Walton v. City of Southfield

• Decision Date: 10 June 1993
• Docket Number: 91-2083 and 91-2115,Nos. 91-2049,s. 91-2049
• Citation: 995 F.2d 1331
• Parties: Barbara WALTON, individually and as next friend of Courtney Walton and Kamara Walton, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. CITY OF SOUTHFIELD, Keith Birberick, * Robert Castleman, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit

Page 1331

995 F.2d 1331

Barbara WALTON, individually and as next friend of Courtney Walton and Kamara Walton, Plaintiffs-Appellees, v. CITY OF SOUTHFIELD, Keith Birberick, ^* Robert Castleman, Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 91-2049, 91-2083 and 91-2115.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Argued Oct. 14, 1992.

Decided June 10, 1993.

Dolores Preston-Cooper, Patrick, Fields & Preston-Cooper, Detroit, MI (argued and briefed), for Barbara Walton.

Yvonne M. Jennings, Patrick, Fields & Preston-Cooper, Detroit, MI (argued), for Courtney Walton.

Lawrence C. Patrick, Jr., Patrick, Fields & Preston-Cooper, Detroit, MI, for Kamara Walton.

Marcia L. Howe (argued and briefed), Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, Livonia, MI, Susan P. Ward, Southfield, MI, for City of Southfield, Keith Birberick, Officer, and Robert Castleman, Officer.

T. Joseph Seward, Marcia L. Howe, Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, Livonia, MI, for Robert Castleman, Officer.

Before: SILER and BATCHELDER, Circuit Judges; and KRUPANSKY, Senior Circuit Judge.

BATCHELDER, Circuit Judge.

In this case, the City of Southfield and several officers of the Southfield Police Department appeal the district court's finding that they are not entitled to summary judgment as to several claims brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Michigan law. We affirm the district court in part and reverse in part.

I.

The facts of this case revolve in large measure around an exercise of very poor judgment on the part of the defendant police officers. On May 17, 1988, at 3:30 p.m., plaintiff Barbara Walton [hereinafter Walton] was driving in her car with her two-year-old granddaughter, Courtney, and her 15-year-old daughter, Kamara, also plaintiffs in this matter. Walton testified that she had just left her doctor's office where she had been seeking treatment for an injured shoulder. Kamara was in the front seat and had her seat belt fastened. Courtney was in the back seat with a seat belt around her, but she was not in a child-restraint seat. ¹ As Walton drove through the City of Southfield, Courtney began crawling from the back seat over into the front seat and onto the lap of her aunt, Kamara. Defendant Officer Keith Birberick testified that he observed Courtney standing on Kamara's lap. Kamara stated that, at her mother's direction, she sat Courtney on her lap and fastened her own seat belt around both herself and the baby. It is not clear whether Walton at that point pulled into a parking lot to secure Courtney or whether Officer Birberick pulled her over into the parking lot.

Officer Birberick approached the car and inquired why the baby was not in a child-restraint seat as required by Michigan law. He asked to see Walton's license, and after checking the license by radio, told Walton that he had been informed that her license had been suspended. ² Officer Birberick asked Walton to get out of the car and placed her under arrest. Walton claims that Officer Birberick was hostile and angry toward her.

At this point, defendant Officer Robert Castleman arrived as a backup. Castleman testified that Walton was hostile and uncooperative. Officer Birberick testified that he asked Walton to hold out the ends of her jacket and open it so that he could check for guns or knives in her waistband. He also searched the pockets of her jacket for weapons. Officer Castleman observed Officer Birberick pat down Walton's jacket pockets. Walton, however, testified that she was patted down her front, back and sides, not just on her jacket.

Officer Birberick then proceeded to handcuff Walton. Walton and Kamara testified that Walton asked Birberick not to handcuff her arms behind her because she had a sore shoulder and had just come from the doctor's office for treatment of it. Birberick claims that Walton asked not to be handcuffed but that she did not say why. Castleman testified that Walton said that she did not want to be handcuffed in front of the children. Officer Birberick then stated: "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." ³ Walton put her hands behind her back, and Officer Birberick then put on the handcuffs from behind Walton and put her into the police car.

At this point, Kamara and Courtney had gotten out of Walton's car. Castleman testified that Walton asked that the children be taken into protective custody. Officer Birberick responded that the officers could not do that, ⁴ but that the children could call someone to pick them up. Officer Birberick asked Kamara if there were someone she could call to come pick them up. Walton answered for Kamara that there was no one at home, and asked Officer Birberick if he would reach into her purse and take out some money to give her daughter. Walton claims that Birberick did not respond, ⁵ but instead asked Kamara whether she had money to make a phone call. When Kamara answered that she did, Birberick suggested that she go across the street to try to call someone. However, Walton told Kamara not to walk across the street with the infant. Upon Walton's request, Birberick found the number of a friend of Walton's in her address book and wrote the number down for Kamara. Birberick also testified that he gave Kamara the number of the Oakland County Jail where Walton would be taken. Before taking Walton to the police station, Officer Birberick watched to see that the children went into the office building next to the parking lot to make a call, but he did not wait to make sure the children had secured a ride home.

When Officer Birberick got into the police car, Walton testified that she was crying, asked that the handcuffs be removed, and asked to use a restroom. Birberick testified that Walton did tell him near the station that her shoulder was hurting, and Birberick replied that they would be at the station shortly. Once at the station, Walton was escorted to the Oakland County Jail Annex. There, the handcuffs were removed, and Walton was processed by a female deputy. During this process, Walton informed the deputy that her hands and fingers were hurting. Officer Birberick inquired whether she needed medical treatment, and Walton replied that she did not.

The female officer then escorted Walton to a holding cell with a toilet. Walton declined to use the toilet because the toilet area was not shielded sufficiently from the view of the officers and other prisoners. Walton used a pay phone in the cell to call her family.

Because Walton was pacing in the cell and rubbing her arm, the female deputy called for medical assistance. When EMS and the Fire Department arrived, Walton was released from the jail and taken to the hospital. She was diagnosed with heart arrhythmia and high blood pressure, and kept overnight at the hospital for observance.

Meanwhile, Kamara used the public phone in the office building to call her brother to tell him that she and Courtney needed a ride home. However, he did not have access to a car to pick them up. Kamara could not tell him exactly where she was, knowing only that she was in Southfield, and she had no more money. Eventually, a maintenance person in the building told the children that they would have to go outside because he had to lock up the building. At 9:30 p.m., six hours after being left by the police, Kamara and Courtney were finally picked up. Kamara claims that she has a history of chronic abdominal pain and that she experienced more pain while waiting for a ride. Courtney was left with a wet diaper and no food for the six hours.

Walton, Kamara and Courtney filed suit in district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state tort law against the City of Southfield and Officers Birberick and Castleman. They claimed that the officers conducted an illegal stop, an illegal arrest and an illegal search of Walton; used excessive force in arresting her; invaded her privacy; and violated due process by abandoning the children. Their claims against the City of Southfield were for vicarious liability for the officers' actions, for failure to train the officers, and for violating Walton's privacy right by not providing her with a toilet shielded from the view of others.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was denied. After further discovery, defendants then filed a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment, based in part upon qualified immunity. The district court granted the officers' motion for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity on the unlawful stop claim, but denied it on the claims of unlawful search, invasion of privacy, abandonment of the minor children and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court denied to Officer Birberick but granted to Officer Castleman summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity on the excessive use of force claim. The court denied summary judgment on the basis of state governmental immunity to both the City and the officers. 748 F.Supp. 1214.

The officers appeal the denial of summary judgment on the claims of 1) the abandonment of the children; 2) the illegal stop; 3) the illegal search; 4) the excessive use of force; and 5) invasion of privacy. The City appeals the denial of the motion for summary judgment as to the failure to train claim, and the City and the officers appeal the denial of state governmental immunity. After a discussion of qualified immunity, we address these issues seriatim.

II.

We have jurisdiction over the qualified immunity issues because orders denying summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity are immediately appealable as "final judgments" under the collateral order doctrine. 28 U.S.C. § 1291; Mitchell v. Forsyth, 472 U.S. 511, 530, 105 S.Ct. 2806, 2817, 86 L.Ed.2d 411 (1985). Qualified immunity is a question of law for the district court, and therefore we review the denial of qualified immunity de novo. Hall v. Shipley, 932 F.2d 1147, 1150 (6th Cir.1991).

Government officials "performing discretionary functions generally are shielded from liability for civil damages insofar as their...