Martinez

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MARQUS MARTINEZ, et al., Case No. 20-cv-04135-VC

Plaintiffs,

ORDER DENYING IN PART AND

v. GRANTING IN PART MOTION TO

DISMISS

CITY OF SANTA ROSA, et al., Re: Dkt. No. 53 Defendants.

Santa Rosa’s motion to dismiss the municipal liability claim for Fourth Amendment violations is denied because the plaintiffs have adequately alleged ratification/decision-making by a policymaker as well as deliberate indifference by virtue of failure to train. The motion to dismiss the municipal liability claim for First Amendment violations is granted because the allegations are generic and boilerplate. Municipal Liability for Fourth Amendment Violations The complaint focuses on the Santa Rosa Police Department’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests on three nights. It alleges many Fourth Amendment violations, including officers indiscriminately firing tear gas into peaceful crowds. The complaint further alleges that the officers committed these acts “[a]t the direction of the Chief of Police” and that their conduct “continued despite clear reports of protestors being maimed and suffering…