Sixth Circuit Precedent Bars State Negligence Claim Against City After Police Shooting

U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Parker of the Western District of Tennessee granted the City of Munford’s partial motion to dismiss on April 22, ruling that the Tennessee Government Tort Liability Act’s civil rights exception precludes Payton from maintaining a parallel negligence action based on the same underlying conduct.

Payton’s lawsuit stems from an August 2024 incident in which she fled police after a speeding stop and led officers on a ten-minute chase. The pursuit ended when spike strips stopped her vehicle, at which point Munford officer William Spearman approached her window and discharged his firearm toward her head. The bullet struck Payton below the left eye, requiring extensive reconstructive surgery.

Payton sued Spearman and the City of Munford in August 2025, alleging Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment violations under § 1983. She also brought an alternative negligence claim against the City under the TGTLA and sought compensatory and punitive damages under both statutes.

The City moved to dismiss the state-law claims, arguing it is immune from suit under Tenn. Code Ann. § 29-20-205(2), which removes governmental immunity for negligence unless the injury arises out of a civil rights violation. Payton countered that no binding authority supports expanding the definition of “civil rights” to include unintentional acts.

Judge Parker rejected that argument, relying on the Sixth Circuit’s 2024 decision in Mosier v. Evans. In Mosier, the Sixth Circuit held that a plaintiff cannot circumvent the TGTLA’s civil rights exception by pleading negligence in the alternative to § 1983 claims when both arise from the same underlying conduct.

The court explained that under Tennessee law, the gravamen of a complaint controls over how a plaintiff characterizes it. Because Payton’s negligence claim rests on the same facts as her § 1983 excessive force allegations, the civil rights exception bars the state-law claim.

Payton had already conceded that her Section 1983 claim represents the “thrust of her lawsuit” and acknowledged that her negligence allegations concerned the aftermath of the police pursuit. The court also granted dismissal of her punitive damages claim against the City after Payton conceded immunity on that issue in her response.

The court dismissed both the TGTLA negligence claim and the punitive damages claim against the City of Munford with prejudice.