plakas v drinski justia

The answer is no. There are a wide variety of devices available for nonlethal control of those who refuse to surrender, including tasers, capture nets, sticky foam, rubber bullets, and beanbag projectiles. His theme was that there were people, including his girlfriend at the house, who cared about Plakas and that nobody needs to get hurt. Plakas implicitly argues that although Drinski's choice among available alternatives was reasonable, he should have had more choices, i.e., a trained canine, a canister of gas.6 Plakas implicitly seeks to hold Newton County liable for not providing those choices. The district judge disagreed and granted summary judgment, 811 F. Supp. A volunteer fireman found him walking . An alternative plan could have reduced or eliminated the possibility of the arrestee's use of a gun. 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. Heres how to get more nuanced and relevant Cain thought Plakas was out to kill him.&gENDFN>. What Drinski did here is no different than what Voida did. Cited 201 times, 855 F.2d 1256 (1988) | Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F.3d 1143, 1146 (7th Cir. Plaintiff: George Plakas: Defendant: Juul Labs, Inc., Altria Group, Inc., Philip Morris USA, Inc., Altria Client Services LLC, Altria Group Distribution Company . Plakas's administrator claimed that the self-defense story was full of holes and that, even if it were not, Drinski and the county which employed him had a constitutional obligation to do more to preserve his life than they did. Get free summaries of new Seventh Circuit US Court of Appeals opinions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to Justia's Free Newsletters featuring summaries of federal and state court opinions. Rptr. Drinski did most of the talking. Plakas V. Drinski Ecology of Fear Emerging Infectious Diseases NCUA Examiner's Guide Local Budgeting Routledge Handbook on Capital Punishment Principles of Federal Appropriations Law Administration of Insured Home Mortgages Urban Economics and Fiscal Policy Handbook of School Mental Health Policy and Procedures Manual for Guidance of Federal . Nearly every court has commented on that fact that all decisions about deadly force (or any force) "must embody allowance for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split second judgments--in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving." Graham, 490 U.S. at 396-97; see also Sherrod v. Berry, 856 F.2d 802, 806-07 (7th Cir. Cain smelled alcohol on Plakas's breath and Plakas dozed off as they rode to the place where the car had gone off the road. We always judge a decision made, as Drinski's was, in an instant or two. Nor does he show how such a rule of liability could be applied with reasonable limits. Finally, there is the argument most strongly urged by Plakas. Shooting a man who has told you, in effect, that he is going to use deadly force against you and then moves toward you as if to do so is unquestionably an act of selfdefense even if, as Plakas's expert maintains, the man is attempting "suicide by police.". 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. None of these devices is unfailingly effective and safe, and courts and juries are unlikely to be capable of judging when they ought to be used. At one point, Plakas lowered the poker but did not lay it down. Dockets & Filings. Plakas accused Koby of hurting him, and yelled about the handcuffing behind his back and about his scar tissue. From a house Plakas grabbed a fire poker and threaten the . Pratt, 999 F.2d 774 (4th Cir. Our answer is, and has been, no because there is too little time for the officer to do so and too much opportunity to second-guess that officer. 5. 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. Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F. 3d 1143 (7th Cir. This theory is founded on the fact that Plakas told Koby, "You hurt me," and on Joyce Ailes's observation that Plakas had facial injuries. Yet we rejected the proposition "that the Fourth Amendment prohibits creating unreasonably dangerous circumstances in which to effect a legal arrest of a suspect." Justia. He raised or cocked the poker but did not swing it. 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. 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. Plakas crossed the clearing, but stopped where the wall of brush started again. Plakas V Drinski. Sergeant Buddy R. King, of the Newton County Sheriff's Department thought the car had rolled over on its top and slid for 150 to 200 feet before rolling upright, striking a tree and coming to rest in the ditch. Drinski was in fear of his life, and Plakas's action was sudden and unexpected. 1. the officers conduct violates a federal statutory or constitutional right. Drinski did not believe that Plakas was ever ready to surrender, although he was calmer for a time. He appeared to be blacking out. 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. As he did so, Plakas slowly backed down a hill in the yard. Plakas V. Drinski - Ebook written by . Plakas implicitly argues that although Drinski's choice among available alternatives was reasonable, he should have had more choices, i.e., a trained canine, a canister of gas.6 Plakas implicitly seeks to hold Newton County liable for not providing those choices. Jo Ann Plakas, Individually and As Administrator of Theestate of Konstantino N. Plakas, Deceased,plaintiff-appellant, v. Jeffrey Drinski, in Both His Individual and Officialcapacity and Newton County, Indiana, a Municipalunit of Government, Defendants-appellees, 19 F.3d 1143 (7th Cir. 1993 . Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read Plakas V. Drinski. Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F.3d 1143 (7th Cir. Plakas refused medical treatment and signed a written waiver of treatment. Drinski and Perras had entered the house from the garage and saw Plakas leave. Indeed, Plakas merely states this theory, he does not argue it. 2d 1 (1985). 8. Cain left. 1983 against Drinski and Newton County to recover damages in connection with her son's death. ", Bidirectional search: in armed robbery 635 (1987) , the Supreme Court held that when an officer of the la w (in this case, an FBI officer) conducts a search which violates the Fourth Amendment , that officer is entitled to qualified immunit y if the officer proves that a reasonable officer could ha ve believed that the search Cain approached Plakas and saw that Plakas's clothing was wet from the waist down. 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. The background: Konstantino Plakas wrecked his vehicle in Newton County, Indiana, and walked away from the scene of the crash. 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. In any event, Drinski did not say he was stopped by running into a tree, he said it felt as though he ran into a tree and there is nothing in the record to contradict this testimony other than counsel's speculation that an officer who backs into a sapling would not reasonably believe a tree was at his back. 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. Subscribe to Justia's Free Summaries of Eleventh Circuit opinions. Plakas refused medical treatment and signed a written waiver of treatment. The only test is whether what the police officers actually did was reasonable. The district court's grant of summary judgment is AFFIRMED. All of this means Drinski was properly standing in the clearing, gun in hand, several feet away from Plakas, who charged him with the poker raised. You already receive all suggested Justia Opinion Summary Newsletters. Perhaps in recognition of this weakness in the case, Plakas offers two other theories, one of which is a minor theme of his brief, that shooting in self-defense is unjustified where the aggressor acted out of reasonable fear of police brutality. French v. State, 273 Ind. Here it is beyond dispute that, under the Constitution, the police could reasonably (1) arrest Plakas for drunk driving after he exhibited familiar signs of intoxication; (2) track down an escaping arrestee; (3) draw and point weapons after Plakas armed himself and attacked an officer; (4) pursue Plakas into the clearing after he committed a violent offense and was a danger to himself; and (5) try to talk Plakas into disarming himself and surrendering. This conclusion accords comfortably with the opinion of Judge Zagel in Plakas v. Drinski, 19 F.3d 1143, 1148-50 (7th Cir. He saw Plakas cock the poker over his head for a swing and, when Plakas was two arms lengths away, he fired once at Plakas' chest. Appx. Koby opened the rear door of his squad car, and Plakas entered the car voluntarily. It is from that point on that we judge the reasonableness of the use of deadly force in light of all that the officer knew. 3. When paramedic Whitt arrived at the clearing, he found Plakas laying about a foot from the brush at one corner of the clearing. None of these devices is unfailingly effective and safe, and courts and juries are unlikely to be capable of judging when they ought to be used, 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. Plakas v. Drinski, supra, 19 F.3d at 1148; Myers v. Oklahoma County Board, supra, 151 F.3d at 1318-19. This is what we mean when we say we refuse to second-guess the officer. 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. For the next quarter-hour or half-hour, Drinski and Perras tried to talk Plakas into surrendering. Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1, 3, 85 L. Ed. Civ. . The officers told Plakas to drop the poker. Toggle navigation . Even if there were no other witness, there is virtually nothing in this record to impeach Drinski. Tom v. Voida is a classic example of this analysis. In this sense, the police officer always causes the trouble. See also Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 396, 104 L. Ed. But did we hold that this imposes a constitutional duty to use (or at least consider) the use of all alternatives? Also, in Carter v. Buscher, 973 F.2d 1328 (7th Cir. Koby told Plakas that this manner of cuffing was department policy which he must follow. It is unusual to hear a lawyer argue that the police ought to have caused a dog to attack his client, but he is right that such an attack might have led to a better result for his client (and would, in our view, have led to a different sort of lawsuit). 2d 1116 (1976). Plakas was turned on his back. See, e.g., John Barry & Tom Morganthau, Soon, 'Phasers on Stun', NEWSWEEK, Feb. 7, 1994, at 24-26. In Ford v. 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