Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lawsuit On Behalf of Child Handcuffed by Police
Lawsuit On Behalf of Child Handcuffed by Police
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Attorneys for Plaintiffs
(Additional Counsel Listed on Next Page)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 3 of 76 Page ID #:3
1 INTRODUCTION
2 1. Plaintiff C.B., a minor, by and through his guardians ad litem W.B.
3 and B.T. (“Plaintiff” or “C.B.”), brings this action for injunctive relief and
4 damages against the Moreno Valley Unified School District (“District” or “Moreno
5 Valley USD”), District Superintendent Martinrex Kedziora, the County of
6 Riverside (“County”), the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department (“Sheriff’s
7 Department”), Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, and various individuals for
8 harms resulting from at least four violent handcuffings at his middle school
9 campuses. C.B. alleges that Defendants’ actions, inactions, policies, practices,
10 customs and procedures violated and continue to violate his rights under the U.S.
11 Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et
12 seq., Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (“Section 504”), 29 U.S.C. § 794 et
13 seq., state civil rights laws, and common law torts.
14 2. C.B. further alleges that the District, Sheriff’s Department, and
15 County partner to operate a discipline system that discriminates against students
16 with disabilities and Black students, including Black disabled students. The
17 District employs its own Campus Security Officers (CSOs) and contracts with the
18 Sheriff’s Department to provide School Resource Officers (SROs) at District
19 schools. The District calls on CSOs and SROs (together, “school police officers”)
20 to respond with physical force to minor and/or disability-related behaviors that
21 could be managed by teachers or administrators with less harmful methods, such as
22 crisis intervention, de-escalation, patience, communication, and waiting.
23 3. C.B. is a Black student with disabilities residing within the boundary
24 of the District. School police officers tackled and handcuffed C.B. in response to
25 his disability-related behaviors at least four separate times over a less than four-
26 month span in 2019. At the time of the handcuffings, C.B. was between ten and
27 eleven years old, stood about four feet, eight inches, and weighed about seventy
28 pounds. In at least one incident the school police officers simultaneously shackled
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 of Plaintiff’s federal claims, form the basis of his California state law claims. Thus,
2 this Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiff’s state law claims under 28
3 U.S.C. § 1367. Declaratory relief is available pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2201 and
4 Rule 57 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Injunctive relief is authorized by
5 28 U.S.C. § 2202 and Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
6 12. Venue is proper in the Central District of California, Eastern Division,
7 because Plaintiff resides in, and Defendants operate and perform official duties in,
8 Riverside County. A substantial part of the events, acts, and omissions giving rise
9 to the claims also occurred in Riverside County. 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b).
10 PARTIES
11 A. Plaintiff
12 13. Plaintiff C.B. is a Black, twelve-year-old boy with disabilities in the
13 seventh grade. At the time of the events described herein, C.B. was between ten
14 and eleven years old, approximately seventy pounds, and in the sixth grade. He
15 appears by and through his parents and guardians ad litem W.B. and B.T.
16 14. Presently, and at all times relevant to this action, C.B. was and is a
17 qualified individual with a disability within the meaning of all applicable statutes
18 including the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 504, and California
19 Government Code § 12926. C.B. has diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
20 Disorder (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), disabilities that
21 make it difficult for him to regulate his emotions, maintain focus, communicate,
22 and comply promptly with directions. C.B., at all times relevant to this action,
23 received special education services. 1 C.B.’s parents suspect that he may have
24 additional undiagnosed emotional and behavioral disabilities, some of which
25 resulted from or were exacerbated by his interactions with law enforcement.
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27 Through this complaint, C.B. does not challenge the adequacy of his Individualized Education Program (IEP)
or allege Defendants violated the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). All references to his IEP,
IEP team meetings, or special education classroom herein are for background purposes, e.g., to support his
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status as a qualified individual with disabilities, establish Defendants’ knowledge of his disabilities, and provide
evidence that Defendants discriminated against him by handcuffing him for disability-related behaviors.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 7 of 76 Page ID #:7
1 15. Presently, and at all times relevant to this action, C.B. was and is a
2 resident of Moreno Valley, Riverside County, California.
3 16. Presently, and at all times relevant to this action, C.B. was a student at
4 Landmark Middle School or Mountain View Middle School within the school
5 district boundary of Moreno Valley USD.
6 B. Defendants
7 Moreno Valley USD
8 17. Defendant Moreno Valley USD is a public school district organized
9 and existing under the laws of the State of California, with the capacity to sue and
10 be sued. The District is located in the County of Riverside. It receives federal and
11 state funding to educate students. The District has a student population of 32,299,
12 making it the twenty-fifth most populous school district in California.2
13 18. The District is a public entity for purposes of Title II of the ADA and
14 receives both state and federal assistance such that it is subject to Section 504 and
15 California Government Code § 11135. The District is a business establishment for
16 purposes of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, California Civil Code § 51 et seq.
17 19. The District is the owner, operator, or lessor/lessee of Landmark and
18 Mountain View Middle Schools. It is responsible for promulgating policies and
19 procedures at those schools. The District is sued in its own right and on the basis of
20 the acts and/or omissions of its officials, agents and employees, including those
21 associated with its CSO Program. Under law, including California Government
22 Code § 815(a), the District is liable for the unlawful tortious acts hereinafter
23 complained of, including those violating state law and committed by any District
24 entity or employee acting within the course and scope of their employment.
25 20. The District created and operates its CSO Program. The District
26 contracts with the County of Riverside and/or its Sheriff’s Department to provide
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28 2
California Department of Education, Largest & Smallest Public School Districts – CalEdFacts (Jul. 9, 2020),
https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/ceflargesmalldist.asp.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 parent, subsidiary, affiliate, related entity, partner and/or associate, or such similar
2 capacity of each of the other Defendants, and was at all times, acting and
3 performing, or failing to act or perform, within the course and scope of such
4 similar aforementioned capacities, and with the authorization, consent, permission
5 or ratification of each of the other Defendants, and is personally responsible in
6 some matter for the acts and omissions of the other Defendants in proximately
7 causing the violations and damages complained of herein, and have participated,
8 directed, and have ostensibly and/or directly approved or ratified each of the acts
9 or omissions of each of the other Defendants, as herein described. Plaintiff will
10 seek leave to amend when the true names, capacities, connections, and
11 responsibilities of Defendants DOES 1 through 10, inclusive are ascertained.
12 38. Hereinafter, references to “Defendants” shall include Paragraphs 17-
13 38, inclusive, above.
14 PLAINTIFF COMPLIED WITH GOVERNMENT CLAIM REQUIREMENT
15 (with respect to damages under California State law)
16 39. Plaintiff complied with the California Government Claims Act (also
17 known as the Tort Claims Act), California Government Code § 900 et seq. On July
18 15, 2020, Plaintiff filed an administrative tort claim pursuant to California
19 Government Code § 910 et seq. with Defendants Moreno Valley USD, County,
20 Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Chad Bianco, Superintendent Kedziora, Director
21 Scott, Principal Walker, CSO Arellano, CSO Owens, and Deputy Loza, notifying
22 Defendants of claims that are now set forth herein.3 Plaintiff’s claim stated that the
23 claim was timely as to all events, but also included an application for leave to file a
24 late claim, to the extent any such claims were required.
25 40. On August 10, 2020, Defendant Moreno Valley USD rejected
26 Plaintiff’s claim by way of letter. Similarly, on August 6, 2020, Defendant County
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A true and correct copy of Plaintiff’s tort claim is incorporated by reference as Plaintiff’s Exhibit 1, and will be
filed separately under seal with this Court.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 12 of 76 Page ID #:12
1 rejected Plaintiff’s claim by way of letter. On November 13, 2020, Plaintiff sought
2 clarification of these Defendants’ purported rejection of Plaintiff’s application to
3 present a late claim. Defendant Moreno Valley USD did not respond to Plaintiff’s
4 request for clarification.
5 41. On November 25, 2020, the County provided written letter directing
6 Plaintiff to file a late claim petition pursuant to California Government Code §
7 946.6. Petitioner filed that petition in Riverside County Superior Court on
8 February 2, 2021, naming the District, County, and Sheriff’s Department.
9 42. Defendant Sheriff’s Department failed to reply to Plaintiff’s claim
10 and, by operation of law, Plaintiff’s claim was rejected on August 29, 2020. On
11 November 13, 2020, Plaintiff sought clarification of Defendant Sheriff’s
12 Department’s purported rejection of Plaintiff’s application to present a late claim.
13 Defendant Sheriff’s Department did not respond to Plaintiff’s request for
14 clarification.
15 43. Plaintiff has thus complied with the requirements of Government
16 Code Section 910, et seq.
17 STATEMENT OF FACTS
18 A. Racial and Disability Disparities in School Policing and Restraint
19 Increased Police Presence in America’s Schools
20 44. In recent decades, school districts have drastically expanded school
21 police programs. 4 Instead of addressing student behaviors by providing positive
22 supports or through administrative discipline, school administrators now call the
23 police. 5 The addition of police officers in schools has not made schools safer and
24 instead has increased the criminalization of minor and/or disability-related
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In 1975, just 1% of schools placed police officers on campus, as compared to nearly half of schools today. This
27 expansion was primarily driven by readily available federal funding for SRO programs, rather than an actual
need for increased police presence. See, e.g., Amir Whitaker, et al., AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, COPS
AND NO COUNSELORS: HOW THE LACK OF MENTAL HEALTH STAFF IS HARMING STUDENTS (2019),
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https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/030419-acluschooldisciplinereport.pdf.
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Id.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 behaviors.6
2 45. As school districts have expanded school police programs, they have
3 failed to fund behavioral and mental health supports. For instance, around fourteen
4 million students in the United States attend schools patrolled by police but entirely
5 lacking in counselors, nurses, psychologists, or social workers.7
6 46. Increased police presence in schools has had a disproportionate
7 impact on students with disabilities and Black students. According to the U.S.
8 Department of Education’s 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection Survey, 8 students
9 with disabilities represent just 12% of the student population nationally but 28% of
10 all students referred to law enforcement 9 or arrested at school. Black students make
11 up 15% of student enrollment nationally but 31% of students referred to law
12 enforcement or arrested at school.
13 47. These disparities are also present in the national data on mechanical
14 restraints,10 the category capturing handcuffings. According to the 2017-18 Civil
15 Rights Data Collection survey, 11 students with disabilities again make up about
16 12% of the student population nationally but 41% of all students subjected to
17 mechanical restraints. Black students represent 18% of all students with disabilities
18 nationally, but 34% of those put in mechanical restraints.
19 48. Police presence and contact have grave, lifelong consequences for
20 students. Multiple studies demonstrate that police contact causes and exacerbates
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Id.; see also Emily K. Weisburst, Patrolling Public Schools: The Impact of Funding for School Police on
22 Student Discipline and Long-Term Education Outcomes, 38 J. OF POLICY ANALYSIS & MANAGEMENT 338
(2019) (finding that federal grants placing police on school campuses increased sanctions for low-level offenses,
23 particularly for Black students, and decreased high school graduation rates).
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Whitaker, supra note 4.
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24 U.S. Dept. of Educ., 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection: School Climate and Safety (May 2019),
https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/school-climate-and-safety.pdf.
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25 The Civil Rights Data Collection defines law enforcement referral as “[A]ction[s] by which a student is
reported to any law enforcement agency or official, including a school police unit, for an incident that occurs on
26 school grounds, during school-related events, or while taking school transportation, regardless of whether
official action is taken.” See id. at p. 3.
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27 The Civil Rights Data Collection uses the same definition of “mechanical restraint” as California state law:
“The use of a device or equipment to restrict a pupil’s freedom of movement.” Cal. Educ. Code § 49005.1(d)(1).
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U.S. Dept. of Educ., 2017-18 Civil Rights Data Collection: The Use of Restraint and Seclusion on Children
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with Disabilities in K-12 Schools (Oct. 2020), https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/restraint-and-
seclusion.pdf.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 14 of 76 Page ID #:14
1 mental health disabilities, especially trauma and anxiety. 12 Youth are particularly
2 vulnerable to heightened emotional distress when they experience intrusive police
3 stops.13 Districts that are overpoliced and under-resourced thus subject their
4 students to traumatic police contact, while simultaneously leaving them without
5 mental health resources to process these events.
6 49. Police contact causes even greater harm when accompanied by
7 physical force. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) has
8 explained that even if no physical injury is sustained, children who are restrained
9 can be severely traumatized as a result. 14 Students are too anxious, frightened, or
10 angry to focus on and fully participate in classroom activities. When an individual
11 is exposed to trauma, especially in the form of repeated traumatic stress of an
12 extreme traumatic event, the brain becomes over-sensitized to any potential
13 stimulus that might cue a threat. The individual thus perceives ordinary encounters
14 as threatening ones, triggering a “fight or flight” or dissociative response. 15
15 50. Dissociative responses impair a student’s attention, organization,
16 comprehension, memory, and trust, all necessary for the acquisition of academic
17 skills. Thus, childhood trauma is linked to poor academic outcomes, including
18 failure to reach proficiency in core subjects and/or to graduate from high school.
19 Exposure to trauma causes challenges with emotional self-regulation – including
20 aggression, disproportionate reactivity, impulsivity, distractibility, or withdrawal
21 and avoidance – that disrupt the learning environment and frequently lead to
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23 See, e.g., Amanda Geller et al., Aggressive Policing and the Mental Health of Young Urban Men, 104 AM. J.
PUBLIC HEALTH 2321 (2014) (studying young men’s experiences of police encounters and finding that men who
24 reported more police contact also reported more trauma and anxiety symptoms, indicating a need for less invasive
tactics); Dylan B. Jackson et al., Police Stops Among At-Risk Youth: Repercussions for Mental Health, 65 J.
25 ADOLESCENT HEALTH 627 (2019) (finding that youth who were stopped more often by police officers were more
likely to report emotional trauma).
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26 Jackson et al., supra note 12.
14
See U.S. Gov’t Accountability Office, GAO-09-719T, Testimony before the Committee on Education and
27 Labor, House of Representatives: Seclusions and Restraints, Selected Cases of Death and Abuse at Public and
Private Schools and Treatment Centers p.1, 8 (May 19, 2009), https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-09-719T.
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Perry et al., Childhood Trauma, The Neurobiology of Adaptation, and “Use-dependent” Development of the
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Brain: How “States” Become “Traits” 16 INFANT MENT. HEALTH J. 271, 277-79 (1995)
http://media.wix.com/ugd/29cec4_4951bdf3fb444a62b01f2da71e4a4cae.pdf.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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28 17
Moreno Valley USD Human Resources Division, Position Title: Campus Security Officer I (Oct. 17, 2017),
https://4.files.edl.io/af25/09/04/18/173822-651104c9-971a-47b6-ba39-362fd1900e5b.pdf.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 that simultaneously immobilize all four extremities. 18 The same District policy
2 only allows its staff, including CSOs, to use restraint if they have received a
3 certification in Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI).
4 C. The District’s School Resource Officer Program
5 Relationship Between the District and Sheriff’s Department
6 61. The District maintains an SRO program through a “Law Enforcement
7 Services Agreement” with the Sheriff's Department and/or County. The agreement,
8 effective July 1, 2018, to June 30, 2021, specifies that the Sheriff’s Department
9 will provide nine SROs to the District, three of whom serve the middle school
10 campuses and six of whom serve the high school campuses. The total cost of the
11 three-year contract is $4.3 million, which includes the full cost of the SROs’
12 salaries. On information and belief, the District funds the Agreement almost
13 entirely through Local Control Funding Formula Supplemental and Concentration
14 Funds.
15 62. On information and belief, the SROs are employees of the Sheriff’s
16 Department and/or County of Riverside.
17 63. According to the contract, the SROs are sworn law enforcement
18 officers whose duties include patrolling and investigating crimes on Moreno
19 Valley USD campuses, facilitating conversations between students and their
20 parents, and serving as a liaison at elementary school sites.
21 Department Policies Governing Body Camera Footage
22 64. Under a 2016 directive, the Sheriff’s Department requires its officers
23 to create body camera recordings of “any law enforcement action where there is
24 reason to believe it would be appropriate and valuable to record the event.” This
25 includes citizen contacts and detentions.
26 65. If an officer fails to initiate the recording of an event when required,
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28 18
Moreno Valley USD, MVUSD SELPA Handbook at p. 6-4 (Aug. 26, 2020),
https://4.files.edl.io/460c/08/26/20/224843-47f1cf94-84cd-47e4-8a31-5c07ab6ef4b2.pdf.
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COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 the officer must document the reasons for the failure in a subsequent report or
2 memorandum. Further, officers may not terminate the body camera recording until
3 the conclusion of the encounter, “unless tactical or practical reasons dictate
4 otherwise.” Even then, the officer must reinitiate the recording as soon as possible
5 and document the reasons for early termination in a report.
6 Sheriff’s Department Policies on Restraint and Handcuffing
7 66. The Sheriff’s Department Standards Manual (“Manual”) sets out the
8 standards for when officers may handcuff youth. Policy 306.2.3 directs officers not
9 to handcuff youth under age fourteen “unless he/she is suspected of a dangerous
10 felony or when the deputy has a reasonable suspicion that the juvenile may resist,
11 attempt escape, injure him/herself, injure the deputy, or damage property.”
12 67. Policy 324.9 further specifies that officers may not handcuff status
13 offenders or children age eleven or younger unless they are “combative or
14 threatening.” The Policy does not guide officers as to how to decide whether a
15 child meets the standard of being “combative or threatening.” This standard is
16 susceptible to implicit and explicit racial biases, since officers are more likely to
17 view ambiguous or disability-related behavior as “combative and threatening”
18 when shown by Black students rather than white students.19
19 68. The Manual does not require, or even encourage, officers to use crisis
20 communication or other non-violent alternatives to restraint, particularly for
21 students with disabilities.
22 D. Facts Regarding Plaintiff C.B.
23 69. C.B. is a student of Defendant Moreno Valley USD and is in the
24 seventh grade at Mountain View Middle School. C.B. has been on a remote
25 learning model for school since on or about March 16, 2020, due to the Covid-19
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27 See Kurt Hugenberg & Galen V. Bodenhausen, Facing Prejudice: Implicit Prejudice and the Perception of
Racial Threat, 14 PSYCHOL. SCIENCE 640, 643 (Nov. 2003),
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00519/full; Anthony Page, Batson’s Blind-Spot:
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Unconscious Stereotyping and the Peremptory Challenge, 85 B.U. L. REV. 155, 222-24 & n.337 (2005) (citing
studies that show “people will assign different significance to identical actions depending on the actors’ race.”).
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1 shutdown. At the time of the incidents described herein, C.B. was between ten and
2 eleven years old and enrolled in the sixth grade.
3 70. C.B. is an engaging and bright twelve-year-old boy who loves playing
4 basketball, fishing competitively and with his father, playing video games, and
5 spending time with his family. C.B. is intelligent and enjoys learning, showing
6 particular aptitude in mathematics. He and his parents hope that he will one day
7 attend college and pursue a career about which he is passionate.
8 71. C.B. has diagnoses of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
9 (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), disabilities that make it
10 difficult for him to regulate his emotions, maintain focus, communicate, and
11 comply promptly with directions. C.B.’s parents suspect that he may have
12 additional undiagnosed emotional and behavioral disabilities, some of which
13 resulted from or were exacerbated by his interactions with law enforcement.
14 72. C.B. enrolled in the District in May 2019 after attending other school
15 districts in Los Angeles and Riverside Counties. Staff never handcuffed C.B. in his
16 prior school districts. Since C.B. enrolled in the District, CSOs and SROs
17 handcuffed him at least four times in less than four months, as detailed below.
18 Mechanical Restraint No. 1: On or about August 21, 2019, school police officers
19 handcuffed C.B. for conduct resulting from his disabilities.
20 73. C.B. had been a student at Landmark Middle School (“Landmark”)
21 for less than one month, when on or about August 21, 2019, school police officers
22 handcuffed him.
23 74. That day, then-Landmark Assistant Principal Pedro Gutierrez called
24 C.B.’s mother, B.T., to tell her to pick him up from school early because he was
25 “acting up.” On information and belief, C.B. was exhibiting behaviors caused by
26 his disability.
27 75. When C.B.’s mother arrived at Landmark, Mr. Gutierrez told her that
28 school police officers had handcuffed C.B. The officers had removed the handcuffs
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1 before she arrived. Mr. Gutierrez told C.B.’s mother that he instructed officers to
2 remove the handcuffs because he believed that handcuffing C.B. was “totally
3 unacceptable,” or words to that effect. Other than this statement, Mr. Gutierrez did
4 not provide C.B.’s mother with any further information regarding the handcuffing.
5 76. Contrary to District policy, the District did not document the
6 mechanical restraint in an Incident Report. As a result, Plaintiff cannot state the
7 names of the school police officers who handcuffed him. He believes this
8 information is solely in the hands of Defendants.
9 77. On information and belief, the District did not document the incident
10 or adequately investigate, train, supervise, or discipline the staff involved.
11 Mechanical Restraint No. 2: On August 26, 2019, school police officers shackled
12 C.B.’s hands and ankles for conduct resulting from his disabilities.
13 78. Five days later, on August 26, 2019, District CSOs handcuffed and
14 leg-cuffed C.B. at Landmark.
15 79. That day, Mr. Gutierrez directed CSO Demetrius Owens to bring C.B.
16 to the office for a meeting. CSO Owens’ witness statement does not describe a
17 reason for this meeting. According to a behavior log drafted by C.B.’s teacher, Mr.
18 Proprofsky, C.B. had disrupted class earlier in the day by cursing and ripping
19 paper. Plaintiff suspects that the meeting with Mr. Gutierrez was related to his
20 alleged disruptive behavior in class – which took place approximately three hours
21 before Mr. Gutierrez summoned him to his office. Again, these behaviors were
22 caused by his disabilities.
23 80. CSO Owens, CSO King,20 and then-Landmark Assistant Principal
24 Kamilah O’Connor found C.B. on the playground. All three directed C.B. to leave
25 the playground and go to the office. C.B. verbally refused and started to exhibit
26 conduct related to his disabilities, including an inability to self-regulate or express
27 himself. He allegedly clenched his fists and began breathing heavily. CSO King
28
20
CSO King’s witness statement does not include his/her/their first name.
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1 and CSO Owens responded by dragging C.B. by his arms to a seclusion room.
2 81. Then-Landmark Principal Scott Walker joined CSOs Owens and King
3 in the seclusion room. Surrounded by three much larger adults in the seclusion
4 room, C.B. began experiencing and externalizing emotions of fear, anxiety, and
5 frustration. He began pulling away, pushing, and swinging with his arms in an
6 attempt to free himself from the room. C.B. was not acting out physically before
7 the CSOs physically dragged him to the seclusion room.
8 82. Principal Walker directed CSO King and CSO Owens to handcuff
9 C.B. At the time, C.B. was four feet, eight inches tall and approximately seventy
10 pounds. The CSOs placed C.B. in a physical hold, tackled him to the floor, and
11 forced him into District-issued metal cuffs. The CSOs pulled C.B. up from the
12 ground and attempted to sit him in a chair. Now handcuffed in a seclusion room
13 and surrounded by three adults, C.B. became even more upset and distressed.
14 Unable to regulate his emotions due to his disabilities, he began flailing his legs.
15 83. Principal Walker then directed CSO King and CSO Owens to place
16 separate handcuffs on C.B.’s ankles. The CSOs then immediately and
17 simultaneously shackled C.B.’s hands and ankles with metal cuffs. C.B. remained
18 shackled in this manner for an unknown period of time.
19 84. The District suspended C.B. from school that day and his aunt came
20 to pick him up. She was concerned and confused to find C.B. sitting in the fetal
21 position against the wall of the seclusion room. His aunt observed that C.B.’s arms
22 were hugging his knees and his head was down. C.B. was not wearing a shirt,
23 which had come off during the CSOs’ interaction with him. A desk was blocking
24 the door to the seclusion room. C.B. and his aunt helped school staff clean up the
25 seclusion room, and then she took him home.
26 85. No District staff told C.B.’s aunt that CSOs had physically tackled
27 C.B. and then handcuffed and leg-cuffed him. District staff never told C.B.’s
28 parents of the incident either.
21
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27 21
On information and belief, the unidentified District staff member is CSO Arellano. The police report states an
individual (name redacted) contacted Deputy Loza on October 7, 2019, and alleged that C.B. threw a rock in his
28
direction earlier that day. Separately, on October 7, 2019, CSO Arellano added a behavior log entry in C.B.’s
pupil file alleging he threw the rock. No one created a log entry documenting the restraints on October 8, 2019.
22
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 23 of 76 Page ID #:23
1 91. Unlike the other incidents where school police officers handcuffed
2 C.B., Deputy Loza’s body camera partially captured the October 8, 2019,
3 incident.22 At C.B.’s counsel’s request, the Sheriff’s Department produced a video
4 that is approximately eight minutes long. On information and belief, Deputy Loza
5 shut off her body camera before the incident concluded, violating Sheriff’s
6 Department policy and leaving the remaining hour of the incident unfilmed.
7 92. Based on the review of the available Department footage, immediately
8 upon entering C.B.’s classroom, Deputy Loza directed the teacher (name unknown)
9 to remove the other students from the classroom. This left C.B. alone with Deputy
10 Loza and CSO Arellano. C.B. sat motionless at his desk with his head down.
11 93. Deputy Loza stood over C.B. and said, “You’re going to go to the
12 office, no matter what. Either you go, cooperating, or I’m going to take you to the
13 office.” Neither Deputy Loza nor CSO Arellano explained why they were asking
14 him to go to the office. C.B. kept his head down and quietly said he was not going.
15 For thirty seconds, Deputy Loza repeated different variations of “do you
16 understand you are going to the office?” but never explained why. C.B. remained
17 completely still, repeating that he was not going at a barely audible volume.
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26 Body Camera Image: C.B. sits with his head down while Deputy Loza demands
27 he go to the office
28 22
A true and correct copy of the October 8, 2019, body camera footage is incorporated by reference as
Plaintiff’s Exhibit 2. Plaintiff will fill Exhibit 2 separately under seal with this Court.
23
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1 94. After less than ninety seconds, Deputy Loza grabbed the back of
2 C.B.’s sweatshirt and physically pulled him out of his seat. She then passed C.B. to
3 CSO Arellano. While CSO Arellano twisted the four foot, eight inch boy’s wrists
4 behind his back to try and force handcuffs on him, Deputy Loza repeated, “You are
5 going to the office.” Again, consistent with his disabilities and behavior that they
6 had seen him exhibit before, C.B. swore and stated that he was not going. The
7 officers then tackled C.B., pinned him to the ground, and pressed him face down
8 into the floor. He screamed out in pain: “Ow! My knee!” CSO Arellano then dug
9 his own knee into C.B.’s back, and Deputy Loza placed him in handcuffs. Neither
10 officer spoke to C.B. about his legal rights.
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Body Camera Image: CSO Arellano puts his knee into C.B.’s back while Deputy
22 Loza places C.B. in handcuffs
23 95. The Sheriff’s Department footage also shows that while the two
24 officers pinned C.B. on the ground, Deputy Loza threatened him by stating that if
25 he moved then the handcuffs were “going to get tight on [him].” While C.B.’s
26 hands are out of frame, a distinct clicking can be heard on video for about thirty
27 seconds, as Deputy Loza presumably followed through with her threat and
28 tightened C.B.’s handcuffs. C.B. wiggled on his stomach briefly and swore,
24
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 behavior consistent with his disabilities and of being physically and mechanically
2 restrained and having handcuffs tightened. He then laid still on the ground,
3 facedown and handcuffed. Deputy Loza radioed an unknown person and stated: “I
4 have one juvenile detained. He’s being uncooperative.”
5 96. The Sheriff’s Department footage then shows Deputy Loza and CSO
6 Arellano pulling C.B. to his feet and pushing him towards the classroom door,
7 while C.B. squirmed and cried out to be let go. The officers again physically forced
8 C.B. face down onto the floor. Another CSO then arrived (the “second CSO”). 23
9 The second CSO told C.B. that he should “relax.” At one point while CSO
10 Arellano held C.B. facedown, Deputy Loza stood over him and accused him of
11 kicking. The video does not show C.B. kicking anyone in frame.
12 97. The officers surrounded C.B. and held him face-down on the floor for
13 almost two minutes. The video shows Deputy Loza, CSO Arellano, and the second
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25 Body Camera Image: Unknown CSO twists C.B.’s leg and pushes it into the
ground. CSO Arellano and Deputy Loza are to the left holding C.B. down.
26
23
27 On information and belief, the second CSO was Demetrius Owens. CSO Arellano is heard on video using his
radio to ask someone he refers to as “Owens” to come assist in the classroom. About thirty seconds later, the
video shows the second CSO entering the classroom. Owens was a CSO assigned to Landmark at the time of the
28 incident. He also handcuffed C.B. on August 26, 2019, along with CSO King.
25
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 26 of 76 Page ID #:26
1 CSO pull him up to a seated position on the floor. Still handcuffed, C.B. cried out
2 as CSO Arellano pressed down on his shoulders. The second CSO also held C.B.
3 down. The video shows this person twisting C.B.’s leg and using both arms and his
4 body weight to press C.B.’s calf into the ground.
5 98. C.B. was visibly in pain and cried, “Let me go! Let me go!” While
6 immobilizing C.B.’s hands, shoulders, and leg, the two male CSOs repeated: “If
7 you calm down, we calm down. You calm down, we calm down.” C.B. – a child
8 with known behavioral and emotional disabilities – was unable to “calm down”
9 while handcuffed and restrained by three officers.
10 99. The Sheriff’s Department footage then shows two unidentified district
11 staff arriving, but neither took any steps to intervene. One radioed for Principal
12 Walker to come to the classroom, but could not reach him. CSO Arellano directed
13 her to leave the room and find Mr. Walker. All the while, C.B. remained
14 handcuffed, immobilized on the floor. Deputy Loza stood over him, and threatened
15 to take him to the police station if he did not calm down.
16 100. After two more minutes, the video shows the second CSO releasing
17 C.B.’s leg from his hold. The three officers then pulled C.B. into a standing
18 position, and C.B. cried out in apparent pain. Deputy Loza said that a fourth
19 officer, her partner, would be arriving to help them escort C.B. off campus to an
20 awaiting police car. At that point, the body camera footage abruptly ends.
21 101. Deputy Loza and her partner, Deputy Toscano, 24 later placed C.B. in
22 the back of a police car. By that time, given the events that had just occurred and
23 were continuing to occur, C.B. was experiencing worsening trauma. While locked
24 in the back seat, C.B. reportedly stated: “I wish I was dead.” At times the deputies
25 left C.B. alone in the locked car.
26 102. While locked and handcuffed in the police car, C.B. managed to use
27 his cell phone to call his mother. C.B.’s mother recalls that he repeatedly screamed,
28
24
Deputy Loza’s police report does not include Deputy Toscano’s first name.
26
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1 “Tell them to let me go!” before the phone hung up. C.B.’s mother was afraid and
2 confused; no one from the school had contacted her about these events. When
3 C.B.’s mother called her son back, Deputy Loza answered the phone. C.B.’s
4 mother told Deputy Loza that she was on her way to pick C.B. up from school.
5 Deputy Loza responded that it was too late; the ambulance was coming to pick him
6 up. However, C.B. remained in the back of the police car for nearly an hour before
7 an ambulance arrived. During this time, other students passing by saw C.B.
8 handcuffed in the back of the police car.
9 103. At approximately 12:55 pm, the ambulance took C.B. from Landmark
10 to Riverside’s Emergency Treatment Service facility for a 5585 evaluation.25 At the
11 time of hospitalization, the treating psychiatrist, Dr. Alexander Tsang, and treating
12 therapist, Shirlee Lyons, noted that C.B. presented as “selectively mute.” His
13 distress began to decrease once his mother arrived, and they discharged him that
14 day at around 4:00 pm. C.B. spent over half a day handcuffed, held in a police car,
15 transported by ambulance, and psychiatrically hospitalized.
16 104. Days after this incident, Landmark staff handed B.T. a notice of
17 suspension, which mentioned the alleged rock throwing incident from October 7,
18 but not the October 8 use of physical and mechanical restraints.
19 105. C.B.’s mother asked staff to provide her with more information about
20 the school police officers restraining, handcuffing, and holding her son in a police
21 car. Staff told C.B.’s mother that they had no information about the incident. Based
22 on information and belief, the District failed to properly document and/or report
23 this incident. Contrary to its own documentation and reporting procedures, the
24 District has failed to provide C.B.’s parents with any documentation related to the
25 October 8, 2019, restraint, handcuffing, detention, or hospitalization. To date, the
26 District has failed to produce any written Incident Reports from its staff related to
27
25
Under California Welfare & Institutions Code Section 5585, officers may temporarily place a minor in a
28
psychiatric facility where probable cause supports that “as a result of mental disorder” the minor is: (1) a danger
to themselves or others or “gravely disabled”; and (2) “voluntary treatment is not available.”
27
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1 this handcuffing, even after multiple requests by counsel. Plaintiff presumes based
2 on this reasonable investigation that none exist.
3 106. The Sheriff’s Department similarly failed to comply with its own
4 documentation procedures. On information and belief, Deputy Loza turned off her
5 body camera before the incident ended, against Sheriff’s Department policy. Also
6 against Sheriff’s Department policy, Deputy Loza did not document her reasons for
7 turning off her camera in a report or memorandum. In addition, despite requests
8 from counsel, the Sheriff’s Department has not produced all body camera footage
9 from Deputy Loza for this incident. Also, on information and belief, Deputy
10 Toscano did not create a police report or body camera footage for this incident
11 and/or the Sheriff’s Department did not produce these records.
12 107. The SROs violated their own Policies 306.2.3 and 324.9 when they
13 handcuffed C.B., who was eleven years old at the time and not combative,
14 threatening, or suspected of committing any crimes.
15 108. Again, on information and belief, Defendants Moreno Valley USD
16 and Sheriff’s Department did not document the incident or adequately investigate,
17 train, supervise, or discipline the staff involved.
18 Mechanical Restraint No. 4: On December 9, 2019, school police officers
19 handcuffed C.B. while he was already physically restrained for exhibiting
20 disability-related behaviors.
21 109. After their son was restrained, handcuffed, locked in a police car, and
22 sent for an involuntary psychiatric hold while at Landmark, C.B. and his parents
23 were afraid for his safety and no longer wanted him to return to the same school.
24 110. After the October 8, 2019, incident, C.B.’s parents made the difficult
25 decision to keep C.B. at home rather than subject him to further discrimination,
26 harm and repeated constitutional injuries. He remained at home without any
27 schooling for approximately five weeks. Desperate for another option, C.B.’s
28 parents obtained an intra-district transfer permit so that C.B. could attend
28
COMPLAINT FOR DAMAGES AND INJUNCTIVE AND DECLARATORY RELIEF
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1 Mountain View Middle School (“Mountain View”). The move forced C.B. to,
2 among other things, leave his friends and social networks behind.
3 111. On December 9, 2019, shortly after starting at Mountain View,
4 Deputy Loza again handcuffed C.B. after he had a disagreement with a classmate.
5 C.B. allegedly pulled a classmate’s chair out from under him. The classmate then
6 shoved C.B. The two children pushed each other a few times, and the teacher
7 intervened to break it up. Unable to regulate his emotions effectively, C.B. pushed
8 his teacher and began to throw classroom items.
9 112. The teacher cleared the classroom and called for CSOs and SROs to
10 respond. CSO Juan Ramirez and CSO Kristopher Woodside arrived first and,
11 almost immediately, physically restrained C.B., who was displaying disability-
12 related behaviors. CSO Woodside restrained C.B. on the ground.
13 113. Deputy Loza arrived next about fifteen minutes later. Contrary to
14 Sheriff’s Department protocols, Deputy Loza did not turn on her body camera and
15 later failed to report why she did not turn it on, despite Department procedures
16 mandating otherwise. When Deputy Loza arrived, CSOs Ramirez and Woodside
17 were still physically restraining C.B. Without attempting to deescalate the situation
18 or address C.B.’s disability-related behaviors, Deputy Loza handcuffed C.B.
19 114. After handcuffing C.B., Deputy Loza transported him to the Moreno
20 Valley Police Station. While the police held C.B. at the station, Deputy Loza
21 decided to refer C.B. to the Emergency Treatment Services Center (ETS) for a
22 5585 evaluation and requested an ambulance transport. Before the ambulance got
23 to the police station to transport C.B., his mother arrived and asked to take her son
24 home. But Deputy Loza refused. Instead, C.B’s mother watched the officers escort
25 her son outside the back of the police station building and into the ambulance.
26 115. The ambulance transported C.B. to the ETS Center. According to the
27 official police report, an unidentified person restrained C.B. to the gurney during
28 the ride. Hours later, C.B. finally reunited with his mother and received his
29
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30
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6
Law Enforcement Referral Rates for Black Students
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection, 2017-18 Survey
7
16
13.5
8 14
12
Referrals Per 100 Black Students
9 10
8
10 6
4 2.2
11 2
1.4 0.9 1.1 1.4 0.9 1
0 0 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.2
12 0
13
14
15
16
17 121. The Sheriff’s Department’s school arrest data further show that Black
18 students are more likely to be arrested and arrested for non-violent offenses than
19 their non-Black peers. Of Black students arrested on campus, 78% were arrested
20 for non-violent offenses, compared to 63% of non-Black students arrested on
21 campus. Similarly, 46% of Black students arrested on campus are arrested for the
22 most minor offense – being out of class during school hours – while only 37% of
23 non-Black students are arrested for this offense.
24 122. Related to the disproportionate representation of Black students in law
25 enforcement referrals and arrests is the fact that the District disproportionately
26 restrains Black students. Per the Civil Rights Data Collection, Black students make
27 up 37% of all students restrained, almost three times their representation in the
28 District. The District also disproportionately restrains students with disabilities.
31
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1 Students with disabilities make up 61% of all students restrained, over 3.5 times
2 their representation in the District.
3 Defendants’ Discriminatory Policies, Practices, and Procedures
4 123. The high rates of law enforcement referrals result from Defendants’
5 various policies, practices and procedures that allow and even encourage school
6 police officer involvement in low-level and disability-related behaviors, even for
7 incidents that occurred on days prior – like C.B.’s act of throwing a rock. Teachers
8 or administrators could handle these incidents instead.
9 124. For example, the aforementioned “Law Enforcement Services
10 Agreement” between the District and Sheriff’s Department that establishes the
11 SRO program does not prohibit SROs from intervening in minor school discipline
12 incidents. It does not outline when SROs may use restraints or handcuffs. It does
13 not describe applicable legal protections for students with disabilities, including
14 the requirement to provide reasonable modifications in police encounters. It does
15 not provide for alternatives to physical restraint.
16 125. The Sheriff’s Department Policies grant SROs broad authority to
17 intervene in incidents involving students, even where the student has committed no
18 crime. Policy SRU-003 authorizes SROs to “counsel” students who are “about to
19 engage” in criminal misconduct. This policy further allows officers to search
20 students with only “reasonable suspicion” that the student has violated a school
21 rule, regardless of whether there is a basis for believing that the student has
22 violated a law or is carrying weapons or contraband. The policy allows SROs to
23 “stop, question, interview, and take police action without the prior authorization of
24 the principal.” Policy SRU-004 further authorizes SROs to stop, question, detain,
25 and cite students simply for being out of class during school hours.
26 126. Another example is the District’s 2019-20 Secondary Sequential
27 Discipline Standard (the “Standard”), a document that dictates the “consequences”
28 and “interventions” to violations of the student code of conduct. The Standard
32
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1 authorizes, and at times requires, school staff to refer students to law enforcement
2 in situations where California law does not.
3 127. For instance, California Education Code § 48902 mandates school
4 staff refer students to law enforcement in only limited circumstances involving
5 major offenses (e.g., assault with a firearm). But the Standard requires District
6 staff to refer students to law enforcement in many additional circumstances,
7 including such minor infractions as vandalism or possession of a lighter.
8 128. The Standard also gives staff discretion to refer students to law
9 enforcement for other non-criminal, low-level offenses that can be handled through
10 the administrative discipline system or by providing supports and reasonable
11 modifications. The Standard does not guide staff as to how to exercise their
12 discretion in referring students to law enforcement, nor does it explain why staff
13 might refer some students but not others.
14 129. On information and belief, the District does not provide any training
15 to its staff on how to exercise their law enforcement referral discretion, including
16 on whether the student conduct is the result of disabilities, whether such referral
17 will exacerbate students’ disabilities or contribute to racial disparities, and
18 alternatives to referrals.
19 130. On information and belief, the Sheriff’s Department has failed to
20 properly train SROs on interacting with students with disabilities. On information
21 and belief, the Sheriff’s Department has also failed to properly train SROs to
22 abstain from intervening in incidents involving minor and/or disability-related
23 behaviors. The SROs’ treatment of C.B. shows that SROs are not appropriately
24 trained on how to interact with students with disabilities and when to refuse to
25 intervene in on-campus incidents.
26 Failure to Document Mechanical Restraints and Use of Force Incidents
27 131. C.B.’s experiences also reveal Defendants’ pervasive failures to
28 accurately document incidents of restraint and use of force, and to promptly notify
33
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34
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1 during the October 8, 2019, use of force incident. She failed to turn it on at all
2 during the cuffing on December 9, 2019, and did not submit the required report
3 explaining why.
4 136. On information and belief, the Sheriff’s Department, Sheriff Bianco,
5 and County are aware that SROs violate internal policies by failing to properly
6 document use of force incidents in writing or on body camera, but fail to
7 investigate or discipline these SROs.
8 FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF
9 Unreasonable Seizure and Excessive Force in Violation of the Fourth and
10 Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983
11 (Defendants Scott, Walker, Loza, Owens, Arellano, Does 1-10)
12 137. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though
13 fully set forth herein.
14 138. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects Plaintiff
15 C.B. against unreasonable seizures and excessive force. The Fourteenth
16 Amendment of the U.S. Constitution extends this protection to the states.
17 139. Whether a seizure is unreasonable and unconstitutional depends upon
18 the totality of the circumstances.
19 140. Defendants’ actions described herein constituted a seizure that was
20 objectively unreasonable under the totality of the circumstances, in violation of the
21 Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
22 141. The seizures of Plaintiff C.B. were unreasonable in light of the totality
23 of the circumstances, including but not limited to:
24 a. C.B.’s age, size, and disabilities, including his limited ability to
25 impose physical harms on others and limited ability to form criminal
26 intent;
27 b. That C.B. was exhibiting behavior typical of school-age children
28 and/or related to his disabilities while at his middle school;
35
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Case 5:21-cv-00194-KK Document 1 Filed 02/02/21 Page 36 of 76 Page ID #:36
1 c. That C.B. did not actively resist school officer intervention or attempt
2 to flee;
3 d. The length of the time between the alleged behaviors and the seizures
4 (e.g., the third incident occurred more than twenty-four hours after the
5 disciplinary incident involving C.B.);
6 e. That the handcuffing incidents violated District and SRO policies and
7 state law governing physical and mechanical restraints;
8 f. The length of time of the handcuffing; and
9 g. The trauma of the handcuffing and restraint techniques, including
10 from officers simultaneously shackling C.B.’s wrists and ankles and
11 digging a knee into his back while pinning him facedown.
12 142. By engaging in the acts described herein, Defendants Scott, Loza,
13 Walker, Owens, Arellano, and Does 1-10, acting under color of state law and with
14 deliberate indifference, violated C.B.’s rights under the U.S. Constitution to be free
15 from unreasonable seizures and excessive force.
16 143. Defendants Walker and Scott are liable as supervisors because the
17 actions described herein constituted culpable action or inaction in the training,
18 supervision, and control of subordinates, acquiescence in the constitutional
19 deprivation after a complaint/incidents was made/occurred, and showed a reckless
20 or callous indifference to C.B.’s rights.
21 144. The right of C.B. to be free from unreasonable seizures and excessive
22 force as described herein was clearly established in law at the time of the incidents
23 alleged. As a proximate result of Defendants’ unreasonable seizure and use of
24 excessive force, C.B. has suffered and continues to suffer severe emotional
25 distress, pain, humiliation and exacerbation of his disabilities. C.B. continues to
26 experience fear, distrust, and anxiety regarding law enforcement officers.
27 145. C.B. is entitled to damages, injunctive and declaratory relief, and
28 reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1988.
36
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37
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38
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39
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40
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1 168. The acts and omissions of Defendants have caused and will continue
2 to cause C.B. to suffer irreparable harm, and he has no adequate remedy at law.
3 169. Under the ADA, Plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs as
4 appropriate and permitted by law, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 12205.
5 FOURTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
6 VIOLATION OF SECTION 504, 29 U.S.C. § 794 et seq.
7 (Defendants Moreno Valley USD, Superintendent Kedziora, County of Riverside,
8 Sheriff’s Department, and Sheriff Bianco)
9 170. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though
10 fully set forth herein.
11 171. Section 504 provides that “[n]o otherwise qualified individual with a
12 disability in the United States...shall, solely by reason of [their] disability, be
13 excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
14 discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial
15 assistance.” 29 U.S.C. § 794.
16 172. Plaintiff C.B. is a qualified individual with a disability under Section
17 504.
18 173. Defendants are recipients of federal funds.
19 174. Solely by reason of his disabilities, C.B. has been excluded from
20 participation in, denied the benefit of, and subjected to discrimination in his
21 attempts to receive meaningful and equal access to the facilities, programs,
22 services, and activities offered by Defendants in violation of Section 504, 29
23 U.S.C. § 794, et seq., and its implementing regulations at 34 C.F.R. Pt. 104 (U.S.
24 Department of Education) and 28 C.F.R. 42.501 et seq. (U.S. Department of
25 Justice). The Defendants’ acts and omissions violating C.B.’s rights under the
26 ADA also violate his rights under Section 504 (see Third Claim for Relief, supra).
27 175. Defendants have demonstrated a deliberate indifference that harm to
28 Plaintiffs’ federally protected rights under Section 504 was substantially likely,
41
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42
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43
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44
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1 $4,000 under California Civil Code § 52(f) for “each and every offense”
2 Defendants have committed against him or three times his actual damages and
3 attorneys’ fees and costs.
4 SEVENTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
5 VIOLATION OF ARTICLE I, § 7(A) AND ARTICLE IV, § 16(A) OF THE
6 CALIFORNIA CONSTITUTION
7 (Defendants Moreno Valley USD and Superintendent Kedziora)
8 199. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference the preceding paragraphs of this
9 Complaint as though fully set forth herein.
10 200. Moreno Valley USD and Superintendent Kedziora have violated the
11 rights of C.B. and other Black students and students with disabilities in the District
12 to receive equal protection of the laws, as guaranteed by Article I, § 7(a) and
13 Article IV, § 16(a) of the California Constitution, by failing to provide them with
14 equal educational opportunities that meet the statewide standard.
15 201. These constitutional provisions impose on Defendants the duty to
16 provide Black students and students with disabilities an equal opportunity to
17 educational services adequate to teach them the skills they need to succeed as
18 productive members of society and to meet the statewide education standard – a
19 safe learning environment free from unnecessary and abusive punishments,
20 including police stops, restraints, and arrests. See Butt v. State of California, 4 Cal.
21 4th 668, 687 & n.14, 16 (Cal. 1992).
22 202. Yet Defendants subject Black students, including Black students with
23 disabilities, to a school program that disproportionately refers them to law
24 enforcement and thereby imposes unnecessary and harmful restraints and arrests
25 that create and exacerbate emotional and psychological trauma and interfere with
26 their fundamental right to a basic education.
27 203. Defendants fall below statewide standards by referring students, and
28 Black students in particular, to law enforcement at a much higher rate than
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1 comparably sized school districts. The Defendants have failed to meet their
2 constitutional duty to prevent these practices and thereby fully deprive Black
3 students and students with disabilities of access to the classroom, learning, and
4 their education rights.
5 204. As a proximate cause of the actions of Defendants herein, Plaintiff is
6 entitled to an order and judgment enjoining Defendants from violating his rights
7 and the rights of similarly situated Black and disabled students to equal protection
8 under the California Constitution.
9 205. As a proximate cause of the actions of Defendants herein, Plaintiff is
10 also entitled to a Declaration that Defendants’ actions or omissions violated his
11 rights and the rights of similarly situated Black and disabled students to equal
12 protection under the California Constitution.
13 206. C.B. is also entitled to reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
14 EIGHTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
15 INTENTIONAL INFLICTION OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
16 (All Defendants)
17 207. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though
18 fully set forth herein.
19 208. Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Loza, Arellano, and Does 1-10
20 engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct when they intentionally committed the
21 acts described herein.
22 209. As a proximate result of Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Loza,
23 Arellano, and Does 1-10’s extreme and outrageous conduct, Plaintiff C.B. has
24 suffered severe emotional distress.
25 210. Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Loza, Arellano, and Does 1-10
26 were adults in a position of power over Plaintiff C.B. and aware of his
27 susceptibility to injuries through emotional distress as a minor student with
28 disabilities.
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1 228. Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Loza, Arellano, and Does 1-10
2 intentionally committed acts which resulted in harmful or offensive contact with
3 Plaintiff C.B.’s person when they committed the acts described herein.
4 229. During the commission of the acts alleged herein, C.B. did not
5 consent to the contact.
6 230. Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Loza, Arellano, and Does 1-10’s
7 harmful or offensive contact caused injury or harm to C.B.
8 231. California Government Code § 815.2 provides that a public entity is
9 liable for injury proximately caused by an act or omission of an employee of the
10 public entity within the scope of their employment.
11 232. The District and Superintendent Kedziora in his official capacity were
12 at all relevant times the employers of Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Arellano,
13 and some or all of Does 1-10.
14 233. Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens, Arellano, and some or all of Does
15 1-10 committed the acts described herein while acting within the scope of their
16 employment. The District and Superintendent Kedziora are therefore vicariously
17 liable for these acts.
18 234. The County, Sheriff’s Department, and Sheriff Bianco in his official
19 capacity were at all relevant times the employers of Defendants Loza and some or
20 all of Does 1-10.
21 235. Defendants Loza and some or all of Does 1-10 committed the acts
22 described herein while acting within the scope of their employment. The County,
23 Department, and Sheriff Bianco are therefore vicariously liable for these acts.
24 236. Plaintiffs are entitled to Damages according to proof, reasonable
25 attorneys’ fees, costs of suit incurred herein, and such other and further relief as the
26 Court deems just and proper.
27 ///
28 ///
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1 Department, and Sheriff Bianco are therefore vicariously liable for these acts.
2 246. Plaintiffs are entitled to Damages according to proof, reasonable
3 attorneys’ fees, costs of suit incurred herein, and such other and further relief as the
4 Court deems just and proper.
5 TWELFTH CLAIM FOR RELIEF
6 NEGLIGENT SUPERVISION
7 (Defendants Moreno Valley Unified School District, Superintendent Kedziora,
8 Scott, and Walker)
9 247. Plaintiff incorporates by reference the above paragraphs as though
10 fully set forth herein.
11 248. Defendants Scott and Walker were responsible for the supervision of
12 Defendants Arellano, Owens, and some or all of Does 1-10.
13 249. Defendants Arellano, Owens, and some or all of Does 1-10 became
14 unfit to perform the work for which they were hired due to their propensity to
15 subject students to harmful and excessive handcuffings and use of physical force.
16 250. The at least four known, unlawful handcuffings establish that
17 Defendants Scott and Walker had or should have had prior knowledge of
18 Defendants Arellano, Owens, and Does 1-10’s propensity to subject C.B. to harm.
19 They also establish that the risk of harm to C.B. from Defendants Arellano,
20 Owens, and Does 1-10’s actions was reasonably foreseeable.
21 251. Defendants Scott and Walker’s negligence in supervising Defendants
22 Arellano, Owens, and Does 1-10 was a substantial factor in causing C.B.’s harm
23 and injuries.
24 252. California Government Code § 815.2 provides that a public entity is
25 liable for injury proximately caused by an act or omission of an employee of the
26 public entity within the scope of their employment.
27 253. The District and Superintendent Kedziora in his official capacity were
28 at all times relevant times the employers of Defendants Scott, Walker, Owens,
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22
25
26
27
28
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