Ahlers v. Schebil

• Decision Date: 30 April 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-CV-73373-DT.,96-CV-73373-DT.
• Citation: 966 F.Supp. 518
• Parties: Wayne Thomas AHLERS and Nina Ahlers, Plaintiffs, v. Ronald J. SCHEBIL, Mark Ptaszek, Jerry Clayton, Roy Mays, Ed Toth, and Ernie Milligan, Individually and in their Official Capacities as employees of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, and Gary Parsons, Individually and in his Official Capacity as a Detective Sergeant for the Michigan State Police, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Michigan

966 F.Supp. 518

Wayne Thomas AHLERS and Nina Ahlers, Plaintiffs, v. Ronald J. SCHEBIL, Mark Ptaszek, Jerry Clayton, Roy Mays, Ed Toth, and Ernie Milligan, Individually and in their Official Capacities as employees of the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, and Gary Parsons, Individually and in his Official Capacity as a Detective Sergeant for the Michigan State Police, Defendants.

No. 96-CV-73373-DT.

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

April 30, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Juan A. Mateo, Jr., Detroit, MI, for Plaintiffs.

Ian James Reach, Ann Arbor, MI, Mark E. Donnelly, Lansing, MI, for Defendants.

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT REGARDING QUALIFIED IMMUNITY AND STATE TORT CLAIMS AND VACATING STAY OF DISCOVERY

ROSEN, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On July 25, 1996, Plaintiffs Wayne and Nina Ahlers filed a Complaint alleging that Defendants Ronald J. Schebil, Mark Ptaszek, Jerry Clayton, Roy Mays, Ed Toth, and Ernie Milligan, as officers with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department (the "Washtenaw County Defendants"), and Gary Parsons, as a Detective Sergeant for the Michigan State Police, violated Mr. Ahlers constitutional rights and committed various torts against him in the course of investigating him for sexually assaulting a prisoner while he was serving as an officer with the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department. This matter is presently before the Court on the Washtenaw County Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment regarding qualified immunity and the state tort claims. Having reviewed the parties' briefs and conducted a hearing on this matter, the Court is now prepared to rule. This Opinion and Order sets forth the Court's ruling.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

A. The Alleged Sexual Assault.

On August 17, 1995, Ms. Carrie Ann Stiltner, a known prostitute and crack addict, (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, p. 55), arrived at the 14-B District Court with 8 other prisoners, whereupon she advised one of the transport officers, Larry Clemons, that she had performed oral sex on a male officer the night before in exchange for his promise to get her some food. (Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, Ex. A). Given the serious nature of this charge, Clemons promptly filed a report and alerted his superior, Det. Sgt. Roy Mays. (Id.). Later that same day, Mays and Officer Ed Toth interviewed Ms. Stiltner about the alleged incident. (Defendants' Ex. B).

In this taped interview, Stiltner described the following events. First, on the evening of August 16, 1995, Stiltner was arrested for prostitution and brought to the Washtenaw County Jail. (Defendants' Ex. A, p. 1 and Ex. B, p. 5). The officer who booked her that evening/early morning was Deputy Wayne Ahlers, the Plaintiff. Apparently, Stiltner knew Ahlers from an August 3, 1995 solicitation arrest where, during the booking process, Ahlers asked her several times, out of curiosity, how much she charged for her acts of prostitution. (Defendants' Ex. B, p. 3). It was this incident that Stiltner claimed Ahlers was referring to when during her August 17, 1995 booking, he allegedly told her that they had "some unfinished business" and asked her if she remembered what they had talked about the last time. (Id. at pp. 3-4).

Next, Ahlers booked her, fingerprinted her, asked her some routine questions, and entered some booking information into a computer. (Id. at pp. 4-5). Thereafter, Ahlers asked her how much she charged for oral sex and implied that he used other prostitutes for oral sex. (Id. at p. 5). Subsequently, Stiltner was left alone in the holding cell. (Id.) However, Ahlers eventually entered the holding cell — either through the open door or because Stiltner opened the door — after he had knocked. (Id.); (See also Plaintiffs' Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, p. 92-94). Then, Stiltner repeated an earlier request for some food because she was hungry and Ahlers replied they had some "unfinished business." (Defendants' Ex. B, p. 6). Next, with the holding cell door open, Stiltner performed oral sex on Ahlers in the hope that she would get something to eat. (Id.). Stiltner claimed that because she had swallowed it, there was no physical evidence of this incident. (Id. at p. 9). Thereafter, Stiltner did not see Ahlers that evening and she never received the food that she had been promised. (Id. at p. 8).

B. The Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department Investigation of the Sexual Assault.

While this interview with Stiltner was occurring, Sgt. Webber notified other key members of the Sheriff's Department of the alleged incident, including First Lieutenant Jerry Clayton. After Mays and Toth interviewed Stiltner, Clayton and Mays talked with Stiltner and she essentially repeated the same allegations. (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, p. 28-29). Later that evening, Clayton and Mays again talked with Stiltner. During this conversation, Stiltner's story remained the same, although she made it clear that the alleged assault occurred sometime after the booking process and prior to the time that another female inmate, Felicia Lane, was put in the holding cell with her. (Id. at p. 32-33).

Next, Mays, Clayton, and Commander Mark Wusthoff decided to "put a wire" on Stiltner and isolate her so that they could obtain corroborating evidence from any contacts that she would have that evening with Ahlers when he came on duty at 11 PM. (Id. at p. 37). The wire was actually placed on Stiltner by a female officer, Acting Sgt. Andrea Adams. Next, Clayton gathered and examined a series of documents and records, including those produced during the booking process on August 16 — August 17, to determine if Stiltner's story was possible. (Id. at p. 38). Apparently, these documents and records do not account for Ahlers' whereabouts between 12:30 AM and 1:00 AM, which was the period of time between Stiltner's and Lane's bookings. (Plaintiffs' Ex. F., Parsons Deposition, p. 40, 22-24).

As discussed above, the alleged incident occurred in the female holding cell which is located on the "female side" of the booking area. The booking area is approximately 30-40 feet long and 15-20 feet wide. (Plaintiffs' Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, p. 44). This area is particularly busy in the late evening and early morning, when the alleged incident occurred. (Defendants' Reply, Alvarez Affidavit, p. 3). Indeed, at any point in time, a member of the 7-person staff or various on-duty or visiting officers would enter the booking area to perform their duties or deliver, release, or take away prisoners. (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. B, Johnson Deposition, p. 19-21). Moreover, the "male side" of the booking area and the male holding cell are monitored by video and audio monitors. (Defendants' Reply, Clayton Deposition, p. 60-63). The female side of the booking desk and the female holding cell, however, were not monitored by either audio or video at this time. (Id.). Because the female side, where the alleged incident occurred, was not monitored, Clayton and the other officers investigating this incident did not examine or preserve the audio or video tape from the evening/morning in question. (Id. at 62-63). In particular, Clayton explained that he did not look at this tape or preserve it or give it to Parsons when he asked for such video or audio tapes because in his experience these tapes had not proved useful in determining what events had transpired on the female side. (Id. at 60-64). The investigating officers also did not interview Ahlers' immediate supervisor, Sgt. Donna Johnson, (Id. at 64-65), who, from her office off the booking area, can monitor these video and audio tapes and who was on duty during the evening/morning when the incident allegedly occurred, (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. B, Johnson Deposition, p. 24). Additionally, the investigating officers did not interview Robert Alvarez, Ahlers' booking partner during the night/morning in question. (Defendants' Reply, Alvarez Deposition, pp. 4-5). According to Alvarez, he does not recall Ahlers leaving his side between 12:30 AM and 1:00 AM and he does not believe that such an incident could have occurred without someone seeing it due to the ebb and flow of people and officers passing through the booking area. (Plaintiffs' Ex. C, Alvarez Affidavit, p. 3).

The wire placed on Stiltner revealed that during the late evening of August 17, 1995 and the early morning of August 18, 1995, Ahlers did not attempt to make any contact with Stiltner. (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, pp. 49-51). The wire also revealed that when Stiltner called for Ahlers or asked to speak to him, he did not respond. (Id.). Although the record is not clear, it seems that at least some portions of the "wiring" were taped while Clayton, Mays, Adams, and Detective Grimm listened. (Id.).

At this time, because the Sheriff's Department "felt [Stiltner's charge] was a substantial enough charge and.. couldn't [be] verif[ied] ..., [the investigating officers] felt [they should] turn [the investigation] over to somebody outside and let them do it." (Plaintiffs' Response, Ex. D, Clayton Deposition, p. 59). Apparently, it is the Department's policy to have a neutral, independent law enforcement agency investigate substantial criminal allegations made about its officers' conduct in order to avoid conflict of interest. (Id. at 58). Thus, on August 18, 1995, Clayton and Wusthoff decided to turn the investigation over to the Michigan State Police. (Id. at 58-60). From September 1, 1995 through February 13, 1996 (pre-charging/arraignment), Ahlers was suspended with pay, and from February 13, 1996 through March 28, 1996 (post-charging/arraignment), without pay. (Plaintiffs' Complaint, p. 4).

After August 18, 1995, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department was no longer involved in the criminal investigation of Ahlers. (Id. at 69). Clayton's only continuing...