Facts

Plaintiffs Berry, Grant and DeOcampo claimed that on March 28, 2003, officers of the Vallejo Police Department unlawfully seized and arrested them. Plaintiffs claimed that they should not have been arrested and were also subjected to excessive force by the three involved officers.

Plaintiffs filed a suit alleging violation of civil rights, assault and battery, false arrest and imprisonment, and infliction of emotional distress.

Prior to trial, via stipulation, plaintiffs agreed to a dismissal of all claims against the City of Vallejo. Plaintiffs also dismissed claims of Equal Protection and racial discrimination.

At trial, prior to the case going to the jury, the court allowed new affirmative First Amendment claims to go to the jury as plaintiffs Grant and DeOcampo attempted to argue that their statements to officers, which led to their respective arrests and the force used on them, were protected under the First Amendment. Also during trial, plaintiff Berry conceded that officers had probable cause for his arrest on March 28, 2003, so that issue did not go to the jury.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended that on March 28, 2003, plaintiff Berry was walking with his girlfriend when he was approached by Vallejo police officers Jason Potts and Jeremy Patzer. They told Berry to stop and he complied, then defendants Potts and Patzer proceeded to assault Berry kicking him and slamming him to the ground and causing him to hit his head on a wooden fence. Plaintiffs DeOcampo and Grant observed Berry being attacked by the officers and approached the officers. They were told to get back. Subsequently, officers Potts and Eric Jensen assaulted DeOcampo and Grant. Plaintiffs claimed that other officers confiscated a security video at a nearby market that captured the beatings. Plaintiffs alleged that officers Potts, Jensen and Patzer have a history of repeated misconduct, including excessive force, racially motivated misconduct against minority citizens and wrongful arrest and imprisonment of minority citizens.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendants claimed that officers were called to the scene on a report of loiterers in the area. When they arrived, officers noticed Berry walking down the street. Defendants contended that Berry had fled from one of the officers, twelve days prior. When officers stopped Berry to arrest him, Berry failed to follow commands and attempted to flee arrest, leading to force being used on him to get him on the ground. In the process, Berry inadvertently hit his head on a nearby fence, suffering a brief loss of consciousness.

Other people in the Country Club Crest neighborhood of Vallejo, a high crime area, angrily approached and screamed at officers, while they contained Berry. Two individuals specifically, plaintiffs Grant and DeOcampo, would not get back as ordered by officers and interfered with the officers' abilities to perform their duties. These plaintiffs, as well as numerous crowd members, created significant officer safety concerns as officers were exceedingly outnumbered and the forming large crowd was hostile.

At some point, DeOcampo was pushed by an officer and told to leave the area. Instead, DeOcampo got into a fighting stance and acted in an assaultive manner towards an officer, leading to him being hit by a baton twice by two officers to take him into custody. DeOcampo then fled arrest to a nearby store where he was subjected to additional baton blows and then was finally taken down to the ground and handcuffed. While this was occurring, plaintiff Grant was interfering with an officer's ability to put Berry into a patrol car and was continuing to fail to abide by commands to get back and away from the officer. Grant was then pepper sprayed and taken into custody.

Defendants disputed plaintiffs' allegations and argued that there was probable cause to arrest each of the plaintiffs and the force that was used was in an objectively reasonable manner in the totality of the dangerous circumstances facing the officers.

Damages

DeOcampo claimed $40,000 in medical bills at trial

Result

The jury returned a defense verdict for the officers in relation to plaintiffs Berry and Grant. As to plaintiff DeOcampo, while the jury found that there was probable cause for his arrest, the jury found that defendant officers' Potts and Jensen used excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable seizures, in taking plaintiff DeOcampo into custody, awarding him $50,000 in compensatory damages. Although the jury found Potts and Jensen's conduct outrageous and done for the purpose of causing DeOcampo emotional distress, the jury did not find that DeOcampo suffered severe emotional distress. The jury also found that officer Patzer acted violently against both plaintiffs Grant and DeOcampo, but did not find that he did so for the purpose of depriving them of a Fourth Amendment right.

Other Information

This matter was stayed for several years pending the City of Vallejo coming out of bankruptcy protection. Plaintiffs have filed a motion for costs and fees.