Madison Co. judge dismisses lawsuit from family of man shot, killed near Planet Fitness
MADISON, Ala. (WAFF) - The family of a man who was shot and killed by police officers outside of a planet fitness in 2019 filed a complaint against multiple parties including five Madison Police officers, the mayor of Madison, the former chief of the Madison Police Department and seven Madison City Councilmembers.
A judge ruled in favor of the City of Madison, citing that the Fletcher family had filed shotgun pleadings. a shotgun pleading means that the complaint is filled with an excessive number of facts that have no clear organization and states those facts describe a cause of action or defense.
The complaint was the third one filed by the Fletcher family since he was shot and killed in 2019. All three complaints were dismissed for the same reason that the newest motion was dismissed.
The Madison County District Attorney’s Office released a timeline of the events that happened along with photos of the incident a month after it occurred. The district attorney’s office stated that the initial call to 911 came in at 4:40 p.m. on Oct. 27, 2019.
Account of the events according to the district attorney’s office:
Officers arrived on the scene three minutes later and approach the van where Dana Fletcher, his wife Cherelle Fletcher and his minor daughter were inside. Dana Fletcher was sitting in the passenger seat with the door open. Dana Fletcher attempts to close the door while the officer attempts to communicate. The officer then requests backup and states that Dana Fletcher is reaching for his gun.
According to the district attorney’s office, Dana Fletcher then tells the officer to shoot him nine times.
According to the district attorney’s office, a second police officer with the Madison Police Department arrived on the scene and approached the driver’s side door. Cherelle Fletcher who was sitting in the driver’s seat then locked the doors. Officer two orders her to unlock the door 14 times but she refuses each time.
Officers three and four arrive on the scene and officer three has a K-9. Officer two then breaks the driver’s side window. At the same time, officer three tells Dana Fletcher six times to exit the van or he will be bitten by the K-9. The officer then orders the K-9 to bite Dana Fletcher and Dana Fletcher attempts to choke the dog.
Officer two is then able to remove Cherelle Fletcher and Dana Fletcher’s daughter.
The district attorney’s office says Dana Fletcher reportedly reached for a gun, officer one then discharges a Taser at Dana Fletcher as he exits the passenger side of the vehicle holding his gun.
Dana Fletcher reportedly began to raise his gun toward officer three as he exited the van. Officer three then fired four rounds at Dana Fletcher. Officer two and a fifth officer place Dana Fletcher in handcuffs and begin administering medical assistance. Dana Fletcher was later pronounced dead on the scene.
Account of the events according to the Fletcher family’s motion:
The motion filed by the Fletcher family which was dismissed by a judge states that the officer appeared to be angry and that he grabbed Dana Fletcher’s arm. The motion alleges that Dana Fletcher then tells the officer he did nothing wrong and asks why the officer is there.
The court documents filed by the Fletcher family state that officer one had his gun drawn by the time officer two arrived on the scene and that Cherelle Fletcher locked her door because she was frightened. The motion states that officer two smashed the window and yanked Cherelle and the minor out of the vehicle and onto the pavement with the broken glass.
The family says that officer three then commanded the K-9 to attack Dana Fletcher while he was in the vehicle. The motion alleges that officer three pulled the K-9 back and began beating Dana Fletcher.
The suit then alleges that officer one then used a Taser on Dana Fletcher, incapacitating him. Dana Fletcher then began to fall to the ground which is when officer three fired his gun at Dana Fletcher. The family also states that once Dana Fletcher had already been shot, the officer fired another shot at him. The family’s motion alleges that none of the officers rendered aid to Dana Fletcher and he died on the scene.
Summary of legal action:
The Fletcher family filed its initial complaint on Oct. 26, 2021, and the City of Madison filed a motion to dismiss the complaint alleging that it was a shotgun pleading on Nov. 23, 2021. The Fletcher family then filed its amended complaint on Dec. 14, 2021. The court granted the Fletcher family the ability to file a second amended complaint on April 14, 2022.
The court informed the family that it needed to correct the shotgun pleading deficiencies. Days later, the family submitted its second amended complaint.
The second amended complaint is 53 pages long and brings up 24 counts against the defendants.
Rule eight of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures requires that a complaint contains a short and plain statement of the claim showing the pleader is entitled to relief. According to the court documents, rule eight does not require detailed factual allegations, it does require something beyond “labels and conclusions.”
The dismissal also alleges that a chunk of the family’s second amended complaint appears to be a commentary on the qualified immunity doctrine and altercations between citizens and law enforcement in the area.
A judge has ruled that the family will not be allowed to file a third amended complaint. The judge says that the family was warned after the first amended complaint that it would not be granted another chance.
The judge ruled that the family failed to present its claims discretely and succinctly.
Click Here to Subscribe on YouTube: Watch the latest WAFF 48 news, sports & weather videos on our YouTube channel!
Copyright 2023 WAFF. All rights reserved.
