White v. City of Torrance CA2/3

Filed 1/20/16 White v. City of Torrance CA2/3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

MICHAEL I. WHITE, B257814

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC523616) v.

CITY OF TORRANCE,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Barbara Meiers, Judge. Affirmed. Michael I. White, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant. John L. Fellows III, City Attorney, Patrick Q. Sullivan, Assistant City Attorney, and Della Thompson-Bell, Deputy City Attorney, for Defendant and Respondent. ___________________________________

INTRODUCTION Based on allegations that police officers mistreated him, plaintiff and appellant Michael I. White sued defendant and respondent City of Torrance (Torrance) for, among other things, assault and battery and false arrest. Torrance moved for summary judgment, citing White’s admissions his allegations were incorrect. The trial court granted Torrance’s unopposed motion. White appeals. We affirm the judgment. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND I. Factual background. On November 1, 2012, the Torrance Police Department received a call about a suspicious person in a white Ford minivan. The person, a Black male adult, had been parked for over an hour and was watching vehicles and people come and go. The caller believed the person was “casing for auto burgs.” In response, police officers Ryan Peterson and Joanna Warren went to the parking lot of the 24 Hour Fitness on Pacific Coast Highway. They saw White, who matched the description of the suspect. After White failed to heed a stop sign when exiting the parking lot and failed to signal before turning, the officers stopped him. On exiting his patrol car, Officer Peterson turned on his digital audio recording device. Officer Peterson asked White to step out of the car, which White did. White said he had just bought rice from Whole Foods. When Officer Peterson told White about the call the police department received, White said he had done nothing wrong. Officer Peterson asked if White had anything in the minivan the officer should know about. White said he had knives for safety because he slept in his van, as he was homeless. The officer removed a knife from White’s pocket. Although White had already given the officers his wallet, Officer Peterson felt a second wallet on White while patting him down. Officer Peterson told White that as soon as White’s license was validated, he could be on his way. Because Officer Warren noticed that White had a “guard card,” she asked if White had guns in the van. White said he had BB guns, a nine millimeter gun, and