officer Vice then called Lt. Tinkey, who arrived at the scene shortly thereafter. 21. The Defendant officers had a piece of paper that they said was a warrant, but they did not allow Nurse Bien-Aime to read it, so she was unable to confirm whether it was a warrant or what patient it was for. 22. Nurse Bien-Aime then called the Director of Nursing, Shelley Beaubrun, and told her what was happening with the police officers. Ms. Beaubrun asked to speak with the officers and Nurse Bien-Aime held out the phone so that they could speak to her. 23. The officers refused to speak with Ms. Beaubrun and said they were going to arrest Nurse Bien-Aime for obstructing justice. 24. As Nurse Bien-Aime remained behind the counter in the nurse s station, waiting 6

7 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 7 of 13 for guidance from Ms. Beaubrun on the telephone, Lt. Tinkey burst through the door to the nursing station, followed by Officers Hyatt and Humphreys, and Defendant Vice grabbed the phone and began speaking to Ms. Beaubrun. 25. Lt. Tinkey, Officer Hyatt, and Officer Humphreys grabbed Nurse Bien-Aime s hands and arms and began twisting her arms backward. Then they threw her to the floor with great force and shackled her wrists with a chain and handcuffs. 26. Nurse Bien-Aime cried out in pain due to the tightness of the handcuffs, as well as from the aggravation of an old left shoulder injury and new injuries to other parts of the body resulting from Defendants unreasonable and unjustified use of force against her. 27. She asked the Defendant officer several times to loosen the handcuffs but they would not do it. 28. When they got her off the floor and began escorting her out, Nurse Bien-Aime had difficulty walking and the Defendant officers kept shoving her. 7

8 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 8 of After going through a set of double doors in the hallway, Nurse Bien-Aime lost her balance and fell to the floor. The Defendant officers yelled for her to get up but she was not able to, and they told her they would drag her if she didn t get up. 30. Officer Vice said let s tase her and then they proceeded to do so. 31. After they had tased her, the officers picked her up off the floor and took her to a police car outside. They loosened the chain, but not the handcuffs, and placed her in the car. 32. The officers spent some time talking among themselves and then Officer Vice drove her to the Gwinnett County Detention Center. 33. At approximately 2:15 a.m., officers placed Nurse Bien-Aime against a wall at the jail, removed the handcuffs and chain, and then performed a body search. 34. Nurse Bien-Aime was told to raise her arms but she could not do it because of bilateral pain in her shoulders, arms, and wrists with numbness to the right thumb, 8

9 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 9 of 13 along with swelling, numbness and visible dislocation of the shoulders. 35. Before being placed in the cell, Officer Vice tried to question Nurse Bien-Aime and stated that if she did not answer her questions, she would book her as a John Doe and it would take her a lot longer to get out of jail. 36. Nurse Bien-Aime asked for medical attention while in the cell, and a jail nurse showed up and asked a few questions. The jail nurse left and sent someone back to the cell with a glove filled with ice. 37. At 8:20 a.m., Nurse Bien-Aime was moved to another area of the jail, where she requested that they take pictures of the swollen and dislocated parts of her face, left shoulder, arms, hands and wrists, including a visible laceration to her right arm. However, the jail staff only took one of two pictures that did not fully represent the extent of her injuries. 38. Nurse Bien-Aime was forced to remain in jail without treatment for her injuries until an arrest warrant was issued, a bond was set, and she was able to get someone to post her bond, during which time she endured significant physical pain and mental 9

10 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 10 of 13 distresss. 39. After being released from jail, Nurse Bien-Aime was able to obtain treatment for her injuries, and she was diagnosed with radial neuritis and anxiety which have prevented her from returning to work. Nurse Bien-Aime also has a scar on the right lower part of her back from being shot with a taser, as well as radiating pain from her right buttock down to her right leg and foot which continues to torment her. THEORIES OF RECOVERY 40. The aforementioned misconduct of Defendants constituted an unreasonable use of physical force, and thus an unreasonable seizure of her person, against a free citizen at liberty in violation of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. 41. At no time did Plaintiff ever use or threaten to use physical force against Defendants, and at no time did Plaintiff pose such a threat to Defendants or others as to justify the use of force against her, and certainly not the level of force that was used by Defendants. 42. The law was clearly established in October 2011 that police officers may not use 10

11 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 11 of 13 physical force against a citizen who is not physically resisting the officer, and no reasonable police officer would have believed that it was appropriate to use the degree of force that Defendants used against Plaintiff under these circumstances; accordingly, Defendants are not entitled to qualified immunity for their objectively unreasonable use of excessive and unnecessary force in violation of the Fourth Amendment. DAMAGES 43. As a direct and proximate result of the above described conduct of Defendants, Plaintiff has been deprived of her constitutional rights and subjected to extreme physical and mental pain and suffering, has been forced to incur substantial medical expenses, and has lost significant income from her employment all of which is expected to continue into the future for which Defendants are liable in an amount to be proven at trial and determined by the enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors. 44. The aforementioned conduct of Defendants amounted to such conscious indifference and reckless disregard for the consequences as to also authorize the imposition of punitive damages against them to the extent permitted by law. 11

12 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 12 of Plaintiff is also entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees and expenses of litigation pursuant to 28 U.S.C WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands the following: a) That this action be tried by a jury; b) That judgment be entered in favor of Plaintiff and against Defendants in an amount to be determined by the enlightened conscience of fair and impartial jurors to the extent allowed by law; c) That Plaintiff be awarded attorney's fees and reasonable expenses of litigation; d) That all costs of this action be taxed against Defendants; and e) That the Court award any additional or alternative relief as may be deemed appropriate under the circumstances. Respectfully submitted this 18th day of October, /s/ Craig T. Jones CRAIG T. JONES Ga. Bar No Attorney for Plaintiff 12

13 Case 1:13-mi UNA Document 2231 Filed 10/18/13 Page 13 of 13 THE FEDERAL FIRM 2 Ravinia Drive, NE Suite 1776 Atlanta, GA (678) craig@fedfirm.com 13