Butler v. Hesch, 1:16–cv–1540 (MAD/CFH)

• Decision Date: 15 February 2018
• Docket Number: 1:16–cv–1540 (MAD/CFH)
• Citation: 286 F.Supp.3d 337
• Parties: Robert BUTLER, Plaintiff, v. Eric HESCH, City of Schenectady Police Detective; Thomas Disbrow, Former City of Schenectady Police Detective; Paul Steele, Former City of Schenectady Police Detective; Mark Meeks, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent; Mark Maher, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent; and Jason Stocklas, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of New York

286 F.Supp.3d 337

Robert BUTLER, Plaintiff,

v.Eric HESCH, City of Schenectady Police Detective; Thomas Disbrow, Former City of Schenectady Police Detective; Paul Steele, Former City of Schenectady Police Detective; Mark Meeks, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent; Mark Maher, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent; and Jason Stocklas, United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent, Defendants.

1:16–cv–1540 (MAD/CFH)

United States District Court, N.D. New York.

Signed February 15, 2018

RAYMOND E. GAZER, ESQ., OF COUNSEL, GETZ & BRAVERMAN, P.C., 172 East 161st Street, Bronx, New York 10451, Attorneys for Plaintiff

SHAWN F. BROUSSEAU, ESQ., DIANE LUFKIN SCHILLING, ESQ., THOMAS J. O'CONNOR, ESQ., OF COUNSEL, NAPIERSKI, VANDENBURGH, NAPIERSKI & O'CONNOR, LLP, 296 Washington Avenue Extension, Albany, New York 12203, Attorneys for Defendants Hesch, Disbrow, and Steele

KAREN FOLSTER LESPERANCE, AUSA, OF COUNSEL, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, James T. Foley U.S. Courthouse, 445 Broadway, Room 218, Albany, New York 12207–2924, Attorneys for Defendants Meeks, Maher, and Stocklas

MEMORANDUM–DECISION AND ORDER

Mae A. D'Agostino, U.S. District Judge:

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff commenced this action on December 28, 2016, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution, and Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics , 403 U.S. 388, 91 S.Ct. 1999, 29 L.Ed.2d 619 (1971), complaining of constitutional and civil rights violations stemming from Plaintiff's arrest and detention. See Dkt. No. 1.

Currently before the Court are Defendants Maher, Meeks and Stocklas' motion to dismiss and Defendants Disbrow, Hesch, and Steele's motion for judgment on the pleadings. See Dkt. Nos. 23 & 28.

II. BACKGROUND

A. The Fire

On May 2, 2013, sometime around 4:00 a.m., a fire broke out at 438 Hulett Street, in Schenectady, New York, killing one adult, three children, and severely injuring another small child. See Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 19. Carbon monoxide, burns, and smoke inhalation caused the deaths of David Terry, and his two small children, Layah and Michael Terry, along with eleven-month old Donovan Duell. See id. Sa'Fyre Terry, then five-years old, survived but was severely burned. See id.

Although not present at the time of the fire, Plaintiff had been intermittently residing at 438 Hulett Street, along with his then-girlfriend Jennica Duell. See id. at ¶ 20. Plaintiff last resided there in April of 2013. See id. Duell was the mother of the three deceased children and one injured child and, at the time of the fire, still resided in the home with her ex-boyfriend, the decedent David Terry, who was the father of three of the children. See id.

Almost immediately after the fire, the City of Schenectady Fire Department contacted the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ("ATF") to assist in the investigation of the fire. See id. at ¶ 21. During the ensuing days and months, various federal, state, and local members of law enforcement joined in the investigation. See id. Almost immediately after the fire was extinguished, arson was suspected. See id. at ¶ 22. The investigation revealed that the fire in the building, a wood-framed, two-family residence, started in the stairwell leading to the second story apartment. See id. Further, the cause of the fire was determined to be intentionally set by someone igniting gasoline that was placed in the stairwell. See id.

On the day before the fire, May 1, 2013, Plaintiff had stayed at a motel in Saratoga Springs with two friend, including Bryan Fish. See Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 23. After leaving the motel, Plaintiff and Fish "walked around Saratoga Springs and hung out in both a Stewart's Ice Cream Shop and McDonalds on Broadway." See id. Sometime between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. on that date, Jennica Duell met Plaintiff and Fish after traveling from Schenectady. See id. The three continued to hang out in Saratoga with various other friends before spending the night at a friend's apartment at Jefferson Terrace, a public housing development in Saratoga Springs. See id.

At around 8:30 a.m., on May 2, 2013, Plaintiff, Duell, and Fish awoke and went to a Stewart's on South Broadway to purchase breakfast and snacks to prepare for their travel back to Schenectady. See id. at ¶ 24. It was there where, on a television displaying the news, the three learned about the fire and ensuing fatalities. See id. "Their reactions of shock, grief, and hysteria were recorded on the store's surveillance system, including [P]laintiff punching something." Id. After watch the report, the three obtained cab fare back to Schenectady from a sympathetic waitress at a restaurant. See id. at ¶ 25. Besides expressing their obvious anguish, Duell additionally discussed who she believed was responsible for setting the fire that killed her children and David Terry. See id. According to the complaint, Duell was recorded stating " ‘I do not know if a part of me thinks that someone started the fire, was started. Because Dave's ... been having issues with his girlfriend's ex and he threatened to kill Dave.’ " Id. Duell also borrowed the cab driver's telephone to call people to learn more of the circumstances surrounding the fire. See id.

B. The Investigation

According to the complaint, it was back in Schenectady where Plaintiff learned for the first time that, despite not being in the same county as the fire, he was the prime suspect for having set it. See Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 26. After arriving at Duell's mother's house with Duell, he exited the apartment to get fresh air and was immediately confronted by various members of the Schenectady Police Department. See id. Plaintiff was asked if he wanted to accompany them to the police station to talk about the fire and he agreed to do so. See id.

Once at the police station, law enforcement, including Defendant Eric Hesch, questioned Plaintiff concerning the fire and his whereabouts that morning and the previous night. See id. at ¶ 27. Plaintiff told them about his time in Saratoga Springs and was asked for names of people who could corroborate his story and verify his alibi, which he promptly provided. See id. Aside from both Duell and Fish, Plaintiff provided the detectives with three names of individuals he was with in Saratoga, including the resident of the apartment in Jefferson Terrace, where he had spent the night. See id. Plaintiff also conveyed to them the location of the Stewart's where he learned of the fire and that he traveled back to Schenectady in a cab. See id. In fact, while it was then unknown to him, Plaintiff later learned that, after he and Duell had exited the cab, the police removed Bryan Fish from it. See id.

During the initial questioning, detectives asked Plaintiff if he knew whether anyone would have a motive to start the fire. See Dkt. No. 1 at ¶ 28. Plaintiff mentioned to them that he was aware that an individual named Edward Leon had been involved in an ongoing dispute with David Terry over a woman, Bryanne Frolke, who had, in the past, dated Leon but was then dating Terry. See id. Plaintiff also mentioned that he was aware, both from his stay at Terry's residence and through Duell, that Terry and others close to him had been receiving threatening text messages, some anonymous and some purportedly from "The Undertaker." Id. Plaintiff told them that everyone concerned knew that the text messages were from Leon. See id.

At this point, investigators, including Defendant Meeks, continued to investigate Plaintiff and told him that he had been implicated in the fire by his own friends and that his bringing up Edward Leon was an attempt to shift the blame from himself to others. See id. at ¶ 29. In fact, they accused Plaintiff of being the person who sent the anonymous and "The Undertaker" signed texts. See id. Investigators confronted Plaintiff with texts from a third party's telephone, later determined to be Fish's, in which Fish described Plaintiff as being angry. See id. According to the complaint, Defendant "Hesch or another investigator also claimed to smell gasoline on [P]laintiff, in spite of later forensic tests being negative for the presence of gasoline on [P]laintiff's clothing." Id.

Unbeknownst to Plaintiff, Duell was also transported to the police station shortly after Plaintiff arrived. See id. at ¶ 30. After the initial questioning, the detectives left Plaintiff alone in a room for hours when, as Plaintiff later learned, they began questioning both Duell and Fish. See id.

During their initial investigation, Defendants Stocklas, Maher, and Hesch, among others, questioned Fish, who had a documented history of learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder. See id. at ¶ 31. Initially, as is set forth in the federal criminal complaint, Fish's version of the events of the night of the fire mimicked Plaintiff's. See id. Fish claimed that he had been with Plaintiff, Duell, and others in Saratoga the entire night. See id. According to the complaint, "[a]fter Fish continued to persist in this accurate version of events, he was told that someone placed him at the fire scene." Id. Defendant Stocklas eventually told Fish that a newspaper reported had not only seen him at the location, but that this reporter also picked him out of a photo array, "a story that was untrue and obviously a ruse, while another investigator warned him to the effect of ‘He'd never again see the light of day.’ " Id. It was at this point that Fish revealed how he, Plaintiff, and Duell had been drinking and using drugs the night before and, as such, he could not remember many details. See id. At some point near the beginning of the interrogation Fish vomited and, when told that the potential sentence for anyone convicted of the arson was death, he threatened suicide. See id. Further, the...