By
DESHAYLA STRACHAN
MIAMI (CN) - Accusing a Florida man of
threatening police after he posted "Diary of a Cop Killa" on
Instagram may amount to defamation, a federal judge ruled.
Daniel Larosa said the controversy stemmed
from some comments he posted on his Instagram account next to album art for the
song titled "Diary of a Cop Killa."
Larosa allegedly wrote "It's
sweetwater pd that's gotta die!!! Lol."
Police in Sweetwater, Fla., soon arrested
Larosa at his job, a school for the disabled. He was charged with threatening a
public servant with the intent to influence the public servant's performance of
official duties.
Larosa sued the city, the arresting
officers, mayor Manuel Morono and Police Chief Roberto Fulgueira for falsely
arresting him and violating his rights.
Sweetwater countered that it is an immune
sovereign, and that a negligence claim against a police department is not an
actionable cause of action under Florida law.
U.S. District Judge Robert Scola found
neither argument persuasive.
"The city seems to fundamentally
misunderstand the law regarding bringing a negligence suit against a
municipality," Scola wrote. "In this lawsuit, Larosa is not a crime
victim claiming that the police were negligent in stopping his assailant.
Larosa has plainly alleged that City of Sweetwater police officers unlawfully
restrained him against his will and that the detention was unreasonable and
unwarranted under the circumstances. Even when alleged against law enforcement
officials, these allegations are enough to make out a claim for false
arrest."
Sweetwater also failed to challenge
Larosa's complaint as a "shotgun" pleading, which is a pleading that
points at several defendants where the plaintiff is imprecise in asserting
which actions are attributable to which defendants.
Scola said the complaint details a precise
set of facts, and then alleges several theories of liability against the
several defendants.
Larosa cannot, however, allege that the
city failed to train and supervise its officers.
"Larosa has not adequately asserted
the connection between the constitutional violation that he allegedly suffered
and the deficiencies in the City of Sweetwater's training or supervision
policies that are attributable to Fulgueira and Marono," Scola said.
Though he dismissed the claims against
Morono and Fulgueira, Scola denied motions to dismiss Laronsa's claims of
defamation and false arrest.
