Carbone v. City of New Castle
| Decision Date | 20 November 2017 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 15-1175 |
| Parties | Kimberlee Rae Carbone, Plaintiff, v. The City of New Castle; The County of Lawrence; Chief Robert Salem; Officer David Maiella; Officer Terry Dolquist; Officer Sheila Panella; Correction Officer April Brightshue; Correction Officer Niesha Savage; Commander Mark Keyser; Attorney Joshua Lamancusa; Jameson Health Systems; and Bernard Geiser, M.D., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
Plaintiff Kimberlee Rae Carbone ("Plaintiff"), filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against numerous individuals and entities who were allegedly involved in her arrest and subsequent strip and cavity searches following a traffic stop on November 3, 2013; to wit: the City of New Castle ("New Castle"), New Castle Chief of Police Robert Salem ("Salem"), New Castle Police Officer David Maiella ("Maiella"), New Castle Police Officer Terry Dolquist ("Dolquist"), New Castle Police Officer Sheila Panella ("Panella") (collectively, "the New Castle Defendants"); the County of Lawrence ("Lawrence County"), Lawrence County Corrections Officer April Brightshue ("Brightshue"), Lawrence County Corrections Officer Neisha Savage ("Savage"), Lawrence County Corrections Commander Mark Keyser ("Keyser"), Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa ("Lamancusa") (collectively, "the Lawrence County Defendants"); Jameson Health System ("Jameson"); Bernard Geiser, M.D. ("Geiser"); and Kim Fee ("Fee").
Presently before the Court are eight motions for summary judgment filed by the various Defendants. For the reasons that follow, all eight Motions will be granted.
The record shows that on the evening of November 3, 2013, Defendant Maiella was on stationary patrol in his police cruiser near Crestview Garden Apartments ("Crestview") in New Castle, Pennsylvania, which is a housing complex known to be a high drug trafficking area. Maiella observed a minivan pull up and, according to Maiella, an unknown male exited from the passenger side of the minivan and entered the building. Maiella testified that the man returned to the minivan within two minutes and that the short period of time he was in Crestview is consistent with the distribution -- either a buy or a "drop off" -- of illegal narcotics. Plaintiff, however, contends that it was she who exited the vehicle and went into Crestview where she remained for fifteen to twenty minutes while her male passenger remained in the car. Nevertheless, it is undisputed that when the minivan pulled away from the complex, Maiella followed it.
Shortly thereafter, Maiella observed the vehicle stop at an intersection at Ray Street, at which point the turn signal was activated and the vehicle turned left. Because the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code ("MVC") requires that turn signals be activated at least 100 feet before turning, Maiella pulled the vehicle over. Although Plaintiff denies that she failed to activate her turn signal in a timely manner, she does not dispute that when Maiella approached the vehicle he smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the minivan and observed that Plaintiff's eyes were red and glassy. Accordingly, Maiella contacted Defendant Dolquist, who was the acting Officer in Charge, to obtain a canine unit. Dolquist then came to the scene of the traffic stop and was apprised of what had occurred by Maiella. Dolquist also recognized Plaintiff's name assomeone associated with "muling" for drug traffickers and recognized Plaintiff's passenger as a drug trafficker from Detroit who Dolquist had previously arrested.1 Dolquist then contacted Defendant Salem to obtain approval for a canine unit to come to the scene.
Maiella testified that while waiting for the canine unit to arrive, he spoke with Plaintiff who admitted to him that she had been smoking marijuana that day. Plaintiff's testimony in this regard is somewhat equivocal testifying at her deposition alternatively that she didn't think she smoked marijuana that day but twice conceded that she may have and that, if she had smoked, she may have told Maiella that she did. Nevertheless, because under Pennsylvania law an individual may not operate a motor vehicle with any amount of a Schedule I controlled substance in his or her blood, Maiella arrested Plaintiff for Driving Under the Influence ("DUI"). While performing a search incident to arrest, Maiella discovered $1,375.00 in cash and two cell phones on Plaintiff's person.
Plaintiff was then placed in the back of a police cruiser following which Maiella and Dolquist observed Plaintiff making "weird movements" and trying to reach into her shorts leading Maiella and Dolquist to believe that Plaintiff was trying to conceal narcotics or other contraband. Plaintiff admits that she was "fidgeting" in the back seat but testified at her deposition that it was because her handcuffs were too tight. Notwithstanding Plaintiff's deposition testimony, Maiella and Dolquist made the decision to have a strip search conducted and, because no female officers were on duty at the New Castle Police Department at the time, transported Plaintiff to the Lawrence County Jail ("LCJ") where female Corrections Officers were available to perform the search.
Once at the LCJ, Defendant Brightshue patted Plaintiff down and, having found no weapons, un-cuffed Plaintiff and escorted her into a room designated for strip searches along with Savage, shutting the door behind them. Both Brightshue and Savage observed Plaintiff repeatedly pressing her fingers into her vagina from the outside of her clothes despite commands by Brightshue to stop, and only removed her clothes after being directed to do so numerous times. Once her clothes were removed, it appears that Plaintiff continued to press her fingers into her vagina causing Brightshue to re-cuff Plaintiff. Brightshue then conducted the search which revealed a clear plastic baggie protruding from Plaintiff's vagina. That information was conveyed to Maiella and Dolquist as well as Brightshue's commanding officer, Defendant Keyser, who were outside the search room. Brightshue also reported that, rather than remove the baggie as directed, Plaintiff pushed it deeper into her vagina.
During the strip search, although denied by Plaintiff, Brightshue and Savage also observed Plaintiff chewing something which Plaintiff repeatedly refused to spit out. When she finally did spit it into Brightshue's hand it appeared to be chewing gum with pieces of paper mixed into it. Because lottery tickets are frequently used to package heroin, Maiella and Dolquist suspected that the gum contained heroin, which was confirmed by subsequent lab testing.
At this point, Dolquist contacted Salem, in his capacity as Chief of Police, and apprised him of the above events and Dolquist's belief that the possibility that Plaintiff had ingested heroin and had a bag of heroin lodged in her vagina presented a medical emergency. Salem agreed and Plaintiff was then transported to Jameson, a community hospital in New Castle, by Maiella and Dolquist for a medical examination.
At Jameson, Maiella and Dolquist were met by Salem. Defendant Panella was also summoned to the hospital so that a female officer could secure the exam room during the examination. Plaintiff was examined by Doctor Geiser who initially checked Plaintiff for signs of overdosing and then performed a digital examination of her vagina and rectum and a speculum examination of her vagina similar to a routine gynecological exam. Only Geiser, Panella and two nurses were in the room behind closed doors when the exams were performed. No baggie was found during the examinations and Dr. Geiser suggested that a CT scan be taken to "make sure" that there was nothing in her upper digestive system which could have been fatal. The CT scan revealed a substance in Plaintiff's vaginal canal which Geiser felt may have been a medical issue, i.e., a yeast infection. Geiser therefore conducted a second vaginal exam to obtain samples of the substance, which lab reports showed was in fact a yeast infection, and to make sure Plaintiff was medically clear. Although Plaintiff contends that she did not consent to any of the examinations, the record, including Plaintiff's own deposition testimony, is largely to the contrary. It should also be noted here that lab results of Plaintiff's urine and blood samples taken at Jameson were positive for cocaine and marijuana. Plaintiff was given a prescription for the infection and was released from the hospital and police custody.
Plaintiff filed a Complaint on September 8, 2015, ECF No. 1, which she amended on December 2, 2015. ECF No. 29. In the Amended Complaint, which remains the operative complaint, Plaintiff has brought a Fourth Amendment claim for unreasonable search and seizure against Defendants Lamancusa, Salem, Maiella, Dolquist and Panella (Count I); a Fourth Amendment claim for unreasonable search and seizure against Defendants Brightshue, Savage and Keyser (Count II); a Fourth Amendment claim for unreasonable search and seizure against Defendants New Castle and Lawrence County (Count III); conspiracy to violate Plaintiff'sFourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights against Defendants Jameson, Geiser, Fee, Lamancusa, Salem, Maiella, Dolquist and Panella (Count IV); a First Amendment retaliation claim against Defendants Lamancusa, Salem, Maiella, Dolquist and Panella (Count V); a Fourteenth Amendment claim for violating Plaintiff's liberty interest in reputation against Defendants Lamancusa, Salem, Maiella, Dolquist and Panella, Keyser, Brightshue and Savage (Count VI); Fourteenth Amendment substantive and procedural due process claims against Defendants New Castle, Lawrence County, Lamancusa, Keyser, Savage, Brightshue, Salem, Maiella, Dolquist and Panella (Count VII); a...
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