Brown v. City of N.Y., 16-CV-1919 (ALC)

• Decision Date: 10 August 2018
• Docket Number: 16-CV-1919 (ALC)
• Parties: BROWN, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF NEW YORK ET AL., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

BROWN, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF NEW YORK ET AL., Defendants.

16-CV-1919 (ALC)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

August 10, 2018

OPINION AND ORDER

ANDREW L. CARTER, JR., United States District Judge:

Plaintiffs Robert Brown ("Mr. Brown") and Marjorie Grodd-Brown ("Ms. Brown") (collectively, "Plaintiffs") bring this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983¹ ("Section 1983") and the New York state and local law against Defendants the City of New York ("the City") and Detective Robert Cardona ("Cardona") (collectively, "Defendants"). Defendants have moved for summary judgment. In response, Plaintiffs have abandoned certain claims, but continue to pursue claims of false arrest, deprivation of due process rights, malicious prosecution, denial of the right to a fair trial, negligent training and screening, respondeat superior, First Amendment retaliation, and a violation of Mr. Brown's Fifth Amendment rights. For the reasons set forth in further detail below, summary judgment is warranted on each of these' remaining claims. Defendants' motion is GRANTED in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

The following factual allegations are undisputed by the parties unless otherwise noted.² On February 28, 2015, Mr. Brown and E.B., his then-12 year-old daughter, got into an argument over how long E.B. had been in the bathroom. Defendants' Statement of Undisputed Facts Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1 ("Defs' 56.1") ¶ 3 (ECF No. 61). During the argument, E.B. called her father a jerk. Id. ¶ 4. Mr. Brown then "pinched [E.B.] with a twisting motion." Id. ¶ 5.

On March 2, 2015, school officials at E.B.'s school noticed a mark on her arm. Id. ¶ 6. After observing the mark, a school official made a report to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services ("NYSOCFS") of suspected child abuse or maltreatment. Id. ¶ 7. The school official noted in the Suspected Child Abuse Report that E.B. had lacerations/bruises/welts, and had further informed the school official that, on February 28, 2015, E.B.'s father had pinched her with a twisting motion causing a bruise. Id. ¶¶ 8-9. The Suspected Child Abuse Report further detailed that E.B. told the school official that she frequently gets into verbal arguments with her father, that they can be physical at times, and that she had "done worse to her father" including punching and hitting him, "jump[ing] on his back[,]" and "go[ing] for his neck." Id. ¶ 10; see Declaration of Evan Brustein in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Brustein Decl."), Ex. B (ECF No. 66); see also Order Granting Motion to Seal (ECF No. 58) (filing Suspected Child Abuse Report under seal).

A child abuse case was then referred to the New York City Police Department ("NYPD") for investigation. Defs' 56.1 ¶ 11. The form used to refer the matter to the NYPD indicated that "the caretaker caused serious physical harm to child or has made a plausible threat of serious harm." Id. ¶ 12. The form, dated March 3, 2015, further described that E.B. attended a school specializing in serving children with "learning differences" and that there was a history of E.B. attacking her parents. Brustein Decl., Ex. C at DEF056. Also specified was that, during the altercation at issue, E.B. had "physically attacked" and "pinched" her father and, "[i]n an attempt to teach [E.B.] that what she does is not appropriate, [her] father pinched her in return, applying excess force and leaving a bruise." Defs' 56.1 ¶ 13; Brustein Decl., Ex. C at DEF056. However, the reporter indicated that Mr. Brown had no intention of injuring E.B., and that E.B. was "likely not at serious risk from her parents." Id.

On March 11, 2015, Mr. Brown received a phone call from an unidentified individual requesting to speak to his wife. Declaration of Vik Pawar, Esq., Ex. 2 ("R. Brown Depo.") at 21:8-10 (ECF No. 70-2).³ After Mr. Brown indicated his wife was not there, the individual asked if he was Robert Brown, and Mr. Brown confirmed it was him. Id. at 21:11-13. The individual then said to Brown, "I need you to come down to the police station." Id. at 21:13-14. Brown then hung up the phone, not believing that the individual was a police officer. Id. at 21:14, 59:12-13, 60:7-11.

Approximately thirty minutes later, at 5:09 p.m., Cardona appeared at the Browns' residence, located at 55 West 14^th Street, Apartment 7C, New York, New York, in a suit and tie, and "bang[ed]" on the door, and identified himself as an NYPD officer. Id. at 60:22-24, 61:7-13; Defs' 56.1 ¶ 16.⁴ Mr. Brown looked out his peephole, saw Cardona, and asked "who is it." R. Brown Depo. at 61:14-24. After Cardona did not answer him, he called 9-1-1 because he was afraid to open the door. R. Brown Depo. at 61:25-62:3, 65:22-23; Defs' 56.1 ¶ 17. According to the 9-1-1 operator's event chronology, Brown reported that a male wearing a suit and tie was at the door of his apartment, and was identifying himself as an NYPD officer with Shield Number 7724. Id. ¶ 18. The 9-1-1 operator told Brown not to let the man inside if Brown did not know who he was. R. Brown Depo. at 62:4-7.

At approximately 5:17 p.m., Cardona called 9-1-1 to request a unit because the occupant was requesting verification that he was a police officer. Defs' 56.1 ¶ 19. At approximately 5:22 p.m., the 9-1-1 operator heard Cardona identifying himself to the occupant. Id. ¶ 20. Approximately ten minutes after Mr. Brown called 9-1-1, two uniformed police officers came out of the elevator on the Browns' floor. R. Brown Depo. at 62:16-24. Cardona took out what appeared to be identification from his coat pocket and showed it to the officers, to which the police officers seemed to smile, as if they knew him. Id. The officers turned around and went back downstairs. Id.

After the officers left, Mr. Brown felt less afraid, and was "confident enough . . . that [Cardona] was with the police department . . . to open the door and let him in . . . since the officers knew who he was." Id. at 63:14-20, 64:17-21, 65:22-66:1. When Brown opened the door, Cardona said, "I need for you to come down to the police station now." Id. at 65:5-7. Cardona came into the apartment and said, while near the front door, "I need for you [to] come down to the police station." Id. at 65:11-14; Defs' 56.1 ¶ 25. Brown refused, to which Cardona responded, ". . . I am going to arrest you right here and put the cuffs [on] you and take you down right in front of your family." Id. ¶¶ 26-27; R. Brown Depo. at 68:16-21. Cardona was in the apartment for approximately ten minutes. Defs' 56.1 ¶ 23.

Brown rode in the front seat of Cardona's car to the police station. Id. ¶ 28. It took approximately 10 to 15 minutes to get there. Id. ¶ 29. At no point prior to arriving at the police station was Brown in handcuffs. Id. ¶ 30. When Brown asked why they were going to the police station, Cardona told him, "I can't say anything to you until we get down to the police station." Id. ¶ 31.

At approximately 6:00 p.m. at the police station, Cardona provided Brown with a copy of Miranda Warnings. Id. ¶ 32. Brown initialed next to the word "yes" in response to questions relating to his understand of each of his Miranda rights, and also answered he was willing to answer questions. Id. ¶¶ 34-39. Brown also signed and printed his name on the Miranda warnings sheet. Id. ¶ 40. Brown could not recall whether Cardona said anything else to him when he received this paper, nor could he remember whether Cardona gave the document to him prior to the handwritten statement that he would ultimately give. R. Brown Depo. 88:25-89:5.

Cardona then "threw a piece of paper down in front of [Brown] and forced [him] to write a statement." R. Brown Depo. 78:2-4. Specifically, Cardona said to Brown, "[w]rite down the statement about what happened," and also read Mr. Brown "the charges of why [he] was being brought down to the police station." Id. ¶ 41. Cardona did not tell Brown what to write. Id. ¶ 42. However, Brown "felt threatened like there was a gun to [his] head" because of the way Cardona threw down the piece of paper and said "[p]ut down what happened." R. Brown Depo. 79:3-6, 80:11-17. Cardona made no other threats at that time. Id. at 80:18-20.

Mr. Brown then wrote, in his own words, an accurate account of what had happened. Defs' 56.1 ¶ 43. Specifically, Brown wrote that he asked his daughter E.B. to hurry up in the bathroom because he needed to use it and she called him a jerk. Id. ¶ 44. Brown also wrote that his daughter started making hissing sounds and scratching and pinching him. Id. ¶ 45. Then, he wrote, he told his daughter, "Ok you want to play the pinching game?" and pinched her arm a little while she pinched him back. Id. ¶ 46. One of his pinches was a little too hard, he continued, causing a black and blue mark the size of a quarter. Id. ¶ 47.

Cardona interviewed Ms. Brown and E.B. at the precinct, separately from Mr. Brown. Brustein Decl., Ex. H ("Grodd-Brown Depo.") at 40:17-24.⁵ Cardona told them that Mr. Brown was "in big trouble" and asked them to answer his questions. Id. at 41:2-5. When Cardona asked E.B. about the incident, E.B. told him that her father had pinched her and caused a bruise, but made light of it, indicating that they were playing and that it was "no big deal." Defs' 56.1 ¶ 49; Grodd-Brown Depo. at 41:8-11, 42:7-13. Ms. Brown did not know if her daughter spoke to Cardona at the apartment on March 11, 2015. Defs' 56.1 ¶ 24.

At approximately 8 p.m., Cardona arrested Mr. Brown on charges of endangering the welfare of a child and assault in the third degree. Id. ¶ 50. Brown agrees that the narrative portion of the arrest report that he "did cause injury to a twelve year old child by pinching her on her upper right arm. Causing a quarter size bruise" was true. Id. ¶ 51. On March 12, 2015, the New York County District Attorney's Office charged Brown with intentional assault in the third degree, reckless assault in the third degree, endangering the welfare of a...