Greer

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

INTRODUCTION

This is a tragic case. James Greer was pulled over by a Hayward police officer on the evening of May 23, 2014 for suspicion of driving under the influence. He was dead an hour later, after a scuffle with several Hayward Police Department (“HPD”) officers, and one officer, Sergeant Jon Tougas, from the Bay Area Rapid Transit District (“BART”). Tougas recorded the encounter on his BART-issued body camera (“bodycam”). Greer’s son, the plaintiff, brought this action against the City of Hayward, BART, Tougas, and each of the involved HPD officers alleging 42 U.S.C § 1983 claims for violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments to the Constitution of the United States and for wrongful death under state law.

Before the court is BART and Tougas’s motion for summary judgment. 2 Tougas’s video raises genuine disputes of material fact regarding his conduct and whether he violated clearly established law. He is not entitled to qualified immunity or summary judgment on the excessive force-related claims. But he was not deliberately indifferent under the law to Greer’s medical needs and the defendants are entitled to…