Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan today announced a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals victory in a case alleging a civil rights violation against an officer at the Sparks Police Department.
On May 31, 2019, Plaintiff Zyhere Fichman filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging that a Sparks Police Officer had a vendetta against him, “planted” his name in a robbery victim’s head and arrested him without probable cause. The Honorable Miranda Du, Chief Judge of the United States District Court, District of Nevada, entered an order on September 1, 2021, granting the Sparks Police Department officer’s Motion for Summary Judgment finding that even when all the evidence was viewed in the light most favorable to the Plaintiff, the officer had probable cause to arrest Plaintiff, contrary to his assertions otherwise.
The Plaintiff filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Ninth Circuit affirmed Judge Miranda Du’s grant of summary judgment in an August 17, 2022 order. The Ninth Circuit stressed that Plaintiff’s theory that the Sparks Police officer had a vendetta against Plaintiff and planted Plaintiff’s name in the robbery victim’s head was not supported by any evidence, and the record showed no apparent motive for the police officer to frame him for a crime. The Ninth Circuit concluded that “the key undisputed facts known to the police officer on the night of the robbery were sufficient, as a matter of law, to lead a reasonably cautious person to conclude that Plaintiff was involved in that robbery. Because the undisputed facts show that the officer had probable cause to arrest Plaintiff, the motion for summary judgment was properly granted.”
“Today is a good day for the Sparks Police Department and I am pleased with the Ninth Circuit’s order affirming the grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Sparks," Duncan said. "Our office will continue to refuse to settle unfounded cases filed against the men and women of Sparks Police Department and the City.”
The City of Sparks and the Sparks Police Department Officer were represented by Senior Assistant City Attorney, Brandon Sendall.
Original source can be found here.
Alerts Sign-up