Conley v. Town of Elkton
| Decision Date | 04 August 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ.A. 5:04CV00030.,Civ.A. 5:04CV00030. |
| Citation | 381 F.Supp.2d 514 |
| Parties | David E. CONLEY, Plaintiff, v. TOWN OF ELKTON, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Virginia |
Timothy Earl Cupp, Cupp & Cupp, P.C., Harrisonburg, VA, for Plaintiff.
David Patrick Corrigan, Jeremy D. Capps, Harman Claytor Corrigan & Wellman, Richmond, VA, for Defendants.
David E. Conley, a former police officer for the Town of Elkton, filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Town of Elkton; the Chief of Police for the Town of Elkton, Richard Pullen; and six members of the Elkton Town Council: Cathy Murphy, Jay Dean, Phillip Workman, Theodore Pence, Lucky Sigafoose,1 and Randall Snow. Conley alleges that he was terminated from the police department in violation of his First Amendment rights. Conley also asserts a state law claim for defamation against Chief Pullen. The court has jurisdiction over Conley's claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 1367. The case is currently before the court on the defendants' motion for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the court will grant the defendants' motion.
Conley began working as a police officer for the Town of Elkton in September 2000. (Conley Dep. at 21). Shortly thereafter, the police chief was terminated and Conley applied for the position. (Conley Dep. at 27-28). Although Conley was told that he would receive the position, Richard Pullen was ultimately chosen. (Conley Dep. at 28, 30).
Conley knew Chief Pullen from when they worked together for the Page County Sheriff's Department. (Conley Dep. at 132). Conley worked in Page County from 1989 to 2000. (Conley Dep. at 14, 17). Chief Pullen worked in Page County from 1985 to 2000. (Pullen Dep. at 7). At some point during the early 1990s, Conley's wife advised Chief Pullen's wife that Chief Pullen was having an affair. (Conley Dep. at 132). Conley testified at his deposition that he "guess[ed] that would cause [Chief Pullen] to have some animosity toward [him]." (Conley Dep. at 132). Nonetheless, Conley was excited about working with Chief Pullen again. (Conley Dep. at 30).
During the course of his employment with the Town of Elkton, Conley was productive and adept at solving cases, and he had more arrests and cleared cases than any other officer. (Pullen Dep. at 62, 158, Conley Decl. at 3). However, as Conley acknowledged during his deposition, other officers had trouble getting along with him. (Conley Dep. at 38, 41, 97). Two of those officers were John Painter and Harold Shiflett. Painter and Shiflett resigned from the police department in 2001 partly because of Conley. (Defendants' Exhibit 1, Shiflett Dep. 7-8). Before they resigned, Painter and Shiflett attempted to set Conley up in a compromising position with a female acquaintance, Tara Shiflett, in an effort to have Conley fired. (T. Shiflett Decl. at 1-2). Although Tara Shiflett reported the incident to Chief Pullen, no action was taken against either officer. (Conley Decl. at 3).
Conley began attending meetings held by a local neighborhood watch group in 2001. (Conley Dep. at 67). He provided programs for the group's meetings and assisted with fundraising. (Conley Decl. at 4). During the summer of 2002, the group engaged in a discussion about drug prevention. (Conley Dep. at 70, 72). Conley suggested that a canine unit would be the best drug deterrent in a small town. (Conley Dep. at 70). Based on this suggestion, members of the neighborhood watch group decided to raise money for a canine unit. (Conley Dep. at 70). The members approached Chief Pullen with the idea, and he agreed to discuss the matter with the Town Council. (Conley Dep. at 75, 76). However, some of the Town Council members were not notified until after the group had begun raising money for the canine unit. (Conley Dep. at 79). Councilwoman Murphy testified that the canine issue created "havoc" because the issue was made public before the Town Council had an opportunity to address it. (Murphy Dep. at 32). Murphy explained that although the Town Council members were supportive of having a canine unit, they were "left scrambling to figure out how [they] were going to accommodate a canine, who the canine officer was going to be, training, expenses, all the things that are related to a canine operation." (Murphy Dep. at 33). Additionally, Chief Pullen felt pressure from the neighborhood watch group to appoint Conley as the canine officer, even though he felt another officer, James Morris, was more capable of handling the dog. (Pullen Dep. at 69). The Town ultimately selected Conley to serve as the canine officer in January or February 2003, but he was terminated before he began training for the position. (Conley Dep. at 135, Pullen Dep. at 135).
Around the time that Conley was selected to work as the canine officer, an incident occurred involving Officer Morris. (Conley Dep. at 136). In an effort to get in touch with Conley, Morris repeatedly called Conley on his police radio. (Conley Dep. at 63, Morris Dep. at 26). Morris wanted Conley to know that he was no longer interested in working as the canine officer, and he wanted Conley to stop by his house to discuss the position. (Morris Dep. at 26-27). Conley thought that Morris sounded intoxicated, so he reported the incident to Chief Pullen. (Conley Dep. at 62-63). Although Chief Pullen listened to the tapes of Morris's calls, he was unable to determine whether Morris was intoxicated. (Conley Dep. at 161, 162).
During the last month of Conley's employment, he had breakfast at a local restaurant with John Boone, a Massanutten police officer. (Conley Dep. at 106). Conley was in uniform and on duty at that time. (Conley Dep. at 107, 108). Conley mentioned to Boone that a lot of people disliked Chief Pullen, and that a group was attempting to have him fired. (Boone Dep. at 18, 40). Conley also asked Boone how much money it would take for him to go to work for the Town of Elkton. (Boone Dep. at 23). Boone testified that Conley's question could lead to the assumption that Conley was offering him a job "just in case Pullen got fired." (Boone Dep. at 23).
While Conley was talking to Boone, another customer walked by the officers. (Boone Dep. at 10). Conley asked the customer who he was planning to vote for in the upcoming election for sheriff in Rockingham County. (Boone Dep. at 10). After the customer stated that he was voting for Donald Farley, Conley said "when I get some time and I'm off duty let me talk to you." (Boone Dep. at 10-11). Although Conley did not specifically express a preference for Farley's opponent, Boone testified at his deposition that "you can assume he did since there's only two major candidates." (Boone Dep. at 12). Conley's comments to the customer made Boone feel uncomfortable because his police department had a policy that barred officers from becoming involved in the election for sheriff. (Boone Dep. at 17). For this reason, Boone reported the conversation to his supervisor to avoid being accused of having discussed the election. (Boone Dep. at 19-20). Chief Pullen ultimately learned about the conversation and spoke to Boone about it. (Boone Dep. at 30, Conley Dep. at 76). Boone relayed Conley's comments to Chief Pullen. (Boone Dep. at 42).
Chief Pullen decided to recommend Conley's termination. (Pullen Dep. at 125). On April 8, 2003, the Town Council went into closed session to discuss Conley's employment. Chief Pullen presented a written list of eight reasons that he believed justified Conley's termination. (Pullen Dep. at 92, Def. Exhibit 5). The list stated as follows:
1. Enter into conspiracy to disrupt the operation of Police Department.
2. Interfering with cases of other officers.
395 in court.
391 at Neighborhood Watch.
3. Participate in political campaigns while on duty.
4. Failed to take felony warrants to Sheriff's Office on the day told to do so.
(02/20/2003).
5. Becomes defensive when questioned about activities.
6. On two separate occasions has failed to appear for court cases without proper notification.
7. Informed in writing that Conley is reluctant to deal with friends and relations.
8. On three separate occasions Conley has been called before council for altercations with superiors and co-workers.
(Def. Exhibit 5). In addition to these stated reasons, Chief Pullen advised the Town Council that Conley failed to attend a firearms training session. (Printz Dep. 62, Dean Dep. 43). After hearing from Chief Pullen, the members of the Town Council unanimously voted to terminate Conley's employment. (Printz Dep. at 62). Section 27-4 of the Elkton Town Code authorizes the Town Council to terminate a police officer's employment upon the recommendation of the police chief. (Def. Exhibit 7).
Conley filed suit against the defendants on April 8, 2004. Conley alleged that he was terminated from the police department in violation of his rights to free speech, free association, and procedural due process. Conley also asserted a claim for defamation against Chief Pullen, Councilwoman Murphy, Councilman Sigafoose, and the Town. The defendants subsequently moved to dismiss the plaintiff's claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. On February 22, 2005, the court entered an order dismissing the plaintiff's procedural due process claim and the plaintiff's defamation claim against Sigafoose, Murphy, and the Town. The court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss with respect to the plaintiff's defamation claim against Chief Pullen and the plaintiff's First Amendment claim.
The case is currently before the court on the defendants' motion for summary judgment on the remaining claims. Under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is properly granted if "there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and the moving party is...
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