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Brittni Muldrew

Age : 36

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 08/30/2021

Location : 4400 block W Hillsboro Boulevard

City : Coconut Creek

County : Broward

State : Florida

Agency : Coconut Creek Police Department

Officer(s) :Andrea Calderon; Alejandro Escobar; Amanda Cummings; Arthur Patton

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during traffic stop

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/30/2021, at approximately 8:24 p.m., a Coconut Creek Police Department officer stopped 36-year-old Brittni A. Muldrew while she was driving a white Mercedes-Benz westbound in the 4400 block of West Hillsboro Boulevard. Police said the officer initially stopped the vehicle for speeding. During the traffic stop, the officer learned that the Mercedes had recently been reported stolen in Parkland and called for additional officers. Two additional officers arrived while Muldrew and a male passenger remained inside the vehicle.
Police alleged that after backup officers arrived, Muldrew reversed the Mercedes in the direction of officers. Coconut Creek Police initially reported that two officers opened fire, striking Muldrew. Muldrew was shot multiple times and died at the scene despite officers' attempts to provide medical assistance. Three officers were treated at a hospital for injuries, and a police K-9 was also injured.
Later-released police dash-camera and body-camera recordings provided considerably more information about the encounter. The recordings show officers holding Muldrew at gunpoint for several minutes after determining that the Mercedes had been reported stolen. The encounter lasted approximately 11 minutes from the initial traffic stop until Muldrew's death. The video shows the Mercedes reversing before stopping and officers firing into the vehicle.
The subsequent federal civil-rights lawsuit filed by Muldrew's family identified Coconut Creek officers Andrea Calderon, Alejandro Escobar, Amanda Cummings, Arthur Patton and Ty Morgan as officers involved in the encounter. The lawsuit alleged that Calderon, Escobar, Cummings and Patton had their firearms drawn and pointed toward Muldrew immediately before the shooting and alleged that they opened fire. A federal judge later noted that the complaint alleged Muldrew was struck by nine gunshots. The original police account, however, stated that two officers fired, so the precise allocation of the gunfire among the four officers remained disputed in the civil litigation.
The released recordings also revealed a significant use-of-force allegation that was not part of the original 2021 reporting. After officers removed the wounded Muldrew from the Mercedes, Officer Ty Morgan approached her with an expandable baton and struck her in the head. Video obtained through public-records requests reportedly shows Muldrew still exhibiting signs of life during this period, with an officer heard saying that she had a pulse. Muldrew's family alleged Morgan repeatedly struck her while she was incapacitated on the pavement.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the police use of deadly force and subsequently forwarded its investigation to the Broward State Attorney's Office for prosecutorial review. The two officers initially identified by the department as having fired were placed on administrative leave following the killing.
Muldrew's mother, Vicki Waters, acting as personal representative of her daughter's estate, subsequently filed a federal wrongful-death and civil-rights lawsuit against the City of Coconut Creek and officers Calderon, Escobar, Cummings, Patton and Morgan. The lawsuit alleged wrongful death, excessive force and failure to intervene and challenged the officers' contention that the circumstances justified killing Muldrew. It separately challenged Morgan's alleged baton strikes after she had already been shot.
The City and officers sought dismissal of the lawsuit. On 08/05/2024, U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal dismissed some claims but refused to dismiss key excessive-force allegations at that stage of the litigation. Regarding the shooting, the court concluded that whether the officers' actions were objectively reasonable could not yet be determined. The court likewise declined to dismiss the excessive-force claim against Morgan concerning the alleged baton strikes because it had not been established that Muldrew was already dead when Morgan used the baton. Failure-to-intervene claims against Calderon, Escobar, Cummings and Patton also survived that dismissal motion.
The litigation therefore produced officer identities and evidence that were unavailable in the original reporting and materially changes the original skeleton record. The officers associated with the gunfire are Calderon, Escobar, Cummings and Patton; Morgan is separately identified as the officer accused of striking Muldrew with a baton after she had been shot.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/08/31/police-2-suspects-taken-into-custody-following-officer-involved-shooting-in-coconut-creek/
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/09/01/woman-dies-during-broward-police-involved-shooting-alleged-accomplice-in-carjacking-faces-murder-charge/
https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/woman-killed-police-involved-shooting-coconut-creek/
https://www.wptv.com/news/crime/boca-raton-woman-killed-in-officer-invoved-shooting-in-coconut-creek
https://www.wptv.com/news/local-news/investigations/boca-raton-mother-shot-to-death-in-coconut-creek-officers-actions-questioned
https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/lawsuit-accuses-coconut-creek-police-of-excessive-force-in-brittni-muldrew-shooting-17812820
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-flsd-0_23-cv-61681/pdf/USCOURTS-flsd-0_23-cv-61681-1.pdf
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/florida/flsdce/0%3A2023cv61681/653377/83/