Governmental Entity Liability Team Succeeds in Officer-Involved-Shooting Case

Los Angeles Partner Geoffrey R. Plowden and San Diego Associate Sheila M. Templeton secured a favorable verdict for our clients, a city and its police department, in a case centered around an officer-involved shooting. On the date of the incident, the plaintiff made numerous threatening and harassing 911 phone calls, and police officers were dispatched to investigate plaintiff’s violation of California Penal Code § 653x, which prohibits “communication with the 911 emergency system with the intent to annoy or harass…” Upon finding plaintiff at a parking lot, one sergeant initiated a traffic stop and instructed plaintiff to place his hands on the dashboard. Plaintiff was noncompliant and instead proceeded to assault the sergeant. 

Plaintiff exited his vehicle, revealing himself to be much larger than the sergeant, and shouted profanities and threats at the sergeant as he moved towards him. The sergeant attempted to use his baton but was struck by plaintiff, causing the baton to fall to the ground. Plaintiff then picked up the fallen baton, charged the sergeant, and struck him in the head and arm. The sergeant then attempted to deploy his taser before retreating, when he was again charged by plaintiff, who was raising the baton to strike again. The sergeant then fired two rounds into plaintiff’s abdomen. Plaintiff was placed under arrest and charged for his assault on the sergeant under California Penal Code § 245(c), which makes it a felony offense to commit assault with a deadly weapon (other than a firearm) on a police officer, and § 243(c)(2), which prohibits battery against a police officer. He was also charged for his harassing phone calls under § 653x. 

Plaintiff’s counsel argued that, because our client knew plaintiff was mentally disturbed, the sergeant caused the officer-involved shooting by failing to handle the incident in another manner. The Court rejected this argument and instead granted our clients’ motion for summary judgment, dismissing the entire case. 

Geoffrey R. Plowden is a member of the Governmental Entity Liability team. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Plowden worked for 22 years as senior trial counsel for the Los Angeles Police Department, serving as a deputy city attorney with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office. He tried a large number of high-profile and complex cases in both the Los Angeles Superior Courts and the United States District Courts. He has lectured at seminars in the areas of law enforcement and municipal liability. 

Sheila M. Templeton is a member of the Appellate Law (Strategy, Writs, & Appeals) team. Before joining the firm, Ms. Templeton worked as a litigation associate at both plaintiff and defense firms in San Diego and Los Angeles, where she gained experience in various practice areas, including business litigation, real estate, premise liability, employment law, and personal injury.

Los Angeles Partner Roslynn M. Wilfert and paralegal Annastasia Goldberg were also instrumental to the team’s efforts.