Doe v. Wright, s. 95-2223

Citation82 F.3d 265
Decision Date19 June 1996
Docket Number95-2224 and 95-2228,Nos. 95-2223,s. 95-2223
PartiesJane DOE; John Roe, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Elijah WRIGHT, individually and in his official capacity as a Deputy in the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department; Carroll Gravett, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Pulaski County, Defendants, Boyd A. Williams, individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Defendant-Appellee. Boyd A. WILLIAMS, individually and in his official capacity as the Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Third Party Defendant, v. Carroll GRAVETT, Third Party Plaintiff. Jane DOE; John Roe, Plaintiffs, v. Elijah WRIGHT, individually and in his official capacity as a Deputy in the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department; Carroll Gravett, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Pulaski County; Boyd A. Williams, individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Defendants. Boyd A. WILLIAMS, individually and in his official capacity as the Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Third Party Defendant-Appellee, v. Carroll GRAVETT, Third Party Plaintiff-Appellant. Jane DOE; John Roe, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. Elijah WRIGHT, individually and in his official capacity as a Deputy in the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department; Carroll Gravett, individually and in his official capacity as Sheriff of Pulaski County, Defendants, Boyd A. Williams, individually and in his official capacity as Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Defendant-Appellant. Boyd A. WILLIAMS, individually and in his official capacity as the Chief of Police of the City of Helena, Arkansas, Police Department, Third Party Defendant, v. Carroll GRAVETT, Third Party Plaintiff.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas; Stephen Reasoner, Judge.

Christopher R. Heil, Little Rock, AR (argued), for appellants Roe and Doe.

David M. Fuqua, North Little Rock, AR (argued), for appellant Gravett.

Mark R. Hayes, North Little Rock, AR (argued), for appellee.

Before RICHARD S. ARNOLD, Chief Judge, BOWMAN, Circuit Judge, and JOHN B. JONES, * Senior District Judge.

JOHN B. JONES, Senior District Judge.

In this interlocutory appeal, plaintiffs Jane Doe and John Roe appeal the dismissal of their § 1983 claim against defendant Boyd A. Williams (Williams). Third Party Plaintiff Carroll Gravett (Gravett) appeals the dismissal of his contribution claim against the Third Party Defendant Williams. We affirm.

Williams appeals the denial of his motion for summary judgment on the state law outrage claim. We reverse.

I.

Plaintiffs allege that Defendant Elijah Wright (Wright), while on duty as a deputy with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department on September 14, 1992, forced the plaintiffs to undress and engage in various sex acts in his presence. After the plaintiffs complained to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, Wright was terminated.

Prior to his employment in Pulaski County, Wright was employed by the Helena Police Department from August 1987 to April 12, 1991. While employed by the City of Helena, Wright offered to fix traffic tickets for three women in exchange for sex. When complaints were lodged, Williams, as Chief of the Helena Police Department, reprimanded Wright and placed him on a day shift to observe him. Wright did not engage in any similar conduct while employed in Helena.

When Wright resigned from the Helena Police Department, Williams filled out and filed with the Arkansas Commission on Law Enforcement Standards and Training a change in status report as required by Arkansas law. Williams did not recommend that Wright be decertified as a police officer and plaintiffs assert that Williams had a duty to do so.

Before Wright was hired by the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department, a background investigation was conducted. The investigation involved contacting the Helena Police Department. Assistant Chief Robinson, and Officers Rowan and Lovell submitted favorable recommendations for Deputy Wright. These recommendation letters were written in violation of department policy. Under the policy in force, only Williams was authorized to write a letter of recommendation. At the time the recommendations were given, Wright's file contained the complaints from the three women concerning the traffic tickets. The information regarding Wright's prior acts of sexual misconduct was not reported to the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department. Gravett has testified that he would not have employed Wright if he knew of his prior record.

II.

The plaintiffs brought this action against Wright, Gravett and Williams, alleging 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims. The plaintiffs also alleged a pendent state claim of outrage against Williams. Gravett brought a third-party complaint against Williams for indemnity or contribution in failing to report to Gravett Wright's sexual misconduct while employed by the Helena Police Department during the background check. Williams's motions to dismiss the complaints were treated as motions for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56.

III.

The district court dismissed the § 1983 claim of the plaintiffs and the third-party complaint of Sheriff Gravett as to Williams. The district court, relying on DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dept. of Social Servs., 489 U.S. 189, 109 S.Ct. 998, 103 L.Ed.2d 249 (1989), concluded that the plaintiffs could not establish a constitutional duty on the part of Williams. The district court also concluded that the actions of Williams were too attenuated to establish an actionable § 1983 claim, relying on Martinez v. California, 444 U.S. 277, 100 S.Ct. 553, 62 L.Ed.2d 481 (1980). The district court also held that Williams was entitled to qualified immunity.

The district court exercised supplemental jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367 over the plaintiffs' state law claims and denied Williams' motion to dismiss the pendent state claim of outrage.

The district court certified the causation and qualified immunity questions concerning Williams to this Court and permission to appeal was granted.

On appeal, the plaintiffs contest the dismissal of their § 1983 action against Williams. Gravett contests the dismissal of his contribution claim against Williams. On cross-appeal, Williams challenges the ruling on the plaintiffs' state claim for outrage. The jurisdiction for this appeal is founded upon 28 U.S.C. § 1292.

The standard of review for an order granting summary judgment is de novo. Landreth v. First Nat'l Bank, 45 F.3d 267, 268 (8th Cir.1995).

IV.

The first inquiry in a § 1983 claim is to determine "[W]hether the plaintiff has been deprived of a right 'secured by the Constitution and laws' of the United States." Martinez, 444 U.S. at 284, 100 S.Ct. at 558, quoting, Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 140, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2692, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979). This Court has held that the Due Process Clause imposes a duty on state actors to care for or protect citizens in two situations:

first, in custodial and other settings in which the state has limited the individuals' ability to care for themselves; and second, when the state affirmatively places a particular individual in a position of danger the individual would not have otherwise have faced.

Gregory v. City of Rogers, Ark., 974 F.2d 1006, 1010 (8th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 913, 113 S.Ct. 1265, 122 L.Ed.2d 661 (1993). Under the second alternative, the plaintiffs contend they were placed in a situation they would not have been in except for the actions and policies of Williams.

We believe the reasoning of the Martinez case is on point under the facts presented in this case. In Martinez, the plaintiffs brought a § 1983 action against the parole board after a parolee murdered a 15-year-old girl five months after his release. Martinez, 444 U.S. at 279, 100 S.Ct. at 556. The complaint alleged that the parolee was a sex offender who had been committed to the state mental hospital with the recommendation that he not be paroled. Id. The parole board was fully informed about the parolee's history and the likelihood he would commit another crime. Id. In upholding a dismissal of the § 1983 claim, the Court determined that the action of the parolee five months after his release could not fairly be characterized as state action. Id. at 285, 100 S.Ct. at 559. The incident in Pulaski County occurred approximately seventeen months after Wright had left the Helena Police. In acting in Pulaski County, Wright was clearly not acting as an agent of Williams or the Helena Police Department. Williams was not aware that the plaintiffs in this case faced any special danger, as distinguished from the public at large, from Wright. We believe the action of Williams in failing to recommend decertification of Wright is too remote to create a § 1983 claim. The fact that decertification was not requested for Wright does not make Williams liable for every subsequent action Wright takes while on duty at a different law enforcement agency.

The actions of Williams' subordinates in recommending Wright to Pulaski County in violation of the Helena Police Department's policy does not create a cause of action against Williams either individually or in his official capacity. Like the failure to recommend decertification, we believe the recommendation letters are simply too attenuated to state an actionable § 1983 claim.

In regards to Williams and the Helena Police Department, Wright was acting as a private actor while employed at the Pulaski County Sheriff's Department. The Due Process Clause contains no language which requires the State to protect its citizens against the deeds of...

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