DelaCruz v. Borough of Hillsdale

• Decision Date: 12 April 2005
• Parties: Alberto DELACRUZ and Lenita DelaCruz, his wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents and Cross-Petitioners, v. BOROUGH OF HILLSDALE, Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, Borough of Saddle River, Township of Washington, Police Department of the Borough of Hillsdale, Police Department of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, Police Department of the Township of Saddle River, Police Department of the Township of Washington, Officer Robert Labianca, Officer Frank Novakowski, Sergeant Robert Breese, Officer Eugene Schultz and Sergeant Robert Orr, Defendants-Petitioners and Cross-Respondents, and John Does 1-10 (said names being fictitious), Defendants.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

870 A.2d 259

183 N.J. 149

Alberto DELACRUZ and Lenita DelaCruz, his wife, Plaintiffs-Respondents and Cross-Petitioners, v. BOROUGH OF HILLSDALE, Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, Borough of Saddle River, Township of Washington, Police Department of the Borough of Hillsdale, Police Department of the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, Police Department of the Township of Saddle River, Police Department of the Township of Washington, Officer Robert Labianca, Officer Frank Novakowski, Sergeant Robert Breese, Officer Eugene Schultz and Sergeant Robert Orr, Defendants-Petitioners and Cross-Respondents, and John Does 1-10 (said names being fictitious), Defendants.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued September 28, 2004.

Decided April 12, 2005.

Christopher C. Botta, Ramsey, NE, argued the cause for appellants and cross respondents (Botta & Carver, attorneys).

Richard S. Lehrich, Cranford, argued the cause for respondents and cross appellants.

Karen L. Jordan, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for amicus curiae, State of New Jersey (Peter C. Harvey, Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney; Patrick DeAlmeida, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel).

Justice RIVERA-SOTO delivered the opinion of the Court.

These cross-appeals require that we address two discrete but related issues: (1) does the verbal threshold of the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:9-2(d), apply to common law false arrest/false imprisonment claims against police officers, and (2) does a police officer's subjective good faith raise a defense to causes of actions for state law false arrest/false imprisonment and under the Federal Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (§ 1983).

We hold that the Tort Claims Act's verbal threshold applies to common law false arrest/false imprisonment claims. We further hold that, under N.J.S.A. 59:3-3, a police officer's subjective good faith belief as to the propriety of his/her actions is irrelevant as to liability for any false arrest or false imprisonment claims. In false arrest/false imprisonment cases, the only relevant inquiry is whether, on an objective basis, the police officer's actions were proper. We also hold that a police officer's subjective good faith belief may not constitute a defense at trial to a § 1983 Federal Civil Rights Act claim when the police officer's actions are not otherwise shielded from liability by the doctrine of qualified immunity.

I.

Starting in early 1997, several neighboring Bergen County communities suffered from a series of burglaries that led local law enforcement officials to believe that their communities were being targeted by a band of professional burglars. Among the affected communities were the Borough of Saddle River, the Borough of Hillsdale, the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, and the Township of Washington. In an effort to stem, if not stop, this plague, the Saddle River Police Department, with the assistance of the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, spearheaded a multi-jurisdictional task force designed to speed up the police response time to burglaries as well as to minimize the delays inherent in fractionalized law enforcement efforts that cross municipal boundaries. This task force was to be simple in its operation: once a burglary was reported, the police forces of the contiguous communities would form a cordon around the victimized community in an effort to catch the culprits as they tried to escape.

The early evening of October 24, 1997 brought with it two burglaries in Saddle River, the first one block away from the second. The Saddle River Police Department triggered the task force response, and officers from the surrounding communities of Waldwick, Allendale, Woodcliff Lake, Montvale, Ho-Ho-Kus, Washington Township, Hillsdale, Mahwah, and Ramsey formed a cordon around Saddle River's borders. Also brought in were the services of a helicopter from the Sheriff's Department of neighboring Rockland County.

Sergeant (later Lieutenant) Robert Breese of the Saddle River Police Department was responsible for coordinating that evening's law enforcement efforts. Immediately after responding to yet a third burglary call of that evening, Sergeant Breese was dispatched to a location approximately one-half mile away where officers of the Ho-Ho-Kus, Hillsdale, and Washington Township police departments had stopped a white van and detained its occupants. When Sergeant Breese arrived at the location of the stop, the driver of the white van, plaintiff Alberto DelaCruz, was handcuffed behind his back and face down on the ground.

Plaintiff, then a 45-year-old self-employed air conditioning, heating, ventilation and refrigeration contractor and the married father of three children, had just completed two days of work at the home of plaintiff's customer, a Saddle River physician. As plaintiff and his co-workers were leaving the worksite, the customer returned home and, pulling into the driveway, asked plaintiff, who was driving, in which direction he was heading. When plaintiff explained where he was going, the customer told plaintiff that there was a police checkpoint along that route — the flashing lights of the checkpoint were visible from the driveway — and recommended that plaintiff turn in the opposite direction to spare himself what looked like a twenty-minute delay. Plaintiff thanked his customer for the suggestion and headed in the opposite direction from the checkpoint.

Shortly after turning in the direction the customer recommended, plaintiff saw the flashing lights of a police car in his rear view mirror. Plaintiff testified at trial as follows:

Q All right. What happened when you saw the flashing lights?

A When I saw the flashing lights, I just pulled over right away knowing that a regular police would ask your driver license or insurance. So I pulled over with no hesitation. As soon as he turn his lights on, I pulled over to the right.

Q What happened after that?

A Then all of a sudden, I could see this — the police come out of the — you, he says. Pull out the gun right away. I could see it in my side mirror. And I don't know what to do. I was panicking. My — both knees were shaking.

Q How close was the officer to you when you first saw him?

A He was in — he was in the side of my truck. You know, it's away — I would say three feet away from the truck, but it's in the side.I — you know, because I could see him in my side mirror, and I don't know what to do. He was pointing a gun. So I says — so he says, driver. He says, open the door. That's how I really, really — I — driver, he says, open your window and let your — raise your left hand and open the door with your right hand.

Q Do you know which officer was talking to you at that time?

AI — he was referring to me, the driver, aiming a gun, was pointing at me through the door. So I says, I don't know what I — so I told him while I was — Officer, what did I do, you know, what did I do. I was keep repeating those words. I says, please. So he says, you, mother f**ker. He says, get out of the truck. You know, so I get more nervous. So a minute after that, there's another cop came over in front of me, you know, or the truck. And they made a big scene. I mean, the lights are on pulsing. So I get more nervous. I don't know what to do. I thought I'm going to be dying, and I was just praying. I says, please, I hope I don't really — you know, I hope I see my family again.

So as I walk back towards the truck, he says — and he kept — please, Officer, I says, please I have my credential on my wallet, my back pocket, please open them up, I have —

Q I'm sorry. I couldn't understand you.

A I have my wallet, you know, my credentials, pull them out, and I have an invoice for the doctor, would you please call him up, you know. But the policeman don't even want to listen. So I said — I was walking `cause I was scared. I don't know what to do. I was — he says, walk faster. He was cursing. You know, the other guy was blocking the walk. And then he says, kneel down. As soon as I kneel down, he kind of push me. And I says, what did I do. He puts his knees in my back and put the handcuff like that. So I says — I was crying. I said, please, Officer, what did you do to me. I says, would you please call [the physician/customer]. They would not listen.

So probably ten minutes later, another police came, and I could hear it. And he says — I heard something like, you went too far with this.

Q I'm sorry. You have to —

A You went too far. In other words all of a sudden with my handcuff on, two police came over and trying to lift me. I says, please, don't lift me up, just let me down on the ground with my handcuff on. So the — one of the officer tried to loosen up the key, but it won't fit on his — on my handcuff. So I heard he go, okay, don't — my keys don't fit on this. So one officer threw keys to the other officer and loosen up my — the handcuff.

And then soon as they took the handcuffs off, I was laying down facing the ground. They trying to pick me up. I says, please, let me just lay down for a while because you're hurting me. I was really, really begging the police, please, don't do it, you know.

After explaining that he had his driver's license, registration card and proof of insurance all in order but was never asked for them, plaintiff testified concerning his earlier experiences with law enforcement authorities:

Q Have you ever been arrested in your life?

A Never.

Q Do you have any kind of criminal record at all?

A No.

Q Have you ever looked at a police gun before?

A That's why I was so scared because I got pulled over with a State Trooper. It's not cursing you out and aiming a gun at you. I was shocked. The first time it ever happened to me.

Plaintiff described the length and conclusion of the exchange as follows:

Q Mr. DelaCruz, how long would you estimate you were in the handcuffs?

A I would say about 10, 15 minutes.

. . . .

Q And what happened after you got up?

A After I got up, one officer told me, oh, now I remember you, you are the

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