Stephens v. Scott , 244 F. App'x 603 ( 2007 )


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  •                                                                         United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    F I L E D
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    August 10, 2007
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
    Charles R. Fulbruge III
    Clerk
    No. 05-21000
    AUBREY STEPHENS
    Plaintiff-Appellant
    v.
    S A SCOTT, Police Officer; ET AL
    Defendants
    CITY OF HOUSTON; F J DOMINGUEZ; S G SANCHEZ; SUZANNE A
    SAMPSON
    Defendants-Appellees
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Texas
    USDC No. 4:03-CV-729
    Before DENNIS, CLEMENT, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    Aubrey Stephens, the plaintiff, filed claims under 
    42 U.S.C. § 1983
     against
    the City of Houston and three police officers, alleging that he was brutally
    beaten by officers who pulled him over on a traffic stop. He filed excessive force
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
    be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
    R. 47.5.4.
    No. 05-21000
    claims as well as claims for deliberate indifference to medical needs, alleging
    that the officers sent paramedics away from the scene and denied him treatment
    for his injuries for several hours. The district court dismissed the claims against
    one officer, who was not properly served, and dismissed all of the other claims
    on summary judgment. Stephens has filed a pro se appeal from the summary
    judgment dismissals but has not appealed as to the officer who was not properly
    served. We review de novo, applying the same standards as the district court.
    Fierros v. Tex. Dep’t of Health, 
    274 F.3d 187
    , 190 (5th Cir. 2001).
    The district court dismissed Stephens’s claims against Officer Sanchez,
    one of the officers who initially stopped him, under Heck v. Humphrey, 
    512 U.S. 477
     (1994). The court held that because Stephens pled guilty to the crime of
    resisting arrest under Texas law, his excessive force claim was inconsistent with
    the prior guilty plea. Stephens argues that his excessive force claim is not
    inconsistent with his conviction for resisting arrest. We agree with the district
    court’s conclusion to the contrary. “[W]hen a state prisoner seeks damages in a
    § 1983 suit, the district court must consider whether a judgment in favor of the
    plaintiff would necessarily imply the invalidity of his conviction or sentence; if
    it would, the complaint must be dismissed unless the plaintiff can demonstrate
    that the conviction or sentence has already been invalidated.” Sappington v.
    Bartee, 
    195 F.3d 234
    , 235 (5th Cir. 1999); see also Heck, 
    512 U.S. at 486-88
    . In
    Hudson v. Hughes, 
    98 F.3d 868
    , 873 (5th Cir. 1996), we held that a claim of
    excessive force would necessarily imply the invalidity of a Louisiana conviction
    for battery of an officer. We noted that, if Hudson’s claims of excessive force were
    proved, they would necessarily imply the conviction was invalid because
    Hudson’s conduct would have been justified under Louisiana law as self-defense.
    
    Id.
    Stephens pled guilty to resisting arrest, which in Texas requires as an
    element that the defendant prevent or obstruct a peace officer “by using force
    2
    No. 05-21000
    against the peace officer or another.” TEX. PENAL CODE § 38.03(a). We noted in
    Sappington that we would not consider any theoretical conduct that could have
    occurred to satisfy the elements of the offense but would instead review the
    sequence of events as alleged by the plaintiff on summary judgment. Sappington,
    
    195 F.3d at 236-37
     (“Accepting his version of events, his claim is necessarily
    inconsistent with his criminal conviction.”). The plaintiff here alleged that he did
    not use force against the officers in any way - a version that would be plainly
    inconsistent with a conviction requiring the use of force. Stephens did, however,
    submit affidavits from two individuals, Arthur Hernandez and James Stephens,
    who alleged that they witnessed officers beating Stephens and that he attempted
    to pull himself underneath a truck to escape the beatings. The Texas Penal Code
    does not define “force,” but several Texas courts have interpreted it in a way that
    could allow a conviction of a defendant for resisting arrest if he pulled himself
    underneath a truck. See Todd v. State, No. 08-05-00011-CR, 
    2006 WL 2635143
    ,
    at *4 (Tex. App. Sept. 14, 2006) (unpublished) (holding that, by bracing himself
    against a doorframe to prevent officers from removing him from his house, a
    defendant used force); Spurk v. State, No. 03-03-00255-CR, 
    2004 WL 1403583
    ,
    at *3 (Tex. App. June 24, 2004) (unpublished) (holding that a defendant used
    force when he pulled away from officers, dragging them on the ground for two
    feet). Thus, accepting the version of events alleged by the affidavits produced by
    Stephens, an attempt to pull himself underneath a truck could have, depending
    on the circumstances, constituted the use of force even if Stephens did not
    otherwise resist the officers.
    That, however, does not end the inquiry into whether the claims are
    consistent with the prior conviction. We must also determine whether the
    version of events alleged by Stephens would imply the invalidity of the
    conviction because of any defense to the crime of resisting arrest. See Hudson,
    
    98 F.3d at 873
     (proceeding to evaluate whether the version of events was
    3
    No. 05-21000
    consistent with the justification defense of self-defense); Ballard v. Burton, 
    444 F.3d 391
    , 400 (5th Cir. 2006) (evaluating whether the alleged conduct would
    have constituted self-defense and thus have been inconsistent with the
    conviction). In Texas, the use of force to resist a police officer is justified if
    “before the actor offers any resistance, the peace officer ... uses or attempts to
    use greater force than necessary to make the arrest or search” and “when and
    to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary
    to protect himself against the” exercise of greater force than necessary to effect
    the arrest. TEX. PENAL CODE § 9.31(c). According to the affidavits submitted by
    Stephens, he only attempted to pull himself under the truck in response to
    beatings from officers who “beat him consecutively and excessively” and
    surrounded him hitting and kicking him. His own affidavit claims that six to
    eight officers attempted to murder him, beat him, and used a taser gun on him
    multiple times. Under Texas law, and accepting his version of events, any
    attempt to pull himself under a truck to avoid unlawful beatings would obviously
    have been justified in self defense, because Stephens had not resisted arrest
    prior to the point at which he alleges the officers began attacking him and
    because he could reasonably believe crawling under a truck was necessary to
    protect himself. The excessive force claims here, accepting the version of events
    alleged by Stephens, were thus necessarily inconsistent with his conviction for
    resisting arrest and are barred by Heck.
    Stephens further argues that the summary judgment evidence does not
    establish that he pled guilty to the crime of resisting arrest, because his plea
    document was entitled “Misdemeanor Plea of Guilty/Nolo Contendere” and did
    not specify which of the two he pled. He argues that, viewing this document in
    the light most favorable to him, the district court should have assumed that he
    pled nolo contendere. However, the summary judgment record also included a
    document entitled “Judgment on Plea of Guilty/Nolo Contendere/Not Guilty,”
    4
    No. 05-21000
    which clearly indicates that Stephens pled guilty to resisting arrest and did not
    plead nolo contendere. Moreover, Stephens, who was represented by counsel at
    the time, filed a response to Sanchez’s motion for summary judgment. He did not
    dispute before the district court Sanchez’s contention that he had pled guilty and
    only objected to the documents on the grounds that they were hearsay.
    Generally, we do not consider issues that were not raised below, Castillo v.
    Barnhart, 
    325 F.3d 550
    , 553 (5th Cir. 2003), and the interests of justice do not
    demand that we do so here.
    The district court also dismissed the plaintiff’s claims against Officer
    Dominguez, another Houston police officer. Stephens alleges that the district
    court ignored the affidavits he produced in dismissing the claims against both
    officers. This claim is incorrect. As to Officer Sanchez, the district court relied
    solely on its conclusions based on Heck. As to Officer Dominguez, the district
    court correctly pointed out that none of the affidavits, including the plaintiff’s
    own statement, allege by name that Dominguez participated in any beatings or
    other constitutional violations.
    Stephens argues that the district court erred in dismissing his claims that
    the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his medical needs by delaying his
    treatment. The district court correctly dismissed the claims, noting that the
    medical records show Stephens was treated within three hours of his encounter
    with police and that there was no allegation that the delay resulted in
    substantial harm. See Mendoza v. Lynaugh, 
    989 F.2d 191
    , 195 (5th Cir. 1993).
    Finally, Stephens asserts that the district court erred in dismissing his
    suit against the City of Houston because the alleged constitutional violations did
    not result from a municipal custom or policy. We have reviewed the district
    court’s decision and find no error.
    Because the district court did not err in granting summary judgment on
    Stephens’s claims, we AFFIRM.
    5