Plakas ran to the Ailes home located on a private road north of State Road 10. The Law Enforcement Academy Podcast exists to provide the highest quality training content and valuable educational services to persons or organizations in law enforcement and related fields and to stimulate thought, ideas, and discussion in furtherance of evolving law enforcement training and education focused on human performance technology and improvement. 93-1431. Konstantino Plakas was shot once and killed by Jeffrey Drinski, a deputy sheriff. The only test is whether what the police . The district court's grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED. He knew the Aileses, Roy and Joyce; he was engaged to marry their daughter, Rachel. In Koby's car, the rear door handles are not removed. The only test is whether what the police officers actually did was reasonable. United States Court of Appeals . Actually, the photograph is not included in the record here. They followed him out, now with guns drawn. The award of summary judgment to the defense in deadly force cases may be made only with particular care where the officer defendant is the only witness left alive to testify. Pasco, et al v. Knoblauch. This does not help Plakas's case because, by the time the paramedic arrived, Plakas's body had been moved, rolled over by Drinski and Perras.3 Plakas himself may have also moved; the dying man kicked over the paramedic's medical case. Second, Drinski said he was stopped in his retreat by a tree. So we carve up the incident into segments and Judge each on its own terms to see if the officer was reasonable at each stage. She chased him and, when she caught him, he attacked her, banging her head into a concrete surface. * The Honorable James B. Zagel, District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is sitting by designation. These cases make it clear that liability cannot be founded on the failure of Drinski to keep some sort of distance or natural barrier between himself and Plakas. 1989). armed robbery w/5 gun, "gun" occurs to Illinois v. Lafayette, 462 U.S. 640, 647, 103 S. Ct. 2605, 2610, 77 L. Ed. She alleges that her son was armed with only a fireplace poker and posed no serious threat to the safety of Drinski or others. The time-frame is a crucial aspect of excessive force cases. Cain and Koby were the first to enter. One of the claims most strongly urged by the plaintiff was that the officer had "a duty to use alternative methods short of deadly force to . From a house Plakas grabbed a fire poker and threaten the . 3. Then the rear door flew open, and Plakas fled into snow-covered woods. As he did so, Plakas slowly backed down a hill in the yard. In Koby's car, the rear door handles are not removed. First, according to Drinski, Plakas charged away from the brush at Drinski, yet one paramedic who was summoned to the clearing to administer to Plakas observed that Plakas's feet were about a foot from the brush. In this record, there is expert opinion that Drinski might have been better trained to negotiate with Plakas and that he may have said one thing to Plakas that he ought not to have said, i.e., that Plakas could hit Drinski with the poker as long as it was not in the head. Plakas agreed that Roy should talk to the police. So a court must undertake a fairly critical assessment of the forensic evidence, the officer's original reports or statements and the opinions of experts to decide whether the officer's testimony could reasonably be rejected at a trial. His car had run off the road and wound up in a deep water-filled ditch. He also told Plakas to drop the weapon and get down on the ground. Circuit court decisions further interpret U.S. Supreme Court decisions: 7th Circuit -Plakas v. Drinski (1994) -Decided that there is no right of "armed robbery. accident), Expand root word by any number of In this sense, the police officer always causes the trouble. 5. In brief, after the officer stopped to help the man, his actions and his flight showed he was unhurt and may well have stolen the bike from which he fell. Plakas means to argue that Drinski should have used all available alternatives before deadly force was exercised and that Newton County, Drinski's employer, is liable because it failed to equip and train Drinski to use such methods. 1992). At times Plakas moved the poker about; at times it rested against the ground. Indeed, Plakas merely states this theory, he does not argue it. Other than random attacks, all such cases begin with the decision of a police officer to do something, to help, to arrest, to inquire. Likewise, we decline to impose a constitutional requirement to train the police to use all available equipment beyond the acceptable training program already mandated. 2d 443 (1989). Cain said that Plakas was not slamming the poker into the wall, rather, he was starting toward Cain and perhaps swinging it at Cain and missing. Cain and some officers went to the house. The alternatives here were three. He appeared to be blacking out. According to Monell V. Department of Social Services Supreme Court held that local_under Section 1983, U.S.C when a_of the entity causes_ . The award of summary judgment to the defense in deadly force cases may be made only with particular care where the officer defendant is the only witness left alive to testify. Drinski and Perras had entered the house from the garage and saw Plakas leave. Then, when he thought his retreat would not be successful, he was justified in concluding that Plakas could not be subdued at that moment except through gunfire. He raised or cocked the poker but did not swing it. For the next quarter-hour or half-hour, Drinski and Perras tried to talk Plakas into surrendering. Drinski blocked the opening in the brush where all had entered the clearing. Yet there exists a possibility that although Drinski's acts were justified given his circumstances, Newton County may be held liable for creating those circumstances. Plakas complained about being cuffed behind his back. It became clear she could not physically subdue him. The only witnesses to the shooting were three police officers, Drinski and two others. Finally, there is the argument most strongly urged by Plakas. et al Filing 89 MEMORANDUM Opinion Signed by the Honorable John F. Grady on 12/29/2011. 378, 382 (5th Cir. The plaintiff argued the police ought to have fired a warning shot, which surely he would have heard. Cain said that Plakas was not slamming the poker into the wall, rather, he was starting toward Cain and perhaps swinging it at Cain and missing. Drinski did most of the talking. While Cain and the others tried to explain that Cain was from the fire department and wanted only to give medical aid, Plakas was loud and combative; (Joyce Ailes said he was "hysterical"). Cain told Corporal Koby to check Plakas for intoxication and he told Koby why. 1988) (en banc). The closest thing we have to such a list is the rule which requires prison administrators to provide a law library to inmates, but even here we only require this as an alternative to providing other forms of legal assistance. The tree-sapling discrepancy is of the sort on which popular conspiracy theories are built, but it is not enough to allow a rational trier of fact to decide against Drinski. We do not return to the prior segments of the event and, in light of hindsight, reconsider whether the prior police decisions were correct." 7) Drewitt v. . Plakas brings up a few bits of evidence to do so. After he was shot, Plakas fell to Drinski's right and lay face down semiconscious on the ground. Filing 920070312 My life isn't worth anything." Rptr. She did not have her night stick. Tom v. Voida did not, and did not mean to, announce a new doctrine. Heres how to get more nuanced and relevant Finally he rushed at Koby and swung quite hard at Koby, striking Koby's wrist with the poker. Deputy Drinski passed by the injured Koby and asked him with what he was hit; Koby told him that Plakas had a poker. As he drove he heard a noise that suggested the rear door was opened. Koby gestured for Cain to back up. The district Judge disagreed and granted summary judgment. near:5 gun, "gun" occurs to either to Plakas, however, merely mentions this testimony to show that Drinski was badly trained. Koby moved away and tried to come in the room from another door, but Plakas chased him away, swinging the poker. His theme was that there were people, including his girlfriend at the house, who cared about Plakas and that nobody needs to get hurt. Argued Nov. 1, 1993. Finally, there is the argument most strongly urged by Plakas. right or left of "armed robbery. Perhaps we ought not to consider this theory since it was not pled, but it is of no use to Plakas in any event. This is what we mean when we say we refuse to second-guess the officer. Tom v. Voida is a classic example of this analysis. Moreover, about ten minutes before the shooting, the services of a canine unit (from Lake County) were offered. See Martin L. Fackler, M.D., Police Handgun Ammunition Selection, WOUND BALLISTICS REVIEW, Fall 1992, at 32-37 (suggesting little effect beyond stopping movement). Again, he struck her. See Gilmere v. City of Atlanta, 774 F.2d 1495, 1501 (11th Cir. Cain stopped and spoke to Plakas who said he was fine except that he was cold. Joyce saw no blood, but saw bumps on his head and bruises. As police supervisor and attorney Howard Rahtz points out in his book, Understanding Police Use of Force (Criminal Justice Press; 2003) citing the court's decision in Plakas v. Drinski (7 th . He turned back to Drinski who was 12 to 15 feet away and, with the poker raised, charged at Drinski who backed away. We do not believe the Fourth Amendment requires the use of the least or even a less deadly alternative so long as the use of deadly force is reasonable under Garner v. Tennessee and Graham v. Connor, supra. Roy went out and found Cain, whom he knew, and reported that Plakas was at the Ailes home and willing to come out. If Winnebago County had seen a rash of police killings of crazy people and it was well understood that these killings could have been avoided by the . Cited 201 times, 855 F.2d 1256 (1988) | These cases make it clear that liability cannot be founded on the failure of Drinski to keep some sort of distance or natural barrier between himself and Plakas. 2d 1, 105 S. Ct. 1694 (1985). Through an opening in the brush was a clearing. King, Koby, Cain and Trooper Lucien Mark Perras of the Indiana State Police responded, as did Deputy Sheriff Jeffrey Drinski. Drinski was faced with a man who had, minutes before, attacked a police officer with a dangerous weapon, had refused several entreaties to disarm, had told the officer that one of the two would die that night, and then had moved toward the officer while raising his weapon to strike. Salas v. Carpenter, 980 F.2d 299, 310 (5th Cir. We always judge a decision made, as Drinski's was, in an instant or two. He tried to avoid violence. As Plakas moved toward Drinski, was he supposed to think of an attack dog, of Perras's CS gas, of how fast he could run backwards? See Martin L. Fackler, M.D., Police Handgun Ammunition Selection, WOUND BALLISTICS REVIEW, Fall 1992, at 32-37 (suggesting little effect beyond stopping movement). Then, when he thought his retreat would not be successful, he was justified in concluding that Plakas could not be subdued at that moment except through gunfire. Plakas crossed the clearing, but stopped where the wall of brush started again. Plakas slowly backed down a hill in the brush was a clearing the argument most strongly by. Filing 920070312 My life is n't worth anything. does not argue it blocked opening! Signed by the injured Koby and asked him with what he was shot Plakas! A noise that suggested the rear door was opened 774 F.2d 1495 1501... 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