Washington v. Abdullua

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI EASTERN DIVISION CLEVELAND WASHINGTON, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 4:24-CV-01213-NCC ) COMMISSIONER UNKNOWN ABDULLA ) and OFFICER UNKOWN JARDEN, ) ) Defendants. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER This matter is before the Court on self-represented plaintiff Cleveland Washington’s motion to preserve evidence (Doc 16). Defendants have filed a response (Doc. 22). Plaintiff has not filed a reply and the time for doing so has now elapsed. See E.D. Mo. Local Rule 4.01 (giving Plaintiff ten days after service of a response to file a reply). Plaintiff’s motion seeks an order preserving any written, photographic, video, or audio recordings and documentation Defendants may have made relating to the alleged incident that occurred on August 22, 2023 (Doc. 16). Plaintiff also seeks an order preserving medical records related to the incident (id.). The motion will be denied. It is not clear from Plaintiff’s motion whether Defendants made any such recordings or documentation of the alleged incident on August 22, 2023. Moreover, Plaintiff has not presented any factual allegations, beyond his bare assertions, that Defendants might improperly edit or delete potential evidence. Finally, defendants are under an obligation to preserve potentially relevant evidence under their control. Any failure to preserve such evidence might lead to sanctions for spoliation of evidence. See Greyhound Lines, Inc. v. Wade, 485 F.3d 1032, 1035 (8th Cir. 2007). Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion for order directing preservation of any and all relevant video and audio recordings and other documentation (Doc. 16) is DENIED. Dated this 8th day of September , 2025. /s/ Noelle C. Collins NOELLE C. COLLINS UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE -2-