Alcorn v. City of Chi., 17 C 5859
| Decision Date | 27 July 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 17 C 5859,17 C 5859 |
| Parties | LISA ALCORN, as Plenary Guardian of the Estate and Person of TYLER LUMAR, Plaintiff, v. THE CITY OF CHICAGO, et. al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
Plaintiff Lisa Alcorn, as Plenary Guardian of the Estate and Person of Tyler Lumar, sued the City of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department (CPD), CPD Chief of the Bureau of Patrol Wayne Gulliford in his official capacity, CPD Lieutenant Kevin Hannigan in his official capacity, and several officers and employees of the Chicago Police Department ("Individual CPD Defendants")1 in their individual and official capacities (collectively "City Defendants") and Cook County, Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart, Executive Director of Cook County Department of Corrections Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia (Dr. Jones) in her official capacity, and several officers and employees of the Cook County Sheriff's Office ("Individual County Defendants")2 in their individual and official capacities (collectively "County Defendants"). (Dkt. 69). Plaintiff brings several claims under 18 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of Tyler Lumar's constitutional rights during a series of events occurring over a two-day period related to his arrests and detentions by CPD and the Cook County Jail and eventual attempted suicide in the CPD lockup. (Dkt. 69). The Individual CPD Defendants, the City of Chicago, and the County Defendants filed separate Motions to Dismiss certain claims in Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. (Dkts. 87, 88, 92). The Motions to Dismiss are granted in part and denied in part for the following reasons.
The facts set forth in Plaintiff's Amended Complaint are accepted as true for the purpose of reviewing Defendants' Motions to Dismiss. Heyde v. Pittenger, 633 F.3d 512, 516 (7th Cir. 2011). The Court also considers the General Administrative Order No. 2015-06 ("the Order") attached to the parties' pleadings. Generally, matters outside the pleadings may not be considered on a motion to dismiss. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b). However, the Court can examine concededly authentic documents attached to a party's motion to dismiss if the documents are referred to in the plaintiff's complaint and are central to his claim. See Chemetall GMBH v. ZR Energy, Inc., 320 F.3d 714, 718 (7th Cir. 2003); Venture Assocs. Corp. v. Zenith Data Sys. Corp., 987 F.2d 429, 432 (7th Cir. 1993). GAO 2015-06 is central to Plaintiff's Complaint because Count II is based entirely on the alleged selective enforcement of the Order at the time Lumar was arrested. Therefore, the Court takes judicial notice of the fact that Chief Judge Evans issued GAO 2015-06 on June 17, 2015 and the Order states what it does. (See Dkt. 87-1). Plaintiff attaches a CPD General Order, a CPD Special Order, and two police reports to pleadings in response to the Motions to Dismiss. (See Dkts. 101, 102). The Court will not consider them as they are not referenced in Plaintiff's Complaint.
At approximately 3:00 p.m. on August 18, 2016, Chicago Police Officers Daniel Warren and Carlos Vega responded to a call at Madison Family Health Center after receiving a complaint from certain medical personnel there that Tyler Lumar was yelling and refusing to leave the medical grounds. (Dkt. 69 at ¶ 32).3 When the Officers arrived, the medical staff asked the Officers to issue a verbal notice informing Lumar that he was banned from the property but advised that they did not wish to pursue criminal charges. (Id. at ¶¶ 33-34). Accordingly, at approximately 3:15 p.m., Officers Warren and Vega issued the verbal warning. (Id. at ¶ 35). No charges were brought and Lumar left the Health Center and walked peacefully down the street. (Id.).
Approximately 35 minutes later at 3:50 p.m., Officers Warren and Vega stopped Lumar as he was walking down the street and arrested him on a traffic warrant for his arrest issued by Lee County. (Id. at ¶ 36). Officers Warren and Vega searched Lumar and found that he was not in possession of any contraband or narcotics and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (Id. at ¶ 37). Lumar informed the Officers that the information was incorrect and that he had no outstanding traffic warrant but they proceeded to transport him to the 11th District Station. (Id. at ¶¶ 38-39). Upon arrival, he was searched by Officer Corrina Esteban who found again that he was not in possession of any narcotics and did not appear to be under the influence of any drugs or alcohol. (Id. at ¶ 40).
Detention Aide Kimoni Peals and other officers at the 11th District Station then booked and processed Lumar. (Id. at ¶ 41). The booking officers also searched Lumar, finding only $130.00 and a necklace on his person and, once again, that he was not in possession of any narcotics and did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (Id. at ¶¶ 41-42). During booking, Lumar informed Officer Peals and the other officers that he was taking prescription medication for asthma. (Id. at ¶ 42). Finally, Officer Conner took Lumar's mugshot and searched him, finding also that he was not in possession of any narcotics or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. (Id. at ¶ 43).
Lumar was received in the 11th District lockup at around 4:26 p.m. that day. (Id. at ¶ 44). At 4:43 p.m., Officer Vega or some other officer contacted Lee County through the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System (LEADS) and at 4:48 p.m., an officer from Lee County responded to inform CPD that the warrant was valid and had been issued on June 9, 2016 for failure to pay a fine after Lumar pleaded guilty on May 15, 2015 to driving on a suspended license. (Id. at ¶¶ 45-46, 49). Lee County advised CPD that Lumar could pay $50.00 (10% of $500.00) to bond himself out and, if he were unable to pay the $50.00, that CPD should place a hold on him so that Lee County could pick him up and extradite him. (Id. at ¶ 46).
The CPD Officers failed to advise Lumar that he could bond himself out by paying $50.00. (Id. at ¶ 47). Instead, they reported "Bond Information Not Available" on his arrest report, charged him with a "Class Z" (nonbondable) offense under 725 ILCS 5.01/110-3, Issuance of Warrant, Class Z, even though they knew the traffic warrant arose out of a Class A Misdemeanor bondable offense, and issued a hold for him under #Z14221. (Id. at ¶¶ 47-48). District Commander James Jones and Station Supervisors Sergeant Alan Lasch and Sergeant Kevin Geyer approved the issuance of the Z charge and the concealment of the fact that Lumar could have posted bail for $50.00 and leave the 11th District station. (Id. at ¶ 95). Lumar made several phone calls to his mother Lisa Alcorn and fiancé Casey Tencate on August 18, 2016. (Id. at ¶ 90). Had he known he could have posted bail for $50.00, he would have used the money on him to do so or asked his mother or fiancé to post that amount. (Id. at ¶¶ 89-90).
According to the Complaint, as part of his May 2015 guilty plea in Lee County, Lumar agreed to pay $673.00 in fines and court costs in monthly installment payments of $25.00 due on the first of each month and Lumar timely made these payments from May 2015 through May 2016. (Id. at ¶ 51). Lumar claims that Lee County issued the traffic warrant on June 3, 2016, after he made his June 2016 payment a few days late. (Id.). Lumar made the July 2016 and August 2016 payments on time and at the time of his arrest on August 18, 2016, the last and final payment was not due until September 1, 2016. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges that at some point, CPD Officers including Officers Warren, Vega and Esteban spoke with his fiancé Tencate, who informed them that Lumar had made the outstanding June 2016 payment which served as the basis of the Lee County warrant. (Id. at ¶ 82).
Before Lumar's arrest, on June 17, 2015, Chief Judge Evans of the Circuit Court of Cook County issued General Administrative Order No. 2015-06 Procedures for Arrests on Illinois Intrastate Warrants Issued Outside of Cook County. (Id. at ¶ 109). GAO No. 2015-06 required that any defendant who, like Lumar, is taken into custody by an arresting agency located within Cook County on an arrest warrant issued by an Illinois state court outside of Cook County, "shall be required to appear in bond court." (Id. at ¶ 110; Dkt. 87-1). Plaintiff alleges CPD selectively enforced this policy only against non-white arrestees like Lumar and allowed similarly situated white arrestees who were able to bond themselves out instead directly from the CPD lockup. (Dkt. 69 at ¶¶ 109-11, 113).
After being told he could not bail himself out, Lumar became extremely agitated and anxious and advised CPD Officers that he needed medical treatment. (Id. at ¶ 204). At approximately 11:30 p.m., Lumar had an emergent asthma attack and CPD Officers including Officer Walter Delgado transported him to the Mount Sinai Hospital emergency room for treatment. (Id. at ¶ 51). Lumar was discharged from the emergency room the following morning on August 19, 2016 at approximately 6:30 a.m., transported back to the 11th District station by Officer Walter Delgado and other officers and received at the station by Officer John Granat. (Id. at ¶¶ 53-54). Officers searched Lumar before he was transported to the hospital, before he was transported back to the station and upon receipt at the station and, each time, did not find any narcotics on him. (Id. at ¶¶ 52, 54-55).
At approximately 8:40 a.m. that same morning, CPD Officers Peter Vinson and Dietrice Ellens-Alexander and other Central Prisoner Transport personnel transported Lumar to the Cook County Jail and upon arrival at the Jail placed Lumar in Bullpen 23, a group lockup with 25 other pretrial detainees. (Id. at ¶¶ 56-57). Before transporting him, the Officers searched Lumar and did not find...
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