Posted on 06/17/2024 10:53:23 AM PDT by nickcarraway
In the first time it has issued such a decision, a federal appeals court Wednesday cleared the way for a lawsuit against a Miami-Dade County police officer who fatally shot a resident's American bulldog.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned key parts of a district judge's decision that dismissed a lawsuit filed by resident Sylvan Plowright after the shooting of his dog, Niles. The appeals court said Plowright can pursue civil claims against Officer Sergio Cordova for unreasonable seizure of property under the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
While appellate courts in other parts of the country have issued similar decisions, the panel said it was a first-of-its-kind ruling in the 11th Circuit, which hears cases from Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.
"In the context of pet shootings by police, other (appellate) circuits have navigated this question without issue. Balancing pet owners' strong property interests against the state's own interest in 'protecting (human) life,' most circuits have acknowledged a 'general principle that a police officer may justify shooting a dog . . . only when it presents an objectively legitimate and imminent threat to him or others.' ... Today, we join our sister circuits in holding that an officer may not use deadly force against a domestic animal unless that officer reasonably believes that the animal poses an imminent threat to himself or others," the ruling said, partially quoting a decision from another circuit.
How it happened The case stems from an incident in which Plowright called 911 to report someone trespassing on vacant property near his home. Cordova and another officer, Leordanis Rondon, went to the home and drew their guns when Plowright came out to meet them, according to the ruling.
The ruling said the bulldog then "entered the scene," and officers ordered Cordova to get control of him. Rondon used a taser on the dog, which was then fatally shot by Cordova, according to the ruling.
"According to Plowright, Cordova came to his house after he called 911, held him at gunpoint, and fatally shot his dog in front of him without justification, even though the dog had been 'incapacitated' by a taser and was 'incapable of harming anyone,'" said the 24-page ruling, written by Judge Jill Pryor.
Plowright filed a lawsuit that named as defendants Cordova, Rondon, Miami-Dade County, and then-Miami-Dade police chief Alfredo Ramirez. A district judge dismissed the case. Wednesday's ruling allowed the lawsuit to move forward against Cordova but not the other defendants.
The lower court concluded that Cordova was entitled to what is known as qualified immunity "because he did not violate any clearly established right when he shot Niles," Wednesday's ruling said.
But the appeals court disagreed, finding that Plowright adequately alleged a violation of his Fourth Amendment right to protection from unreasonable seizure of property. It said Florida law "is clear that domestic animals are their owners' personal property."
"Second, shooting a domestic animal undoubtedly interferes with its owner's possessory interests, implicating the same analysis applied to an official's destruction of other forms of property," the ruling said. "To be constitutionally permissible, then, Cordova's decision to shoot and kill Niles must have been reasonable."
With the appeal about whether the lawsuit should have been dismissed before potentially going to trial, the panel said the case is at a stage "where we must accept the factual allegations in Plowright's complaint as true. When we do, we conclude that a reasonable officer in Cordova's position would not have believed he was in imminent danger when he shot Niles."
I feel for him. But he did violate the first rule of public safety—unless you’re in imminent threat of violence, never call the cops. Their “us-versus-them” training and mentality doesn’t allow for the person who called them to suddenly be considered “us”. We the public will always be “them.”
Good. Too many thug cops get away with too much.
Hard to believe the guy would call 911 and not have his dog safely in the house. Why would he leave the dog to run free? Someone wasn’t thinking clearly.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:22-cv-20203-KMM ____________________ Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, and JILL PRYOR and STANLEY MARCUS, Circuit Judges
A lot was dismissed but the one against Cordova was upheld.
He shot the dog while it was disabled from the taser.
It will now be up to Plowright to prove it in court.
K. MICHAEL MOORE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida
[qualified immunity guy, Grabby Poppy judge]
Cop lovers on here hardest hit. Can’t wait to see them crying and screaming that piggy did nothing wrong.
do we need to call a cop “piggy”? is that appropriate? you can say he did something wrong without that rhetoric.
Developed the Cop Attitude
Cops work, eat, and party with other cops
All the people they deal with at work are “Perps” as my former LEO brother in law said. All non-LEO’s are Perps, you are either a criminal or will become a criminal
Former BIL quit because he realized what he was becoming. Even carried a throw-down gun wrapped in Saran Wrap
No situation is so bad that it cannot be mad worse by adding a cop to the mix.
Yes, because they are the standing army the Founding Fathers warned us about, and literally see all of us as threats to them, guilty until proven innocent.
Tell me about those “good” cops.
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