Risbridger v. Connelly

• Decision Date: 31 October 2000
• Docket Number: No. 5:99-CV-130.,5:99-CV-130.
• Citation: 122 F.Supp.2d 857
• Parties: Benjamin Travis RISBRIDGER, Plaintiff, v. Lawton CONNELLY, City of East Lansing, and Shereif Fadly, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

122 F.Supp.2d 857

Benjamin Travis RISBRIDGER, Plaintiff, v. Lawton CONNELLY, City of East Lansing, and Shereif Fadly, Defendants.

No. 5:99-CV-130.

United States District Court, W.D. Michigan, Southern Division.

October 31, 2000.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Dorean M. Koenig, Cooley Law School, Bryan J. Waldman, Sinas, Dramis, Brake, Boughton & McIntyre PC, Lansing, MI, for Benjamin Travis Risbridger, plaintiffs.

David K. Otis, Gene Hullinghorst, Plunkett & Cooney, PC, Lansing, MI, Dennis E. McGinty, McGinty Jakubiak Frankland Hitch, et al., East Lansing, MI, for Lawton Connelly, Chief of Police, City of East Lansing, in his Official and Individual Capacities, East Lansing, City of, a Municipal Corporation, Sherief Fadly, named as "Shereif Fadly" on complaint, a police officer of the City of East Lansing, in his individual capacity, defts.

OPINION

QUIST, District Judge.

Plaintiff, Benjamin Risbridger ("Risbridger"), has sued Defendants, Lawton Connelly ("Connelly"), the East Lansing, Michigan Police Chief, Officer Shereif Fadley ("Officer Fadley"), an East Lansing Police Officer, and the City of East Lansing ("East Lansing"), alleging that Defendants violated his federal and state constitutional rights and committed various state law torts when Officer Fadley arrested Risbridger pursuant to an East Lansing ordinance. In his First Amended Complaint, Risbridger alleges that Defendants arrested him without probable cause in violation of the Fourth Amendment and that the East Lansing ordinance Defendants used to effect the arrest violated Risbridger's First Amendment and due process rights. Risbridger seeks both declaratory and compensatory relief. Now before the Court are Defendants' Motion to Dismiss and/or for Summary Judgment and Risbridger's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment.

I. Facts¹

On November 30, 1997, at approximately 2:30 a.m., Risbridger and a companion were walking in the 300 block of MAC in East Lansing. Prior to that time, Officer Fadley was called in as a back-up to Officer Phillips, who was questioning two suspicious suspects who stated that they were watching a fight in the 300 block of MAC alley. As Officer Fadley was questioning the suspects, Risbridger and his companion walked by. At that point, Parker, one of the suspects, pointed at Risbridger and stated that Risbridger was involved in the fight. Based upon that statement, Officer Fadley approached Risbridger and asked him for identification. Risbridger responded, "No. What for?" Officer Fadley informed Risbridger that he was investigating a fight and that a witness had identified Risbridger as being involved in the fight. Officer Fadley again asked Risbridger for identification, and Risbridger said "No." Officer Fadley then advised Risbridger that he would arrest him if he did not identify himself. When Risbridger refused again, Officer Fadley arrested Risbridger, placed him in the patrol car, and transported him to the East Lansing police station. Risbridger was charged under East Lansing Ordinance 9.102(19) for hindering a police officer in the performance of his duties and was later released on bond.

Risbridger filed a motion to dismiss the charge in the 54-B district court. In a written opinion, Judge Richard D. Ball denied the motion but found the arrest invalid because Officer Fadley did not have authority to arrest Risbridger for the alleged misdemeanor assault and battery and Risbridger "was free to decline to speak with" Officer Fadley. (5/20/98 Opinion and Order at 2, Pl.'s. Br. Supp. Ex. C.) On motion by the prosecutor, an order of nolle prosequi was entered and the case was dismissed.

II. Motion Standards

An action may be dismissed if the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). The moving party has the burden of proving that no claim exists. Although a complaint is to be liberally construed, it is still necessary that the complaint contain more than bare assertions of legal conclusions. Allard v. Weitzman (In re DeLorean Motor Co.), 991 F.2d 1236, 1240 (6th Cir.1993)(citing Scheid v. Fanny Farmer Candy Shops, Inc., 859 F.2d 434, 436 (6th Cir.1988)). All factual allegations in the complaint must be presumed to be true, and reasonable inferences must be made in favor of the non-moving party. 2A James W. Moore, Moore's Federal Practice, ¶ 12.34[1][b] (3d ed.1997). The Court need not, however, accept unwarranted factual inferences. Morgan v. Church's Fried Chicken, 829 F.2d 10, 12 (6th Cir. 1987). Dismissal is proper "only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations." Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 2232, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984)(citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 101-02, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)).

Summary judgment is appropriate if there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Fed. R.Civ.P. 56. The rule requires that the disputed facts be material. Material facts are facts which are defined by substantive law and are necessary to apply the law. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2510, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A dispute over trivial facts which are not necessary in order to apply the substantive law does not prevent the granting of a motion for summary judgment. Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. at 2510. The rule also requires the dispute to be genuine. A dispute is genuine if a reasonable jury could return judgment for the non-moving party. Id. This standard requires the non-moving party to present more than a scintilla of evidence to defeat the motion. Id. at 251, 106 S.Ct. at 2511 (citing Schuylkill v. Munson, 14 Wall. 442, 448, 20 L.Ed. 867 (1871)).

A moving party who does not have the burden of proof at trial may properly support a motion for summary judgment by showing the court that there is no evidence to support the non-moving party's case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553-54, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If the motion is so supported, the party opposing the motion must then demonstrate with "concrete evidence" that there is a genuine issue of material fact for trial. Id.; Frank v. D'Ambrosi, 4 F.3d 1378, 1384 (6th Cir.1993). The court must draw all inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party, but may grant summary judgment when "the record taken as a whole could not lead a rational trier of fact to find for the non-moving party." Agristor Financial Corp. v. Van Sickle, 967 F.2d 233, 236 (6th Cir.1992)(quoting Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co., Ltd. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)).

III. Discussion

The ordinance relevant to the claims in this case provides, in pertinent part:

No person shall:

* * * * * *

(19) Assault, obstruct, resist, hinder, or oppose any member of the police force, any peace officer, or firefighter in the discharge of his/her duties as such

(East Lansing Ordinance No. 9.102(19), Defs.' Br. Supp. Mot. Sum. J. Ex. 3.) Defendants seek dismissal or summary judgment on all claims, and Risbridger seeks summary judgment on his claims that the arrest pursuant to Ordinance 9.102(19) violated his First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, and due process rights.

A. Federal Claims

1. Fourth Amendment

In Count I of his First Amended Complaint, which is a subject of both motions, Risbridger alleges that Defendants violated his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause. Under the Fourth Amendment, "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons ... against unreasonable ... seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause ...." U.S. Const. amend. IV. Generally, the Fourth Amendment prohibits an arrest not supported by probable cause. See Criss v. City of Kent, 867 F.2d 259, 262 (6th Cir.1988). "Probable cause to make an arrest exists if the facts and circumstances within the arresting officer's knowledge `were sufficient to warrant a prudent man in believing that the [arrestee] had committed or was committing an offense.'" Pyles v. Raisor, 60 F.3d 1211, 1215 (6th Cir.1995)(alteration in original)(quoting Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964)). However, the Supreme Court has recognized that police officers may conduct brief investigatory detentions with less than probable cause within the bounds of the Fourth Amendment so long as they have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1884-85, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). "[U]nder Terry, when a police officer reasonably concludes that criminal activity may be afoot, the officer may briefly stop the suspicious person and make `reasonable inquiries' aimed at confirming or dispelling his suspicions, and may conduct a patdown for weapons." United States v Butler, 223 F.3d 368, 374 (6th Cir.2000). "When a detention rises to the level of a full-fledged arrest, however, the Fourth Amendment demands that the seizure be supported by probable cause." Gardenhire v. Schubert, 205 F.3d 303, 313 (6th Cir.2000)(citing Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 212-14, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 2256-57, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979)).

In addressing the parties' motions, the Court notes that Risbridger does not dispute that Officer Fadley had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity sufficient to justify a Terry stop. Thus, although Defendants raise the issue of the Terry stop in their brief, the issue presented is whether Risbridger's refusal to identify himself to Officer Fadley gave Officer Fadley probable cause to arrest Risbridger. Stated differently, the Court must determine whether an individual subject to a valid Terry stop has the right to decline to identify himself when requested to do so by the police officer without being subject to punishment for refusing to do so. If so, there was no...