LAMONTE JACKSON-GIBSON; TORIEL DIXON v. REGINALD BEASLEY, Sergeant - Articles

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LAMONTE JACKSON-GIBSON; TORIEL DIXON v. REGINALD BEASLEY, Sergeant

Posted by: Tanja Trezise on Oct 15, 2024

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ON BRIEF: Linda D. Fegins, CITY OF DETROIT, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ON BRIEF: Adam G. Winn, FIEGER, FIEGER, KENNEY & HARRINGTON, P.C., Southfield, Michigan, for Appellees.

Judge(s): COLE, MATHIS, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. On a Friday night, Lamonte Jackson-Gibson celebrated his birthday with several friends, including his girlfriend, Toriel Dixon. After midnight, the group took the celebration to Detroit’s Greektown neighborhood. There, they stopped on the sidewalk to listen to street musicians. Sergeant Reginald Beasley, accompanied by several other police officers, engaged the group and asked them to move along. Jackson-Gibson questioned Sgt. Beasley as to why he needed to leave, and the situation escalated. After a series of mostly nonviolent verbal exchanges, with some pushing and pulling thrown into the mix, Sgt. Beasley tased Jackson-Gibson in his back while he embraced Dixon. Jackson-Gibson and Dixon were then arrested.

In this interlocutory appeal, Sgt. Beasley asserts that he is entitled to qualified immunity from liability for Jackson-Gibson’s and Dixon’s wrongful-arrest claims and for Jackson-Gibson’s excessive-force claim. We dismiss Sgt. Beasley’s challenge to the wrongful-arrest claims for lack of jurisdiction. And we affirm the district court’s denial of qualified immunity to Sgt. Beasley on Jackson-Gibson’s excessive-force claim.

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