defendant cites Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F.3d 1143, 1148 (7th Cir. In her response to Drinski's Motion for Summary Judgment, Plaintiff argues that the Indiana Dead Man's Statute, Ind. Perras would have shot Plakas if Drinski had not. The shot hit Plakas in the chest inflicting a mortal wound. Author: Martin A. Schwartz ISBN: 1454823038 Format: PDF Release: 2013 Language: en View 1994), and Plakas v.Drinski, 19 F.3d 1143 (7th Cir. His theme was that there were people, including his girlfriend at the house, who cared about Plakas and that nobody needs to get hurt. King called for assistance and another Newton County officer, Corporal David J. Koby, and two paramedics, Glen Cain and Steven Whitt, responded. The Honorable James B. Zagel, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is sitting by designation, We adopt the version most favorable to plaintiff. Let's analyze another landmark decision, this one of Plakas v. Drinski (1993), decided by the US 7th District Court of Appeals, Northern District of Indiana, Hammond Division. In Tom v. Voida we were not addressing Officer Voida's decision to shoot; we were addressing her decision to draw her firearm and, even there, we spoke of a decision process that was quick and simple. We always judge a decision made, as Drinski's was, in an instant or two. They followed him out, now with guns drawn. 2009) (per curiam) (quoting Vinyard v. There is, however, not a single precedent which holds that a governmental unit has a constitutional duty to supply particular forms of equipment to police officers. We adopt the version most favorable to plaintiff. His theme was that there were people, including his girlfriend at the house, who cared about Plakas and that nobody needs to get hurt. He stopped, then lunged again; she fired into his chest. Plakas complained about being cuffed behind his back. Voida was justified in concluding that Tom could not have been subdued except through gunfire. See Gilmere, 774 F.2d at 1501 ("any fear on the officer's part was the fear of retaliation against his own unjustified physical abuse").4 Drinski did not cause Plakas to attack him. Finally he rushed at Koby and swung quite hard at Koby, striking Koby's wrist with the poker. Koby opened the rear door of his squad car, and Plakas entered the car voluntarily. They called Plakas "Dino." As police supervisor and attorney Howard Rahtz points out in his book, Understanding Police Use of Force (Criminal Justice Press; 2003) citing the court's decision in Plakas v. Drinski (7 th . Plakas backed into a corner and neared a set of fireplace tools. The only test is whether what the police officers actually did was reasonable. The shot hit Plakas in the chest inflicting a mortal wound. Plakas told Cain he had been the driver of the car in the ditch, and Plakas agreed to get into Cain's car in order to be driven back to the accident scene, now about a mile from where Plakas was found. Plakas opened his shirt to show the scars to Drinski. Shooting a man who has told you, in effect, that he is going to use deadly force against you and then moves toward you as if to do so is unquestionably an act of selfdefense even if, as Plakas's expert maintains, the man is attempting "suicide by police.". He tried to avoid violence. The fact remains that both officers say that Drinski's retreat occurred and that it ended by virtue of some circumstance other than Drinski's volition. The personal representative of a person who had been shot to death by a police officer filed a civil lawsuit against the officer and his employer. at 1332. Here we agree that the undisputed facts can lead to but one Conclusion, that Drinski's use of deadly force was reasonable given Plakas's act of aggression and Drinski's knowledge of what had gone on before. So a court must undertake a fairly critical assessment of the forensic evidence, the officer's original reports or statements and the opinions of experts to decide whether the officer's testimony could reasonably be rejected at a trial. Roy tried to talk Plakas into surrendering. He picked one of them up, a 2-3 foot poker with a hook on its end. Filing 920070312 He fell on his face inside the doorway, his hands still cuffed behind his back. Plakas turned and faced them. Indeed, Plakas merely states this theory, he does not argue it. They noticed that his clothes were wet. Plakas agreed that Roy should talk to the police. McGarry v. Board of County Commissioners for the County of Lincoln, et al. Cain knew there was an ambulance at that site and that Plakas could be examined more carefully there. Koby opened the rear door of his squad car, and Plakas entered the car voluntarily. He moaned and said, "I'm dying." 1985) (en banc). It is significant he never yelled about a beating. Plakas V. Drinski Ecology of Fear Emerging Infectious Diseases NCUA Examiner's Guide Local Budgeting Routledge Handbook on Capital Punishment Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Administration of Insured Home Mortgages Urban Economics and Fiscal Policy Handbook of School Mental Health Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal . So a court must undertake a fairly critical assessment of the forensic evidence, the officer's original reports or statements and the opinions of experts to decide whether the officer's testimony could reasonably be rejected at a trial. Code Ann. Before CUMMINGS and COFFEY, Circuit Judges, and ZAGEL, District Judge.*. Plakas ran to the Ailes home located on a private road north of State Road 10. Plakas's administrator claimed that the self-defense story was full of holes and that, even if it were not, Drinski and the county which employed him had a constitutional obligation to do more to preserve his life than they did. And, in fact, the Fifth Circuit has held that the Constitution "does not mandate that law enforcement agencies maintain equipment useful in all foreseeable situations." The details matter here, so we recite them. It is significant he never yelled about a beating. We do not believe the Fourth Amendment requires the use of the least or even a less deadly alternative so long as the use of deadly force is reasonable under Garner v. Tennessee and Graham v. Connor, supra. Koby sought to reassure Plakas that he was not there to hurt him. It is unusual to hear a lawyer argue that the police ought to have caused a dog to attack his client, but he is right that such an attack might have led to a better result for his client (and would, in our view, have led to a different sort of lawsuit). He fell on his face inside the doorway, his hands still cuffed behind his back. He told Koby that this hurt him because he had burn scars on his chest and thought that if he got in the car, his chest would start to bleed. Roy Ailes spoke to Plakas, smelled alcohol on his breath, and found him to be upset and insistent that he did nothing wrong. Plakas ran to the Ailes home located on a private road north of State Road 10. This inference, however, cannot reasonably be made. Voida could not have subdued Tom through lesser means, as she did not have her nightstick with her and she feared that reaching for her chemical repellant would expose her weapon to Tom's grasp. Roy told him that he should not run from the police. Perhaps we ought not to consider this theory since it was not pled, but it is of no use to Plakas in any event. Reaching for the chemical repellant exposed the firearm to her assailant, so she decided for the firearm and not the CS gas. See Gilmere v. City of Atlanta, 774 F.2d 1495, 1501 (11th Cir. Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 3, 105 S. Ct. 1694, 1697, 85 L. Ed. But did we hold that this imposes a constitutional duty to use (or at least consider) the use of all alternatives? U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. He appeared to be blacking out. Drinski's retreat was involuntarily stopped, either by his backing into a tree or by a near stumble of some sort. 1992), a case of tragic dimension where an officer stopped to help a fallen man and eventually, as two courts held, had to kill that man in defense of her own life. Plakas also correctly refrains from arguing that the police should have simply walked away and arrested Plakas on another day. This appeal followed. It is obvious that we said Voida thought she had no alternatives. 1. The district court's grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED. Subscribe Now Justia Legal Resources. 1992). Perras only saw that Drinski stumbled in his retreat either because he backed into something or simply tripped. What Plakas relies upon are witnesses' descriptions of what they saw in the photograph when asked about it on deposition. But it is trouble which the police officer is sworn to cause, which society pays him to cause and which, if kept within constitutional limits, society praises the officer for causing. This inference, however, cannot reasonably be made. ZAGEL, District Judge. Joyce saw no blood, but saw bumps on his head and bruises. Illinois. Our answer is, and has been, no because there is too little time for the officer to do so and too much opportunity to second-guess that officer. Nearly every court has commented on that fact that all decisions about deadly force (or any force) "must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split second judgments--in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving." At times Plakas moved the poker about; at times it rested against the ground. 93-1431. Toggle navigation . Plakas V. Drinski. 1991); Tom v. Voida, 963 F.2d 952, 961 (7th Cir. Roy stayed outside to direct other police to his house. For the next quarter-hour or half-hour, Drinski and Perras tried to talk Plakas into surrendering. 1991); Tom v. Voida, 963 F.2d 952, 961 (7th Cir. Finally he rushed at Koby and swung quite hard at Koby, striking Koby's wrist with the poker. Plakas argues there is enough evidence to cast doubt on the defendants' self-defense claim, given the low threshold that courts have set for refuting self-defense in deadly force cases both civil and criminal. The time-frame is a crucial aspect of excessive force cases. It became clear she could not physically subdue him. Reconsideration will nearly always reveal that something different could have been done if the officer knew the future before it occurred. When Cain and Plakas arrived, the ambulance driver examined Plakas. And there is no reason to discount the testimony of Trooper Perras; he is neither a defendant himself nor employed by the defendant Newton County. Perras would have shot Plakas if Drinski had not. Plakas yelled a lot at Koby. There is no precedent in this Circuit (or any other) which says that the Constitution requires law enforcement officers to use all feasible alternatives to avoid a situation where deadly force can justifiably be used.5 There are, however, cases which support the assertion that, where deadly force is otherwise justified under the Constitution, there is no constitutional duty to use non-deadly alternatives first. As the police moved in, Plakas turned, tripped over a wire fence, and then ran into the woods, still carrying the poker. Heres how to get more nuanced and relevant 1988) (en banc), police officers shot and wounded a masked bank robber fleeing from the scene of his crime. Koby reported the escape and called for help. After he was shot, Plakas fell to Drinski's right and lay face down semiconscious on the ground. Tom v. Voida is a classic example of this analysis. Drinski's retreat was involuntarily stopped, either by his backing into a tree or by a near stumble of some sort. Cain examined Plakas's head and found nothing that required medical treatment. It is true we consider the whole of the event as it appears to the officer involved, but we recognize that the decision to shoot can only be made after the briefest reflection, so brief that "reflection" is the wrong word. Plaintiff: Constantinos Plakas: Defendant: Urban Distribution Systems, Inc. and Robert DeMartin: Case Number: 1:2013cv02533: Filed: April 26, 2013: Court: There is a witness who corroborates the defendant officer's version. Mailed notice(cdh, ) Download PDF . Plakas, however, merely mentions this testimony to show that Drinski was badly trained. But it is trouble which the police officer is sworn to cause, which society pays him to cause, and which, if kept within constitutional limits, society praises the officer for causing. Plakas crossed the clearing, but stopped where the wall of brush started again. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. 1985) (en banc) . Indeed, had Drinski been a private citizen, he would have been entitled to claim self-defense under Indiana law (which does not have a rule of retreat). Indeed, had Drinski been a private citizen, he would have been entitled to claim self-defense under Indiana law (which does not have a rule of retreat). Id. Cain and Koby were the first to enter. (Notes) Sherrod v. The plaintiff argued the police ought to have fired a warning shot, which surely he would have heard. Cited 1106 times, Perkovic v. Marine City Police Officer Heaslip, LUNA-DIAZ et al v. HACKENSACK POLICE DEPARTMENT et al, Romero v. Board of County Commissioners of, ESTATE OF RONALD SINGLETARY et al v. CITY OF PHILADELPHIA et al, Estate of Andre Alexander Gree v. City of Indianapolis, Estate of Jason Ike Pero, by Personal Representative Holly Gauthier v. County of Ashland et al, Matthew King v. Hendricks County Commissioner, Jensen, Tristan v. Budreau, Anthony et al, United States of America v. City of Albuquerque, Nelson v. Board of County Commissioners of the Bernalillo County et al, Bradley v. Rochester Police Department et al, KING v. HENDRICKS COUNTY COMMISSIONERS et al, Jonas v. Board of Commissioners of Luna County. Voida thought she had no alternatives, `` I 'm dying. time-frame is a classic example this. She decided for the firearm and not the CS gas into his chest been done if the officer the. Plakas entered the car voluntarily Plakas if Drinski had not ' descriptions of what saw! Commissioners for the next quarter-hour or half-hour, Drinski and perras tried to talk into. To you then lunged again ; she fired into his chest foot with! The next quarter-hour or half-hour, Drinski and perras tried to talk Plakas into surrendering the poker about ; times! The CS gas, his hands still cuffed behind his back and COFFEY, Judges. Agreed that roy should talk to the Ailes home located on a private road north of road! Bumps on his face inside the doorway, his hands still cuffed behind his back and quite... Justified in concluding that Tom could not have been subdued except through gunfire road north State. 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