Hooks v. Rockdale Cnty., No. A24A1014, 2024 WL 4378799, at *1 (Ga. Ct. App. Oct. 3, 2024)
This appeal arises from Lacresa Hooks’s lawsuit for false arrest, false imprisonment, and related claims following her arrest and detention by Rockdale County law enforcement on animal cruelty charges.1 The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings based on sovereign immunity to Rockdale County and the Rockdale County Sheriff, Eric Levett2 (collectively, “the County”). On appeal, Hooks argues that the County waived its sovereign immunity based on her detention and transport in an insured County motor vehicle. For the reasons below, we affirm the trial court’s decision.
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We find this case distinguishable from McBrayer. In that wrongful death case, a suspect died in the back seat of a police vehicle following an officer’s attempt to subdue him, but the officer did not intend for the suspect to die or suffer great bodily harm. McBrayer, 317 Ga. at 388-389 (1), 893 S.E.2d 660. In that instance, the use of the vehicle, though intentional, was nevertheless “negligent” because the officer did not intend to injure the suspect. See Upshaw, 369 Ga. App. at 536 (3), 894 S.E.2d 75, citing McBrayer, 317 Ga. at 396-397 (2) (d), 893 S.E.2d 660. By contrast, in the instant case, the allegation is that the officer intentionally used the vehicle to detain and transport Hooks as part of her alleged false arrest and false imprisonment.
