Francis v. Johnson

GRAEFF, J. This case arises from a complaint that Michael Brian Johnson, Jr. (“Mr. Johnson”), appellee, through his mother and next friend, Kathryn McDonald, and his father and next friend, Michael Brian Johnson, Sr. (“Michael, Sr.”), filed in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City against three police officers with the Baltimore City Police Department (“BCPD”) — Tyrone S. Francis, Milton G. Smith, III, and Gregory Hellen, appellants. 1 The complaint alleged a violation of Articles 24 and 26 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights (Count I), false imprisonment (Count II), battery (Count III), and, assault (Count IV) based on the officers’ actions in taking him from Baltimore in a police van, assaulting him, breaking his phone, and then dropping him off in Howard County, in the rain, without shoes, socks or a way home. A jury found in favor of Mr. Johnson, awarding compensatory damages in the amount of $465,000 and $35,000 in punitive damages. The court subsequently granted, in part, the officers’ motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (“JNOV”), striking the $1,000 punitive damages award against Detective Hellen and finding the award of compensatory damages to be excessive. On appeal, the officers present the following questions for our review, which we have revised, as follows: ⁵³⁸ 1.

Did the circuit court err in admitting evidence of a similar incident relating to another individual? 2. Did the circuit court err in failing to further reduce the damages award? 3. Did the circuit court err in allowing the jury to consider the issue of malice? For the reasons set forth below, we agree that the damages award should be reversed, in part.

Otherwise, we affirm the judgment of the circuit court. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND The complaint alleged that, on Thursday, May 4, 2009, at approximately 6:30 p.m., Mr. Johnson was in front of his cousins’ house at 1648 North Gilmor Street with a group of teenagers. A BCPD van pulled up, and an officer inside the van told the group: “Keep it moving.” The teens left the area and walked around the block to a playground. After some time, they returned to 1648 North Gilmor Street.

The BCPD van came back, and the police officer sitting on the passenger side of the van, Detective Hellen, rolled down the window and told Mr. Johnson to come over to the van. Mr. Johnson did so, and the driver of the van, Detective Francis, commented on his “nice watch.” A third police officer in the back of the van, Detective Smith, stated: “If you look at me the wrong way again, I am going to ram this stick up your ass.” Mr. Johnson responded: “Man you ain’t going to do nothing,” and he walked away. Detective Francis then backed up the van, and Detective Smith got out, grabbed Mr. Johnson and pulled him into the back of the van. Detective Smith began hitting him in the legs with his police baton, and he placed his hands around Mr. Johnson’s neck, choking him.

Detective Smith then took Mr. Johnson’s cell phone, broke it in half, and threw it out the window. Detective Francis told Detective Smith that he would “keep driving until you say stop.” Detective Smith did ⁵³⁹ not tell Detective Francis to stop until they had arrived in Ellicott City, Maryland. Detective Francis told Mr. Johnson to give him his shoes. Detective Hellen told Detective Smith to “take his socks too.” Mr. Johnson responded: “Man it is cold and raining,” to which Detective Smith responded: “We don’t care.” Detective Smith then took off Mr. Johnson’s socks, opened the door to the van, and pushed Mr. Johnson out onto the grass.

Mr. Johnson walked to a gas station and called 911. The Howard County Police Department (“HCPD”) responded and contacted the BCPD, asking to meet at the county line to transfer Mr. Johnson. The BCPD responded that it did not do transfers to take people home. The HCPD drove Mr. Johnson back to his home in Baltimore City.

The complaint alleged that the officers were “acting ... within the scope of their employment as Baltimore City Police Officers” when the foregoing occurred, and they “maliciously, intentionally, carelessly, recklessly, with gross negligence, wantonly, willfully, wrongfully, unreasonably, with reckless disregard for human life; and without justification assaulted, battered, and detained” Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson sought compensatory damages in the amount of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) and punitive damages in the amount of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000). Trial was held on January 17-25, 2013. At the start of trial, counsel for the officers moved in limine to exclude any reference to the alleged abduction of Shawnquin Woodland, 2 which involved the same officers and occurred approximately one hour prior to the incident with Mr. Johnson.

Counsel argued that any such evidence was irrelevant, and that Mr. Johnson was seeking to introduce that evidence to prejudice the jury by attempting to show that “these officers were riding around kidnapping people.” Mr. Johnson’s counsel responded that the evidence of Mr. Woodland’s abduction was ⁵⁴⁰ being offered pursuant to Md. Rule 5-404(b) to show proof of motive and to show that the officers’ actions were part of a common scheme. The court denied the motion in limine. It began by stating that, pursuant to Ruffin Hotel Corporation of Maryland v. Gasper, 418 Md. 594, 625 , 17 A.3d 676 (2011), Md. Rule 5-404(b) applied only to evidence offered by the State against a defendant in a criminal case; it did not apply in the civil context. Applying the applicable civil rules, the court addressed whether the evidence was relevant.

In that regard, the court stated: The evidence that’s been ... proffered to me is that an incident that occurred ... less than an hour prior to the incident in question at a location that was at or near the location of the incident in question. The incident involved all three of the same defendants. They were obviously ... working as police officers at that time. They were driving the same vehicle, an unmarked van.

At that time from what’s been proffered to me and what’s been shown is that they used their police powers, their ... presence as police officers to take an individual into custody in the van. [Thereafter the individual is in the van and the officers allegedly ... make statements to that ... particular person, exerting their influences, which I assume to be characterized, again, these are allegations at this point in time, of intimidation in an attempt to, in a sense to exert their influence____And after ... having the person in the van for a period of time, then, in fact, they then mete out the same type of punishment, meaning driving them to a far off location and basically ejecting the person from the van. It seems to me under [Rule] 401 that’s clearly going to be relevant evidence. They’re clearly and these, the contested issues in this case are fairly obvious, but for instance, the ... that particular evidence being, I’d ... say arguably not just a common scheme but part of the same scheme.... ⁵⁴¹ [T]he same scheme with Mr. Woodland and with Mr. Johnson. So I find that certainly it has relevance among many different things ... for instance ... whether or not the defendants acted reasonably and took actions that were not reasonably necessary, whether they acted with or without malice, and whether they acted with or without justification, whether they acted intentionally and knowingly in carrying out this alleged act of intimidation.

And clearly also relevant to whether or not the plaintiff, himself, had given his consent. After finding that the evidence was relevant, the court addressed whether the probative value of the evidence substantially outweighed the danger of unfair prejudice pursuant to Md. Rule 5-403. In that regard, the court stated that the evidence that’s going to be provided “goes to the crux of this case, what exactly was the intent of the parties and whether or not the plaintiff consented.” Although the evidence “will have substantial impact on this trial, I do find ... that ... the probative value significantly outweighs any danger of unfair prejudice.” Mr. Woodland was Mr. Johnson’s first witness. He testified that, on May 4, 2009, he was 15 years old.

He lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, approximately three blocks from North Gilmor Street, where he sometimes would “hang out” with his friends. That day, Mr. Woodland was outside standing on North Gilmor Street talking to his friend when he observed a blue van with tinted windows pull up. He could see three people in the van. Mr. Woodland was laughing at a joke that his friend had made, and when the van pulled up, the driver of the van, Detective Francis, asked him: “What was funny.” Mr. Woodland did not respond.

The three officers then got out of the van and asked Mr. Woodland for his name. Again, he did not respond because he “wasn’t doing nothing wrong.” The officer sitting in the back of the van, Detective Smith, said that Mr. Woodland “thought [he] was tough” and asked him “what was [he] laughing at.” Detective Smith then placed ⁵⁴² Mr. Woodland in handcuffs, told him that he “needed to learn respect,” and placed Mr. Woodland in the van. Mr. Woodland went to sit down on the seat, and Detective Smith told him that he “wasn’t good enough to sit in a seat,” and he “had to sit on the floor.” When the van drove away, Detective Francis stated that he wanted to “see [Mr. Woodland] dead in three years,” and he wanted to “scrape [him] off the street.” Detective Francis and Detective Smith joked that they were going to take Mr. Woodland to Ocean City, strip him naked, and take him to the train tracks and leave him there. Detective Hellen, who was sitting in the front passenger seat of the van, did not say anything.

After approximately twenty-five minutes of driving, the van slowed down. Detective Smith took off the handcuffs, and without waiting for the van to come to a complete stop, pushed Mr. Woodland out of the van near a group of men standing on the corner, yelling “thanks for the information.” Mr. Woodland had not given the officers any information. Mr. Woodland, who had no money and no cell phone, got up and began walking back to West Baltimore. It took him approximately 45 minutes to walk home.

When Mr. Woodland got back to North Gilmor Street, he saw Mr. Johnson and Myron Evans. Mr. Woodland told Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans what had happened to him. Sometime thereafter, the same blue van with the same officers came through North Gilmor Street again and drove by Mr. Woodland and his friends. The van stopped, and Detective Francis said that Mr. Woodland was a “fast motherfucker.” Mr. Woodland walked away down the street.

Mr. Woodland later saw the van stopped and the officers yelling at Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson walked away from the van, but Detective Smith got out from the back of the van, grabbed Mr. Johnson’s shirt, and pulled him into the van. The van drove away. Mr. Woodland did not speak to Mr. Johnson again until the next day.

He did not speak to any police officer about the incident until a few weeks later, when they contacted him. ⁵⁴³ Mr. Johnson testified on his own behalf. On May 4, 2009, Mr. Johnson was 15 years old. That day, after school, he went home, dropped his books off, changed his clothes, took his father’s cell phone from his house, and went to his cousin’s house at 1648 North Gilmor Street. Mr. Johnson was playing video games with his cousin, Myron Evans, when they heard people outside talking.

They went outside to see what was going on and saw Mr. Woodland walking down the street. Mr. Woodland looked “sluggish and lost ... dehydrated.” When Mr. Woodland reached Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans, they had a conversation that made Mr. Johnson “wonder what they was going to do next or was they going to come back.” At the time of the conversation, Mr. Johnson noticed a blue van with tinted windows in the vicinity. The van pulled over, and the driver of the van, Detective Francis, stated to Mr. Woodland that “he was a fast motherfucking walker.” The van then pulled away, and Mr. Woodland left. A short while later, as Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans were sitting in front of 1648 North Gilmor Street, Mr. Johnson observed the van, followed by a white Nissan, driving through the neighborhood.

The third or fourth time the van and the Nissan drove down the block, one of the occupants of the van told Mr. Johnson to “keep it moving.” Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans then walked to a nearby playground. Corey Taylor, another friend, was at the playground. While Mr. Johnson, Mr. Evans, and Mr. Taylor were at the playground, they saw the van again, so they went back to North Gilmor Street to try to “get away from them.” When they got to North Gilmor Street, the van came back around the corner and pulled up next to Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans. The van stopped, and Detective Francis stated to Mr. Johnson: “[Y]ou in the black, come here.” Mr. Johnson walked to the van.

Detective Francis told Mr. Johnson to “stick [his] head in the window,” and when Mr. Johnson complied, he saw Detective Smith in the back of the van “swinging a nightstick.” Detective Smith asked Mr. Johnson “what [he] was looking at” and told him if he “ever look[ed] at [him] wrong again,” he would “ram this stick up your ass.” Mr. Johnson walked away ⁵⁴⁴ from the van, telling Detective Smith “you ain’t going to do nothing.” As Mr. Johnson walked away, the van backed up and Detective Smith got out, grabbed Mr. Johnson by the collar, threw him in the van, and hit him in the side of his face with the nightstick. Detective Smith then told Mr. Johnson to “[s]coot the fuck over.” Mr. Johnson sat on the seat behind Detective Hellen, who was in the front passenger seat. The van then pulled away. Detective Smith asked Mr. Johnson if he had any money.

He then went into Mr. Johnson’s pockets and took his father’s cell phone, telling him he would not need it. Detective Smith broke the phone in half and threw the battery out of the window. He told Mr. Johnson: “Tail's corner [is] ... going to learn some respect.” Detective Francis said that he would continue driving until Detective Smith told him to stop. Detective Hellen never said anything.

Mr. Johnson estimated that he was in the van for a couple of hours. The van stopped in a park in Howard County. Mr. Johnson did not know anyone in Howard County. It was dark outside and pouring rain.

When the van stopped, one of the officers told Mr. Johnson to take his shoes off. Detective Smith then snatched his shoes from him. Another officer told Detective Smith to “get his socks, too.” Mr. Johnson complained that it was raining, and one of the officers said: “[D]o you think we care?” Detective Smith opened the door and pushed Mr. Johnson out in the grass. The van then pulled away.

Mr. Johnson sat on the ground for a while, trying to figure out what to do. He started walking, and when he came to a Citgo gas station, he called 911, telling the dispatcher that the police had beat him up and dropped him off, and he did not know where he was. Approximately 15 minutes later, a Howard County police officer arrived. The officer drove Mr. Johnson back to his home.

After Mr. Johnson returned home, he saw Mr. Taylor, who had Mr. Johnson’s shoes and socks. Mr. Taylor testified that he had seen Mr. Johnson and Mr. Evans at the playground, and they then returned to North ⁵⁴⁵ Gilmor Street. He observed a blue van stopped a few doors down from Mr. Evans’s house. Mr. Johnson walked toward the van and put his head in the window.

Mr. Johnson then walked away from the van, but someone got out of the van, grabbed him, and shoved him in the van. The person who shoved Mr. Johnson into the van had a nightstick. Mr. Taylor heard someone say “[sjcoot the fuck over.” The van then drove off. Approximately three or four hours later, Mr. Taylor saw the van again.

The back passenger door of the van opened and someone threw something out. Mr. Taylor went to see what it was, and he saw Mr. Johnson’s shoes with the socks tucked inside. Mr. Taylor picked up the shoes and took them to Mr. Evans’s house. Mr. Taylor subsequently went to Mr. Johnson’s house and saw Mr. Johnson, who was crying.

Michael, Sr. testified that, after Mr. Evans told him what had happened with his son earlier in the day, he observed his son get out of a Howard County police car. Mr. Johnson looked confused and was not wearing any shoes or socks. A few minutes later, Mr. Taylor came around the corner holding his son’s shoes. When his son later returned his phone to him, it was broken in two pieces.

Officer Terrence Benn, a member of the HCPD, testified that, on May 4, 2009, he was dispatched to a Citgo gas station on Baltimore National Pike between 7:47 p.m. and 7:49 p.m. to check on the welfare of a person. When he arrived, he found Mr. Johnson, who was damp and not wearing any shoes or socks. Mr. Johnson appeared to be “afraid and a little shaken up.” Mr. Johnson asked Officer Benn if he could use his cell phone to call home, and he asked Officer Benn for a ride home. He stated that he had been “snatched up by three undercover officers from West Baltimore,” who had broken his phone, taken his shoes and socks, and dropped him off in Howard County.

Officer Benn drove Mr. Johnson to his home in Baltimore. Detective Smith testified that, on May 4, 2009, he was working in plainclothes with Detective Francis and Detective ⁵⁴⁶ Hellen as a member of the Violent Repeat Offender Squad in the Gilmor Homes housing projects. The Violent Repeat Offender Squad was assigned a blue Dodge Caravan. Mr. Johnson was in the van on that date for the purpose of “gathering intel on violent crimes in the area” pursuant to an ongoing investigation.

Similarly, Mr. Woodland earlier was in the van to help the police. Detective Smith explained that his interaction with Mr. Woodland began after he received a 911 call regarding two males dealing drugs at a red truck in the 1500 block of North Gilmor Street. When the officers responded to the area, Mr. Woodland and another individual were standing near a red truck. As Detective Smith searched Mr. Woodland, he asked him if he had any information on drugs in the area.

Mr. Woodland responded that he did. Detective Smith asked him if he would be willing to give that information to police, and Mr. Woodland responded that he would, but he was unable to do so at that time or place. Detective Smith responded: “That’s fine. I’m going to put you in handcuffs and we’ll put you in the van.” Mr. Woodland agreed.

Detective Smith denied telling Mr. Woodland that he was going to “teach him a lesson,” nor did he threaten Mr. Woodland. Detective Smith stated that it is common for an officer to handcuff an individual in that high-crime area, even if they have not committed a crime, because the individual “wouldn’t want somebody to think that they’re just giving police information.” Mr. Woodland got into the van voluntarily, and none of the officers in the van made any threatening statements. Mr. Woodland asked to be dropped off in East Baltimore because he had family in that area. Detective Smith explained that an informant would not want to be dropped off in the same neighborhood where he was picked up by police because individuals in that area would assume that he was giving information to police.

With respect to Mr. Johnson, Detective Smith testified that, after the incident with Mr. Woodland, he observed a male in the same neighborhood wearing a black hoodie and jeans ⁵⁴⁷ reaching into his waistband. As the officers drove around to investigate why the individual was reaching into his waistband, they saw Mr. Johnson and asked him if he had any information regarding drugs in the area. Mr. Johnson responded affirmatively. Detective Smith asked him to walk away from the van.

Detective Smith then got out of the van and called for Mr. Johnson to come back. He did this for Mr. Johnson’s safety, explaining that he “didn’t want to make it look like he was just going to freely get in the van” because he may be labeled as a “ ‘snitch.’ ” Detective Smith testified that none of the officers threatened Mr. Johnson, struck him with a nightstick, or broke his phone. The officers then drove Mr. Johnson in a “big circle” while he gave the officers information. After gathering information, the officers asked Mr. Johnson where he would like to be dropped off.

Mr. Johnson responded that he would like to be dropped off where the van was at that time, on Route 40 in Howard County. Mr. Johnson was not pushed out of the vehicle, and he had his shoes and socks on. During cross-examination of Detective Smith, counsel for Mr. Johnson asked how often an individual would approach police officers in the Gilmor Homes area to give them information on criminal activity. Detective Smith’s answers were: (1) “it was pretty occasional”; (2) it was not likely for somebody to approach officers in that area; and (3) a new informant would not “necessarily [approach] on a daily basis.” After some discussion on this area of inquiry, the court informed counsel that it had received a jury note asking: “ ‘If it wasn’t common for an informant to come up daily, how did you come by two in one day?’ ” Detective Francis and Detective Hellen also testified.

They generally corroborated Detective Smith’s testimony. The jury found in favor of Mr. Johnson and awarded compensatory and punitive damages against the officers, as follows. ⁵⁴⁸ [[Image here]] Appellants subsequently filed a motion for JNOV and a Motion for New Trial and Remittitur. They alleged, inter alia, that: (1) there was no competent evidence to support the jury’s verdict that the injuries to Mr. Johnson were committed with malice; (2) the jury’s deliberation was improperly prejudiced by the presence of malice on the verdict sheet; (3) the jury’s verdict was improperly prejudiced by Mr. Woodland’s testimony regarding his encounter with the officers; and (4) the jury’s verdict was excessive and exceeded the cap imposed under the Local Government Tort Claims Act (“LGTCA”). 3 ⁵⁴⁹ The court granted, in part, and denied, in part, appellants’ motions. It found that there was “sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict in general, and specifically, the jury’s finding of malice,” noting that the defendants’ “own summary of the facts” in their motion substantiated the jury’s finding.

The court stated that it properly exercised its discretion in admitting Mr. Woodland’s testimony regarding his encounter with the defendants. On the issue of the LGTCA’s statutory cap, the court ruled: As to [Md.Code (2006 Repl.Vol.) § 5-301 et seq. of the Courts & Judicial Proceedings Article (“CJP”) ], only the awards against Defendants Smith and Francis exceeded the statutory cap of $200,000. However, these Defendants are not entitled to any reduction as they were found to have acted with actual malice. Under [CJP] § 5-302(b)(2)(i), “[a]n employee shall be fully liable for all damages awarded in an action in which it is found that the employee acted with actual malice.” See also Smith v. Danielczyk, 400 Md. 98, 130 [ 928 A.2d 795 ] (2007) (defendants are covered by [CJP] §§ 5-301 et seq. “so long as [intentional torts] were committed within the scope of employment and without actual malice”).

Consequently, these claims are without merit. The court did, however, grant some relief on the amount of damages. The court struck the award of punitive damages against Detective Hellen, stating that the damages were awarded for false imprisonment, but he was found not liable for false imprisonment. It found, however, that the awards of punitive damages against Detectives Smith and Francis were not excessive.

On the issue of compensatory damages, the court found that the awards were “grossly excessive.” It stated: The Plaintiff was held against his will for approximately one hour. Certainly he suffered from emotional distress but he never received any later medical or psychological treatment and never made any claim for physical injury or economic loss. Considering “(1) the extent and duration of the inju ⁵⁵⁰ ries sustained; (2) their effect on the overall physical and mental health and well-being of the plaintiff; and (3) the physical pain and mental anguish suffered in the past and which may reasonably be experienced in the future,” [citing Hebron Volunteer Fire Dept., Inc. v. Whitelock, 166 Md. App. 619, 643 , 890 A.2d 899 (2006)], an award of $465,000 in compensatory damages was far above “the highest amount that a reasonable jury would award.” This [c]ourt believes that an award of $300,000 in compensatory, non-economic damages was “the highest amount that a reasonable jury would award” and would “ensure that the award is a ‘full and adequate compensation for the plaintiffs injuries.’ ” Id. at 642-43 [ 890 A.2d 899 ], citing Brawner v. Hooper, 151 Md. 579, 595 [ 135 A. 420 ] (1926). Consequently, this [c]ourt will grant the Defendants’ motion for new trial on damages unless the Plaintiff agrees to a remittitur of $165,000 resulting in final compensatory damages broken down as follows: Defendant Hellen — $32,000, Defendant Smith — $136,000, and Defendant Francis — $132,000.

The court subsequently ordered that appellants’ motion for new trial as to damages only would be granted unless Mr. Johnson agreed to a remittitur of $165,000 on the compensatory damages award. Mr. Johnson’s remittitur was entered on May 28, 2013. This appeal followed. DISCUSSION I. Admission of Mr. Woodland’s Testimony Appellants contend that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of Mr. Woodland’s “abduction” because “it was not relevant to the issues and claims in this case.” They assert that “the proposition that [appellants] took [Mr.] Woodland for a ride without his consent could not establish that [they] later took [Mr. Johnson] for a similar ride.” Appellants further contend that, even if the evidence had probative value with ⁵⁵¹ respect to the incident with Mr. Johnson, it was inadmissible because its prejudicial effect substantially outweighed any probative value.

They assert that the evidence was unfairly prejudicial because it was “unnecessary, lacked materiality and had no probative value,” and it “could and likely did influence the jury to disregard the evidence or lack of evidence” regarding the incident with Mr. Johnson. Mr. Johnson contends that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in admitting Mr. Woodland’s testimony, asserting that it “sought to prove a number of similarities to the circumstances surrounding the testimony elicited from” Mr. Johnson, and it was offered “precisely to provide proof that [ajppellants’ actions on the day in question supported the proposition that they were undertaking a common scheme or plan in taking juveniles against their will to teach them a lesson of