Ortega v. Christian
| Citation | 85 F.3d 1521 |
| Decision Date | 25 June 1996 |
| Docket Number | No. 94-5300,94-5300 |
| Parties | Fernando Alberto ORTEGA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. W. CHRISTIAN, Officer, individually, and as police officer for Metro-Dade Police Department; Fred Taylor, individually as Director/Chief of Police of Metro-Dade Police Department, Metro-Dade Police Department, a political subdivision of Dade County, Florida, Defendants-Appellee. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) |
Douglas S. Lyons, Alan Goodman, Lyons and Farrar, P.A., Coral Gables, Florida, for Appellant.
Mitchell Alexander Bierman, Dade County Attorney's Office, Miami, FL, for Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before HATCHETT and BARKETT, Circuit Judges, and OAKES *, Senior Circuit Judge.
Appellant, Fernando Alberto Ortega, appeals the district court's order granting a judgment on the pleadings in favor of appellees, Officer William Christian, Chief Fred Taylor, and the Metro-Dade Police Department on his claims for false arrest and false imprisonment under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. We reverse.
On January 21, 1992, the Metro-Dade Police Department (MDPD) received a report of a robbery and kidnapping. On January 23, 1992, a confidential informant informed the MDPD and Officer Christian that an organized group of which he was a member committed the robbery. The informant stated that he knew the member who committed the robbery, provided the address of the alleged robber's residence, and proceeded with Christian to that address. That address belonged to Ortega's brother.
Upon arrival at the address, the informant identified Ortega and his brother as the men The victim of the robbery never identified Ortega as the person who committed the robbery. Ortega, however, repeatedly proclaimed his innocence and demanded an opportunity to appear in a line-up or a photo spread. The MDPD scheduled and cancelled Ortega for a line-up or photo spread on three separate occasions--April 24, April 30, and May 14--during the five months of his incarceration.
who committed the robbery. Christian immediately arrested both men and searched the residence. Ortega proclaimed his innocence and requested an opportunity to prove a case of mistaken identity. Christian refused to comply with Ortega's request and failed to make any inquiries into the claims of innocence. The MDPD held Ortega in custody for five months without bond until Ortega's bond hearing on June 3, 1992. At the bond hearing, the court ordered the release of Ortega from custody
On April 22, 1994, Ortega filed a complaint in the state courts against Officer William Christian, in his individual capacity, Chief Fred Taylor, in his individual capacity, and the Metro-Dade Police Department, seeking damages pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and common law on claims of false arrest and false imprisonment. The appellees-defendants removed the case from state court to federal court. Accepting as true the facts presented in Ortega's complaint, the appellees filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings. After a time extension, Ortega filed a memorandum in opposition to appellees' motion for judgment on the pleadings. The district court granted appellees' motion for judgment on the pleadings finding that probable cause existed to arrest Ortega; therefore, Ortega could not prevail on a false arrest claim under common law or section 1983. Additionally, the district court held that Ortega's false imprisonment claim, which was predicated on the false arrest claim, failed under common law and section 1983. Ortega filed a timely motion for reconsideration of the order, which the district court denied.
Ortega contends that Christian lacked probable cause to arrest him because Christian had no information that could have led him to believe that Ortega participated in the robbery, or lived at the address that the informant provided. Next, Ortega contends that his detention, which followed the unlawful arrest, violated his constitutional rights under section 1983, and that his false arrest claim is separate and distinct from his false imprisonment claim.
Appellees, on the other hand, argue that the facts alleged in the complaint show that Christian had probable cause to arrest Ortega and that probable cause is a complete defense to both Ortega's false arrest and false imprisonment claims.
The issues we address are: (1) whether Christian had probable cause to arrest Ortega and (2) whether Ortega's detention constituted a false imprisonment.
The district court granted appellees' motions for judgment on the pleadings against Ortega and denied Ortega's motion for reconsideration. The district court found that Christian had probable cause to arrest Ortega, thus, precluding Ortega's false arrest and imprisonment claims under section 1983. Judgment on the pleadings is proper when no issues of material fact exist, and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c). When reviewing a judgment on the pleadings, we accept the facts in the complaint as true and view them in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. Swerdloff v. Miami National Bank, 584 F.2d 54, 57 (5th Cir.1978); General Conference Corp. of Seventh-Day Adventists v. Seventh-Day Adventist Congregational Church, 887 F.2d 228, 230 (9th Cir.1989). 1 Accordingly, a judgment on the pleadings is
a decision on the merits, and we review it de novo. General Conference Corp., 887 F.2d at 230.
A warrantless arrest without probable cause violates the Fourth Amendment and forms a basis for a section 1983 claim. Marx v. Gumbinner, 905 F.2d 1503, 1505 (11th Cir.1990). An arrest made with probable cause, however, constitutes an absolute bar to a section 1983 action for false arrest. Marx, 905 F.2d at 1505. Probable cause to arrest exists if the facts and circumstances within the officer's knowledge, of which he has reasonably trustworthy information, would cause a prudent person to believe, under the circumstances shown, that the suspect has committed or is committing an offense. Marx, 905 F.2d at 1505. Probable cause does not require overwhelmingly convincing evidence, but only "reasonably trustworthy information." Marx, 905 F.2d at 1506 (citing Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91, 85 S.Ct. 223, 225-26, 13 L.Ed.2d 142 (1964)). In this case, we must determine whether a reasonable officer in the same circumstances and possessing the same knowledge as Christian could have believed that probable cause existed to arrest Ortega for the suspected robbery. Pickens v. Hollowell, 59 F.3d 1203, 1206 (11th Cir.1995).
As a basis for a finding of probable cause, Christian relied on information from a confidential informant identifying the perpetrator of a crime. Ortega argues that informant information alone cannot sufficiently support a finding of probable cause. In determining whether an informant's tip rises to the level of probable cause, we assess the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Gonzalez, 969 F.2d 999, 1002 (11th Cir.1992); United States v. Campbell, 920 F.2d 793, 796-97 (11th Cir.1991). We consider the relevance of factors such as the informant's "veracity," "reliability," and "basis of knowledge." Gonzalez, 969 F.2d at 1003 (citing Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 230, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2328, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). In addition, the corroboration of the details of an informant's tip through independent police work adds significant value to the probable cause analysis. Gonzalez, 969 F.2d at 1003.
In this case, we find that the informant's tip lacked essential elements that would have given Christian probable cause to believe Ortega participated in the robbery. Appellees argue that the information Christian received from the informant established probable cause because the informant made statements against his penal interests and as a member of the gang had personal knowledge of the perpetrators. First, making a statement against one's penal interests without more will not raise an informant's tip to the level of probable cause required under the Fourth Amendment. United States v. Martin, 615 F.2d 318, 325 (5th Cir.1980). Second, no evidence in the complaint demonstrates a past history between the informant and Christian or the MDPD, which could lend support for the informant's veracity and reliability. Third, although the informant admitted having membership in the gang, no evidence shows that the informant actually knew Ortega, that Ortega belonged to the gang, that a gang existed, or that Ortega participated in the commission of the crime. United States v. Reyes, 792 F.2d 536, 539 (5th Cir.1986) (). Lastly, the complaint does not reveal that Christian took any independent steps to investigate the informant's tip or had any evidence prior to arresting Ortega which would have corroborated the informant's identification of Ortega as a perpetrator in the commission of the crime. Gonzalez, 969 F.2d at 1003; see also Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 269, 80 S.Ct. 725, 735, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960) ().
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