VERNIE REED, JR. V. CITY OF TACOMA, No. 14-35925 (9th Cir. 2017)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED MAY 19 2017 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT VERNIE WESTLEY REED, Jr., Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee U.S. COURT OF APPEALS Nos. 14-35925, 14-35979 D.C. No. 3:13-cv-05538-BHS MEMORANDUM* v. CITY OF TACOMA, a municipal corporation; et al., Defendants-Appellees. Cross-Appellants Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Benjamin H. Settle, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted May 10, 2017 Seattle, Washington Before: McKEOWN, BEA, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges. The evidence that Officer Terwilliger’s microphone was both attached to his uniform by a cord and stuck inside Vernie Reed’s vehicle as the vehicle started to move forward is not contested. Therefore, there is no genuine dispute of material fact as to whether Officer Terwilliger’s use of force was reasonable under the * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. circumstances, and the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Officer Terwilliger. Jackson v. City of Bremerton, 268 F.3d 646, 653 (9th Cir. 2001). As there was no constitutional violation, the City of Tacoma cannot be held liable under Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York, 436 U.S. 658, 690–95 (1978). Therefore, the City of Tacoma was also entitled to summary judgment. Scott v. Henrich, 39 F.3d 912, 916 (9th Cir. 1994). AFFIRMED. 2

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.