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Estate of Lee v. City of Spokane6/15/2000
The estate and survivors of Elwood R. Lee brought federal and state tort claims against the City of Spokane and two individual police officers after Mr. Lee was fatally shot during a domestic violence incident. The issues presented by their 42 U.S.C. sec. 1983 action are governed by two separate legal standards. Whether police used excessive force in seizing Mr. Lee is judged by the Fourth Amendment objective reasonableness standard. Here, the police shot Mr. Lee after he pointed a rifle at one of the officers. We conclude that the officers' conduct in effecting the seizure was objectively reasonable.
Whether Mr. Lee's survivors have a viable sec. 1983 action based on violations of their own substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment turns on whether the officers acted with 'deliberate indifference' to the family members in their use of force against Mr. Lee. Here, we conclude that the officers did not act with deliberate indifference. We, therefore, affirm the trial court's dismissal of the family's sec. 1983 action.
Because Mr. Lee's death was not wrongful, we also dismiss the remaining state survival and wrongful death claims.
FACTS Joan Lee and Elwood Lee were married and the parents of two young children, Rhiannon and Matthew. At 2:00 a.m. on February 27, 1993, Mr. Lee was drinking at a Spokane bowling alley bar. Ms. Lee piled the two kids and the family dog in the car and drove to the bar to bring him home because she did not want him to drive drunk. Once there, she grabbed Mr. Lee's truck keys and ran off. The couple yelled at each other in the parking lot. Mr. Lee took back his keys, shoved his wife, punched her in the back and the face, and drove off, leaving Ms. Lee and the children at the bar. Ms. Lee called 911 from the bowling alley.
Spokane Police Officers Benjamin Estes and Kevin Langford arrived at the bowling alley about 3:30 a.m. They interviewed Ms. Lee, concluded she was the victim of domestic violence and decided to talk to Mr. Lee. They considered a custodial arrest for fourth degree assault. And they had probable cause to arrest Mr. Lee for domestic violence.
Ms. Lee told the officers she wanted her husband removed from the residence so she could take the children home. And she wanted him arrested for assaulting her. She told the officers that Mr. Lee would be at the house. Officer Estes strongly urged her to remain at the bowling alley with the children until the situation at the house was resolved. But Ms. Lee insisted on going immediately to the house.
Officers Estes and Langford arrived at the Lee house a couple of minutes before Ms. Lee and the children, and parked across the street. They could see Mr. Lee's truck in the driveway, but could not see whether he was at home.
After Ms. Lee arrived, both officers tried to persuade her to stay with her children in the car while they dealt with Mr. Lee. She refused. She took the children and approached the front door.
Ms. Lee knew Mr. Lee had access to firearms but did not fear any danger. Officer Estes realized this was not going to be a normal call.
Officer Langford took up a position on Ms. Lee's right side. Officer Estes was to her left and behind her. She tried to unlock the door with her key, but Mr. Lee held the lock in the locked position. She asked him several times to let her in. Mr. Lee responded, 'get the f * out of here . . . or two people are going to die tonight.' Ms. Lee backed away, taking the children with her.
Officer Langford also started to back away from the doorway. Officer Estes stayed in position. Mr. Lee opened the door. The officers could see a rifle with
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