Brodnicki v. City of Omaha

• Decision Date: 25 March 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-1785,95-1785
• Citation: 75 F.3d 1261
• Parties: Edward BRODNICKI, Appellant, v. CITY OF OMAHA, Nebraska, a Municipal Corporation; County of Douglas, a Nebraska Political Subdivision; Patrick A. McCaslin; Kevin Donlan; Jeffery J. Theulen; John Skanes; Michael Hoch; James Jansen; John Swanson, Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 1261

75 F.3d 1261

Edward BRODNICKI, Appellant, v. CITY OF OMAHA, Nebraska, a Municipal Corporation; County of Douglas, a Nebraska Political Subdivision; Patrick A McCaslin; Kevin Donlan; Jeffery J. Theulen; John Skanes Michael Hoch; James Jansen; John Swanson, Appellees.

No. 95-1785.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted Oct. 18, 1995.

Decided Jan. 31, 1996.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied March

25, 1996.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska, Lyle E. Strom, U.S.D.C., Judge.

Lawrence G. Whelan, Omaha, Nebraska, argued, for appellant.

Thomas O. Mumgaard, Assistant City Attorney, Omaha, Nebraska, argued (Christine A. Lustgarten for Jansen and County of Douglas and Mary M. Elliston, Assistant City Attorney, for the City of Omaha, McCaslin, Donlan, Theulen, Skanes, Swanson and Hoch, on brief), for appellees.

Before BOWMAN, FLOYD R. GIBSON, and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges.

BOWMAN, Circuit Judge.

Edward Brodnicki appeals the adverse grant of summary judgment by the District Court ¹ in Brodnicki's 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against the City of Omaha, Douglas County, members of the Omaha Police Department, and the county attorney, James Jansen. We affirm.

This case began when a nine-year-old girl, Meaghan Callaghan, reported to Omaha police that she had been approached and followed by a man who tried to coax her into his car. She stated that the man had dirty-blonde hair, a moustache, wore sunglasses, a black hat and black shirt, and drove a white car with license plate number 1-AA864. Callaghan reported that the man opened his car door and said, "Your mother's going to be late at work, and she told me to pick you up." Callaghan stated that although she refused to get into the car with the man, he continued to follow her for two blocks, repeating his request for her to accompany him. The police traced the license plate number to Brodnicki's car.

Police brought Callaghan and her father to Brodnicki's home, where she identified Brodnicki's car as the one that followed her. After obtaining Brodnicki's consent, police arranged for a "showup," ² with Brodnicki standing in his front yard so that Callaghan could observe him from the police cruiser. The officers cautioned Callaghan about the serious nature of her allegations and the importance of accuracy. Callaghan positively identified Brodnicki as the driver of the car that had followed her.

Next, the officers obtained Brodnicki's consent to search his car where they found sunglasses, a baseball cap similar to the one described by Callaghan, and a stocking cap. Subsequently, Brodnicki was taken to police headquarters for questioning. He explained that he was at home alone on the afternoon in question; he did not provide the name of any person who could verify his whereabouts. He was given an opportunity to confront Callaghan, but he declined. The officers concluded there was sufficient evidence to arrest Brodnicki and to charge him with attempted kidnapping. A preliminary hearing was held in which Brodnicki cross-examined the state's witnesses, and he was provided the opportunity to present evidence, but he declined. Brodnicki was bound over for trial and released on bond. Soon thereafter, Brodnicki hired his own investigators, who concluded that he was at home during the alleged incident and did not drive his car during the relevant time period. The investigators also interviewed children with whom Callaghan had played on the day of the alleged incident. One child stated that she followed Callaghan home, but never saw Brodnicki approach Callaghan. After confirming this information, the county attorney's office dismissed the charges against Brodnicki.

Brodnicki then brought this § 1983 action, claiming that he was arrested without probable cause and that the arrest was pursuant to a policy or practice of the City of Omaha. Brodnicki also claimed that Jansen violated his due process rights by prosecuting him for attempted kidnapping and that Jansen's actions were taken pursuant to the policies and practices of Douglas County. Defendants Jansen and Douglas County moved for summary judgment arguing, inter alia, that Jansen, as county attorney, was entitled to absolute immunity for his actions in connection with the charges against Brodnicki and that Jansen's conduct was not pursuant to policies and practices approved by Douglas County. The District Court granted summary judgment to Jansen and Douglas County, concluding that Jansen was entitled to absolute immunity and that there was no basis for finding Douglas County liable. The police officers also filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming that they were entitled to qualified immunity. Before the District Court ruled on that motion, the officers and the City moved for summary judgment on the merits. The District Court did not address the officers' qualified immunity defense, but instead granted summary judgment on the merits in favor of the officers and the City. The District Court held that the officers had probable cause to arrest Brodnicki, and, since the officers' actions were proper, there was no basis for holding the City liable under a theory of inadequate training or municipal custom.

Brodnicki timely appeals. ³ He argues that as a matter of law (1) the police officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by arresting him without probable cause; (2) the officers acted pursuant to policies and practices approved by the City of Omaha; and (3) Jansen violated Brodnicki's due process rights by prosecuting him for attempted kidnapping. ⁴

I.

We review de novo the decision to grant a summary judgment motion. Maitland v. University of Minn., 43 F.3d 357, 360 (8th Cir.1994). We will affirm the judgment if the record shows that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the prevailing party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id.; see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

II.

Brodnicki argues that the facts, as to which there are no material disputes, show that the Omaha police officers did not have probable cause for his arrest, which therefore violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process clause. See Baker v. McCollan, 443 U.S. 137, 142, 99 S.Ct. 2689, 2693-94, 61 L.Ed.2d 433 (1979); Hannah v. City of Overland, 795 F.2d 1385, 1389 (8th Cir.1986) (holding § 1983 action lies for warrantless arrest without probable cause). Probable cause exists if "the totality of facts based on reasonably trustworthy information would justify a prudent person in believing the individual arrested had committed ... an offense" at the time of the arrest. Hannah, 795 F.2d at 1389 (quoting United States v. Wallraff, 705 F.2d 980, 990 (8th Cir.1983). "[T]he probability, and not a prima facie showing, of criminal activity is the standard of probable cause." Id. (quoting Wallraff, 705 F.2d at 990) (internal quotations omitted)).

Brodnicki makes several arguments as to why, in his view, his arrest lacked probable cause. First, he argues that the police were not justified in believing Callaghan's story when confronted with his denial of the alleged incident, and that the police had a duty to investigate his alibi before making their probable cause determination. We disagree. The officers were not required to conduct a mini-trial before arresting Brodnicki. Morrison v. United States, 491 F.2d 344, 346 (8th Cir.1974). Probable cause is to be determined upon the objective facts available to the officers at the time of the arrest. Id. Moreover, the officers' reliance on Callaghan's story of her near-abduction was not objectively unreasonable. Callaghan appeared to be a credible witness. She gave the police a specific description of the car, its license plate number, and a detailed account of the incident. This information led the police to identify Brodnicki's car, which matched Callaghan's description. Brodnicki's car then was found in the immediate vicinity where, according to Callaghan, she was accosted while on her way home after playing with her friends. Callaghan's mother made statements to the officers attesting to her daughter's truthfulness. Callaghan identified Brodnicki in a showup. Upon this evidence, a reasonable police officer could conclude that probable cause existed to arrest Brodnicki.

Brodnicki correctly asserts that his physical appearance is somewhat inconsistent with Callaghan's description of the man who allegedly attempted to lure her into his car. For example, Brodnicki is six feet two inches tall and 280 pounds with dark brown hair as opposed to five feet eleven inches tall and 220 pounds with dirty-blonde hair; Brodnicki has a beard but no mustache; he was dressed in a brown shirt rather than a black shirt. Brodnicki argues that such inconsistencies vitiate probable cause. We disagree. The evaluation of evidence to determine if probable cause exists is not an exact science. Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175-76, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310-11, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949) (defining probable cause as a practical, nontechnical concept that strikes a balance between society's interest in effective law enforcement and protection of law-abiding citizens). We must consider the inconsistencies that Brodnicki points out in light of all of the circumstances of which the arresting officers were aware at the time of his arrest, including Callaghan's tender age. Having done so, we conclude that these inconsistencies are not sufficient to defeat a finding of probable cause.

Brodnicki next argues that the showup at his house was so suggestive that it was improper to include it in the probable cause evaluation. Brodnicki further argues that without Callaghan's identification of him at the showup the police lacked probable cause for his arrest. We are not persuaded. Even if we exclude the showup from our probable cause analysis, what remains are police officers...