Clynch v. Chapman, 3:01CV1685(JBA).
| Citation | 285 F.Supp.2d 213 |
| Decision Date | 30 September 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 3:01CV1685(JBA).,3:01CV1685(JBA). |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
| Parties | William CLYNCH, Plaintiff, v. Steve CHAPMAN, James Garofalo, and Salvatore Froschino, Defendants. |
Raymond J. Kelly, James P. Mooney, Kelly and Mooney, Fairfield, CT, for James Garofalo.
John R. Williams, Williams & Pattis, New Haven, CT, for William Clynch.
Ruling on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. # 18]
Plaintiff William Clynch ("Clynch") brings this suit against defendants Steve Chapman ("Chapman"), James Garofalo ("Garofalo"), and Salvatore Froschino ("Froschino"), police officers employed by the City of Derby, Connecticut, in their individual capacities only, alleging federal and state constitutional violations, and violations of Connecticut common law arising from his arrest on November 1, 2000 for driving under the influence ("DUI") in violation of Conn. Gen.Stat. § 14-227a(a)(1).1
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Clynch asserts the following claims against defendants: 1) against Chapman: violations of the Fourth Amendment (); violation of procedural and substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment; violation of the excessive bail clause of the Eighth Amendment; and violation of the Ninth Amendment; 2) against Garofalo: the same violations as against Chapman (excluding the Terry stop and excessive bail claims) either directly or for failure to prevent Chapman's violations; 3) against Froschino: failure to prevent Chapman's Eighth Amendment violation; 4) state constitutional claims against Chapman and Garofalo for unreasonable search and seizure and unwarranted arrest and detention in violation of Conn. Const. art. I, §§ 7 & 9; and 5) intentional infliction of emotional distress against all three defendants.
Defendants move under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56 for judgment in their favor on Clynch's claims of false arrest, procedural due process, excessive bail, Ninth Amendment violation, violation of the Connecticut Constitution, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. For the reasons set forth below, their motion [Doc. # 18] is GRANTED in PART and DENIED in PART.
Clynch, a 69 year old man who has lived his entire life in the same house in Derby, Connecticut, was employed for 42 years with the United Illuminating Company ("UI"), served as a Derby alderman for several years, and held the position of Derby Parks Commissioner for roughly 30 years.
On November 1, 2000, Clynch attended mass at Saint Joseph's in Shelton, Connecticut with Mary Ellen Ramia, his girlfriend. They left mass at 6:45pm and went to an establishment known as "Franco's," at which Clynch consumed snacks and two beers over the course of an hour or more. Between 8:30pm and 9:00pm, Clynch and Ramia left Franco's in Clynch's automobile intending to stop for dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Clynch was driving slowly at 15-20 miles per hour when he noticed a police car following him with its head lights out. Then suddenly at 9:08pm, Derby police officer Chapman turned on the police car's siren and overhead lights and pulled Clynch over to the side of the road. Clynch emphatically maintains that he was pulled over for no reason, that, from the time he left Franco's until being pulled over, he had obeyed all rules of the road, had maintained a steady course in his own lane, and had not swerved into neighboring lanes or crossed a solid white line. By contrast, Chapman reports that Clynch was weaving in his own lane, crossed a solid white line on one occasion, and, on at least two other occasions, crossed into a neighboring lane of traffic before returning to his own lane.
Chapman spent fifteen to twenty minutes checking Clynch's driver license and registration, after which time fellow officer defendant Garofalo arrived. Both Chapman and Garofalo report that they smelled alcohol emanating from Clynch's automobile, saw Clynch's eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and heard a slight slur in Clynch's speech. Clynch believes the alcohol smell came from the beers he had consumed at Franco's and explains that he "could have been slurred all over the place" as a result of his nervousness at having been stopped by police. Clynch also told Chapman that he had consumed a few beers.
Chapman ordered Clynch to the nearby parking lot of Saint Michael's church, which, although paved, was on a hill, and ordered him to perform three field sobriety tests: an eye test, a turn and walk test, and a one legged stand test. According to Chapman and Garofalo, Clynch was unable to perform any of the three tests in a satisfactory manner. He was unable to follow a pen in Chapman's hand with his eyes, he was unable to walk heel to toe and toe to heel in a straight line without losing balance, and, although being provided with several chances, he was unable to stand on one leg with the other leg raised six inches without losing balance. Also according to Chapman and Garofalo, Chapman explained and demonstrated each test to Clynch before asking him to perform them, and Clynch assured the officers that there was no medical problem which could interfere with his performance.
Clynch vigorously disputes some of the officers' account of the field sobriety tests. He maintains that he successfully completed the eye test, that he explained to Chapman that his injured left knee caused him to be unable to perform the walk and turn and one leg tests without losing balance, that he never informed the officers that he had no medical problems that would prevent proper performance, and that he was only given one chance to perform the one legged test.
When Chapman arrested Clynch, Clynch claims he put the handcuffs on so tightly that he broke Clynch's wristwatch, a retirement gift from UI. Clynch's automobile was impounded, and he was taken to the police station and put in a holding cell. When Clynch wanted to use the restroom, Chapman told him he would have to wait. After speaking with an attorney and reading a "Notice of Rights" and an implied consent advisory from an A-44 form, Clynch consented to breathalyzer analysis. The first test, given at 10:06pm, revealed a blood alcohol level ("BAC") of .061 and the second, given thirty-five minutes later at 10:40p.m., revealed a BAC of .056.
After the breathalyzer tests, Chapman returned Clynch to a cell with a restroom. Subsequently, he retrieved Clynch from his cell, charged him with DUI, ordered him held on a surety bond of $500, set a court date of November 17, 2000, and returned him to a cell until a bondsman arrived and gave him a ride home. Clynch's bond was set in accordance with Derby Police Departmental standard operating procedure for the sum that is automatically required as bond for a DUI arrest.2 Before Clynch left the station, Chapman returned his driver's license. The following morning, Clynch was told the location to which his automobile had been towed, and he paid $73.00 to get his automobile back. Chapman and Garofalo both prepared incident reports.
At plaintiff's court appearance on November 17, 2000, the state's attorney stated, "[r]eadings were a .061 ... The state does not have prima facie evidence to convict and will enter a nolle." Clynch's lawyer stated, The presiding judge then dismissed the charges. Clynch maintains that he never authorized his lawyer to admit probable cause for his arrest, and that, due to his nervousness and desire to leave the courthouse as quickly as possible, he did not even hear what was said in colloquy with the judge that morning.
Plaintiff maintains that he suffered emotional distress as a result of the incident, including ongoing humiliation from "public scorn" and comments of Derby citizens, his girlfriend's family, and his own family to the effect that he is the town drunk. Clynch has not sought medical attention or counseling for his distress.
Although defendants' motion is labeled as one for "summary judgment," their attack on Clynch's Eighth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendment claims is directed only to the allegations of Clynch's complaint. Accordingly, the Court will treat defendants' motion on those claims as made under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). See 10A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller, and Mary Kay Kane, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil 3d § 2722, at 368 (1998 & Supp.2003) ("Federal Practice") ("... .
In analyzing the issue of supervisory liability,3 defendants have misapprehended the gist of Clynch's poorly drafted complaint, which lacks allegations asserting a theory of supervisory liability. Rather, with respect to Froschino, the complaint (as developed by Clynch's deposition testimony) asserts liability for failing to intervene to protect Clynch from the imposition of excessive bail, and, with respect to Garofalo, the complaint (also as developed by the summary judgment record) is best read as asserting both direct liability, and indirect liability for failing to intervene to prevent Chapman's false arrest of plaintiff.
When deciding a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all well-pleaded allegations as true and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the pleader. Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984). A complaint should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his or her...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Walczyk v. Rio
...is also inextricably intertwined with our resolution of defendants' entitlement to qualified immunity. Cf. Clynch v. Chapman, 285 F.Supp.2d 213, 219 n. 6 (D.Conn.2003) (characterizing absolute immunity in excessive bail claim as a "cousin issue" to qualified We review de novo defendants' le......
-
Bittakis v. City of El Paso
...with the "Police Departmental standard operating procedure for the sum that is automatically required as bond for DUI arrest." 285 F.Supp.2d 213, 219 (D.Conn.2003). Plaintiff contended the procedure violated the Eighth Amendment because the imposed bond was calculated without assessing indi......
-
Hawthorne v. Cnty. of the Putnam
...alleged "the absence or inadequacy of any post-deprivation hearing following the impoundment of his vehicle." See Clynch v. Chapman , 285 F. Supp. 2d 213, 223 (D. Conn. 2003) (explaining that plaintiff, whose car was towed away following his arrest for a DUI, failed to state a "procedural d......
-
Burkett v. City of El Paso
...the "Police Departmental standard operating procedure for the sum that is automatically required as bond for DUI " arrest." 285 F.Supp.2d 213, 219 (D.Conn.2003). Plaintiff contended the procedure violated the Eighth Amendment because the imposed bond was calculated without assessing individ......
-
Clynch v. Chapman.
...District Court BAIL Clynch v. Chapman, 285 F.Supp.2d 213 (D.Conn. 2003). An arrestee filed a [section] 1983 action arising from his arrest for driving under the influence. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants, in part. The court held that city police officers' role......