Myers v. Oklahoma County Bd. of County Com'rs, 97-6003

Decision Date20 August 1998
Docket NumberNo. 97-6003,97-6003
Citation151 F.3d 1313
Parties98 CJ C.A.R. 4449 Suzanne MYERS, Administratix of the Estate of Thomas James Myers, deceased; Samson Myers, individually, and through Suzanne Myers, his parent and Next Friend, and; Suzanne Myers, individually, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. OKLAHOMA COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS; J.D. Sharp, individually and as Sheriff of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department; Scott Cannon, individually and as a Deputy Sheriff of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department; Marshall McDonald, individually and as a Deputy Sheriff of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department, Defendants-Appellees.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

Submitted on the briefs: *

Carl J. Franklin, Norman, Oklahoma, for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Robert H. Macy, District Attorney, John M. Jacobsen, Assistant District Attorney, Office of District Attorney, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendants-Appellees.

Before TACHA, BRORBY, and EBEL, Circuit Judges.

TACHA, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of the tragic shooting death of Tom Myers by two officers of the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Department. Mr. Myers's survivors, including his wife Suzanne, sued the sheriff, the County, and the two officers who shot Mr. Myers. The suit alleged that in shooting Mr. Myers, the defendants committed various torts and constitutional violations. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the sheriff in his official capacity and the County. The plaintiffs now appeal that grant of summary judgment. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

I. Background

On April 3, 1993, Tom Myers and his wife Suzanne had an argument. Tom forced Suzanne, their infant son, and Tom's aunt out of the apartment in which they all were staying. The three spent the night at Suzanne's parents' house. Although she knew that her husband was drunk, armed with a .22 caliber rifle, and suicidal, Suzanne returned to the apartment the next day. When Tom would not let her in, Suzanne requested police assistance.

Officers of the Bethany Police Department and Oklahoma County Sheriff's office arrived on the scene and established contact with Mr. Myers in an attempt to prevent his suicide. During a conversation with one of those officers, Mr. Myers fired a shot from his rifle. Lieutenant Neil Troutman then took over the negotiations with Mr. Myers, speaking to him by telephone several times during the course of the afternoon and evening. Mr. Myers told Lt. Troutman that he was tired of living and that he wanted to die. On the afternoon of April 4, the officers took a statement from Suzanne Myers and obtained an Order of Detention and Forcible Entry from a special district judge of the Oklahoma County District Court.

At approximately 8:00 p.m. Sheriff J.D. Sharp ordered entry into the apartment to enforce the court order and to take Mr. Myers into protective custody. Officers Marshall McDonald and Scott Cannon entered. According to the officers' testimony, Mr. Myers pointed his .22 rifle at them upon their entry into the apartment. Sgt. McDonald testified that he yelled "Freeze, Police," upon realizing that Mr. Myers was pointing the weapon at him. Sgts. McDonald and Canon fired their weapons at Mr. Myers, killing him.

The plaintiffs sued Sheriff Sharp, the County, and Officers Cannon and McDonald under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating Mr. Myers's constitutional rights under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments. The plaintiffs also sued the defendants for committing the torts of assault, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Sheriff Sharp in his official capacity and the County on the section 1983 and state law claims. The court reasoned that the plaintiffs had failed to produce relevant evidence for the constitutional claims brought under section 1983, and that Oklahoma law provided immunity on the state law claims. The court, however, denied summary judgment for the sheriff in his individual capacity and for Officers Canon and McDonald. The suit against the individual defendants went to trial before a jury, and the defendant officers prevailed. 1 The plaintiffs now appeal the summary judgment in favor of Sheriff Sharp (in his official capacity) and the County.

II. The Constitutional Claims

The plaintiffs allege that the County violated Mr. Myers's Fourth Amendment rights because Officers Cannon and McDonald used excessive force in attempting to apprehend Mr. Myers and because the County failed to train its officers in suicide prevention, counseling the mentally ill, or treatment for substance abusers. The plaintiffs also assert that the County violated Mr. Myers's Eighth Amendment rights because its officers failed to tend to Mr. Myers's serious medical needs. The plaintiffs appeal the district court's grant of summary judgment to Sheriff Sharp and the County with respect to each of these claims.

We review a grant of summary judgment de novo, applying the same legal standard as the district court. See Wolf v. Prudential Ins. Co. of America, 50 F.3d 793, 796 (10th Cir.1995). Summary judgment is appropriate if the plaintiffs have failed to present evidence sufficient to support a reasonable inference that the County or Sheriff Sharp violated the relevant constitutional standards. See Kaul v. Stephan, 83 F.3d 1208, 1212 (10th Cir.1996).

A. The Fourth Amendment Claims
1. The Effect of the Jury Verdict

The defendants argue that we should not undertake a de novo review of the record with respect to the excessive force claim because the jury verdict in favor of the individual officers precludes a finding that Sheriff Sharp (in his official capacity) or the County 2 is liable for violating Mr. Myers's Fourth Amendment rights.

A plaintiff suing a municipality under section 1983 for the acts of one of its employees must prove: (1) that a municipal employee committed a constitutional violation, and (2) that a municipal policy or custom was the moving force behind the constitutional deprivation. See Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). It is well established, therefore, that a municipality cannot be held liable under section 1983 for the acts of an employee if a jury finds that the municipal employee committed no constitutional violation. See, e.g., City of Los Angeles v. Heller, 475 U.S. 796, 799, 106 S.Ct. 1571, 89 L.Ed.2d 806 (1986) (per curiam); Webber v. Mefford, 43 F.3d 1340, 1344-45 (10th Cir.1994); Watson v. City of Kansas City, 857 F.2d 690, 697 (10th Cir.1988). In Heller:

the Supreme Court held that a jury verdict acquitting a Los Angeles police officer of a charge of excessive force precluded the imposition of liability on the City of Los Angeles for adopting a policy condoning the use of excessive force. The Court reasoned that where a municipality is "sued only because [it was] thought legally responsible" for the actions of its officers, it is "inconceivable" to hold the municipality liable if its officers inflict no constitutional harm, regardless of whether the municipality's policies might have "authorized" such harm.

Hinton v. City of Elwood, 997 F.2d 774, 782 (10th Cir.1993) (quoting Heller, 475 U.S. at 799, 106 S.Ct. 1571).

In this case, the jury found that Officers Sharp, Cannon, and McDonald did not use excessive force against Mr. Myers. This verdict seems to preclude a finding in favor of the plaintiffs on either of their Fourth Amendment claims against the County, because both those claims require a finding that the officers used excessive force.

As noted above, the plaintiffs' first Fourth Amendment claim is based on the straightforward theory that the officers used excessive force in attempting to take Mr. Myers into protective custody and that County policies were the moving force behind their use of such force. The plaintiffs' second Fourth Amendment claim is that the County failed to train its officers in the use of deadly force or handling persons who are suicidal, mentally disturbed, and/or substance abusers. As the Supreme Court explained in City of Canton, 489 U.S. at 389-90, 109 S.Ct. 1197, a municipality's failure to train is in general not enough to prove a constitutional violation. Instead, section 1983 plaintiffs can use a municipality's failure to train as one way to make the required showing that a municipal policy or custom was the "moving force" behind an already established constitutional deprivation. See id. at 389, 109 S.Ct. 1197. Therefore, the plaintiffs' failure to train claims, like their basic excessive force claim against the individual officers, requires a predicate showing that the officers did in fact use excessive force against Mr. Myers. The jury's finding that the individual officers were not liable would seem to foreclose both Fourth Amendment claims against the County.

There is, however, one situation in which the Heller rule does not foreclose suit against the County under the Fourth Amendment. If the jury based its verdict on the ground that the officers were entitled to qualified immunity, the Heller rule precluding liability is inapplicable. In such a case, the jury may have found that the officers did use excessive force, but that they were entitled to immunity because they acted reasonably in light of existing law. See Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. 635, 638, 107 S.Ct. 3034, 97 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987); Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982) (stating that an official is protected by qualified immunity if the officer's actions were objectively reasonable in light of clearly established legal rules). Although individual officers may receive the protection of qualified immunity, "municipalities enjoy no such shield." Watson, 857 F.2d at 697. Thus, if a jury returns a general verdict for an individual officer premised on qualified immunity, there is no inherent...

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