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Richard Scott Morrison v. Professional Law Enforcement, Inc. (assault and battery)

Case
Richard Scott Morrison v. Professional Law Enforcement, Inc.
Case No. 3-94-0900.

Court
US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee

Plaintiff Attorney F. Dulin Kelly and Clinton L. Kelly

Facts and Allegations

Plaintiff was an employee of Pirelli Armstrong Tire Company, who joined the United Rubber Workers in a strike during the month of September, 1994. The Plaintiff regularly picketed weekly from 12:00 a.m. to 4:00 a.m. at the Myatt Drive entrance to the plant. The Defendant Professional Law Enforcement, Inc. (PLE) was hired by Pirelli to provide security on the premises during the strike. PLE hired guards to "observe and report" the picketers activity around the clock. This included twenty-four hour video surveillance of all union member activity.

On September 28, 1994, at approximately 3:00 a.m., PLE's night supervisor began antagonizing the Plaintiff with foul language and statements like, "We'll be here til' hell freezes over," and "We're making money while you're not!" Thereafter, night supervisor walked some forty feet toward the picket line and made derogatory remarks about the Plaintiff's mother. The Plaintiff became agitated, and told the night supervisor to stop making these statements about his mother. The night supervisor continued to provoke the Plaintiff, until the Plaintiff crossed the picket line. Suddenly, without warning, the night supervisor cracked the Plaintiff's skull with a 5 D-cell metal Maglight. The night supervisor and other guards left the Plaintiff lying prone on the pavement in his own blood.

Metro police arrived on the scene some ten minutes after the assault. Some of the PLE guards purposely mislead the police and stated that nothing had happened. The night supervisor had already fled the scene immediately after the assault. A black security guard claiming to be the night supervisor told police that the assault had actually taken place between two picketers. After the complaint was filed, PLE denied in its' answer that the incident had ever taken place, and denied any involvement. This denial continued until PLE allegedly "learned for the first time" that its' night supervisor had assaulted a picketer.

Two of PLE's security guards testified that the night supervisor named "Rocky Cochran" had harassed picketers on a regular basis. They testified that Mr. Cochran was unstable and intentionally provoked the Plaintiff. All PLE guards testified they had absolutely no training prior to placement on the Pirelli site. Perhaps the most aggravating testimony came from the Director of the Private Security Division of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance. PLE's Manager in charge of all site operations falsely certified to the State of Tennessee that he had trained Rocky Cochran, as well as other guards on the Pirelli site. The Director rebutted this statement, and the Manager recanted his testimony. Although PLE drafted a regulation that all guards shall not carry Maglights, this regulation was commonly ignored by guards and management as well.

The Plaintiff sustained a skull fracture and was treated by a neuroophthalmologist for optic nerve damage. Although his vision was not seriously impaired, the Plaintiff suffered a mild traumatic brain injury according to his neuropsychologist and lay witness testimony. For days following the assault, the Plaintiff was nauseous and vomited constantly while enduring severe headaches, which continue today. The jury returned a verdict of $150,000.00 in compensatory damages and $170,000.00 in punitive damages against Professional Law Enforcement.

Awarded: $320,000.00

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