O'Donnell v. Brown
| Decision Date | 30 July 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 5:02-CV-143.,5:02-CV-143. |
| Parties | Patrick O'DONNELL and Sandra O'Donnell, individually and on behalf of their then minor Children, John O'Donnell, Ruth O'Donnell, Nathan O'Donnell, Valerie O'Donnell, Alicia O'Donnell, John O'Donnell and Ruth O'Donnell, in their own right, Plaintiffs, v. Susan BROWN, Christopher Baldwin, Toni Beatti and officer Doe, individually and in their official capacities as police officers for the City of Lansing Police Department; Mark Alley, individually and in his official capacity as Chief of the City of Lansing Police Department; Colin Parks and Colleen Duhm, individually and in their official capacities as social workers for the Ingham County Child Protective Services; Joye Sharp and Margaret Mays, individually and in their official capacities as social worker supervisors for the Ingham County Child Protective Services; and The City of Lansing, Michigan and The City of Lansing, Michigan Police Department, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan |
Michael D. Dean, Waukesha, WI, David Kallman, Lansing MI, for Plaintiffs.
Margaret A. Nelson, Asst. Atty. Gen., Lansing, MI, Mark V. Schoen, Michigan Department of Attorney General, Tort Defense, Div., Lansing, MI, David K. Otis, Plunkett & Cooney, P.C., Lansing, MI, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs in this case are the O'Donnell family: Patrick, the father, Sandra, the mother, and their six children, John, (17), Ruth, (16), Nathan, (12), Valerie, (9), Alicia, (6), and Rachael, (6 months).1 Defendants are the City of Lansing ("the City"); the Lansing Police Department ("LPD"); LPD officers Susan Brown, Christopher Baldwin, and Tony Beatti; LPD Chief Mark Alley in his official capacity; and Ingham County Child Protective Services ("CPS") caseworkers Colin Parks and Colleen Duhm and their supervisor, Joye Sharp. CPS is a part of the state Family Independence Agency ("FIA").
This case arises from the entry into and temporary removal of the O'Donnell children from the family's home while the parents were out of town on September 16, 2000. Based on these events, Plaintiffs filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 19832, asserting various federal constitutional claims, along with related state constitutional and other state law claims. Now before the Court are three summary judgment motions: one filed by Plaintiffs; a second filed by Defendants the City, the LPD, Brown, Baldwin, Beatti, and Alley (the "City Defendants"); and a third filed by Parks, Duhm, and Sharp (the "CPS Defendants"). For the reasons discussed below, summary judgment will be granted in part and denied in part for Plaintiffs; granted in part and denied in part for the City Defendants; and granted in part and denied in part for the CPS Defendants.
On Friday, September 15, 2000, Patrick and Sandra O'Donnell departed for a weekend business trip to North Carolina, with plans to return Sunday night or Monday. They left the two older children, John and Ruth, in charge of the younger children. John had a driver's license and was trained in CPR, first aid, and life saving. Nathan, the 12 year old, had emergency and scout training. The parents left an envelope containing emergency and other contact information, insurance cards, and cash near the telephone in the living room.
On Saturday, September 16, Patrick O'Donnell's sister, Kathleen Shattuck, spent the day at the O'Donnell home. John, Ruth, and Nathan went to a youth activity that afternoon, and Kathleen left after they returned home. At approximately 8:15 p.m., John and Ruth left to go to the house of their pastor, Glenn Ray, and to take a video to a friend, Rhonda Carpenter. They planned to be gone for two to three hours and left Nathan in charge of the younger children, telling him where they would be and saying they would return in several hours.
After John and Ruth left the house, Sandra O'Donnell's mother, Roseann Hewson, called the O'Donnell home. Nathan was outside helping a neighbor, so Hewson spoke with Alicia. Hewson then called Sandra's sister, Pat DeLong. DeLong called 911 to make a child neglect report. LPD officers Baldwin and Beatti were dispatched to the house in order to investigate the report. Nathan let the officers into the house and told him where his parents were. Beatti inspected the house while Baldwin talked to Nathan. Nathan showed the officers the envelope and gave them his parents' and the other children's names. Nathan also gave Baldwin Rhonda Carpenter's number, and Baldwin called her house and left a message with Rhonda for John to call him. Baldwin also gave Nathan a phone number for the police dispatch.
When John and Ruth arrived at the Carpenter house, Rhonda told John to call home. John called and spoke with Nathan, who told him that the police had come to the house after receiving an anonymous report of child neglect and that the officers were checking on the children's welfare. Nathan gave John the police dispatch number, which John called and spoke with Officer Baldwin. Baldwin instructed John to return home immediately and said the police would return to the house with Department of Social Services personnel. John said he would return shortly but not immediately. John and Ruth left for home several minutes after speaking with Officer Baldwin.
After talking to John, Baldwin spoke with Sgt. Brown at the precinct, who suggested that he call Child Protective Services. Baldwin called CPS worker Parks. The contents of the conversation between Baldwin and Parks are somewhat disputed.
Baldwin returned to the O'Donnell home a second time by himself at approximately 10:30 p.m., by which time John and Ruth were back home. John saw Baldwin arrive and stepped out the front door to meet him in the yard. Baldwin said he was there to gather information for his report and asked for the parents' names and the children's ages. John refused to give Baldwin any information other than his own name, age, and birth date. John also refused Baldwin's request to enter the home, saying he had no warrant and had already seen the children earlier. Baldwin then told John he might be arrested for not cooperating. Meanwhile, a neighbor, Jenny Lamphere, came over and told Baldwin that an aunt had been there during the day, gave him her name and phone number, and offered to sleep on the O'Donnell's couch overnight until the parents returned.
Baldwin then departed and returned to the precinct, where he called Parks again and gave him information about the situation at the O'Donnell home. A second complaint had come in to 911. Parks contacted the source, who said that the children had been left alone in the past. Parks contacted Hewson to make arrangements for the children to be placed with her if necessary. Parks called Margaret Mays, the on-call supervisor at CPS. Mays referred Parks to CPS supervisor Joye Sharp. Plaintiffs claim Sharp told Parks to return to the home to gather more information; Defendants claim Sharp merely concurred with Parks' decision to do so. Plaintiffs also claim Sharp instructed Parks to contact the on-call family court intake referee, Carol Whitworth, whereas Defendants claim Sharp only concurred in Parks' decision to do so. Parks also contacted CPS worker Colleen Duhm to assist with the investigation. According to the police, a decision was made to return to remove the children from the home, and Referee Whitworth issued a verbal court order to that effect.
Parks and Duhm met Baldwin and Beatti at the police station. Baldwin also called Officer Brown, who said she would come to the house. The officers and CPS workers departed the station and arrived at the O'Donnell home. In the meantime, John had hidden the envelope with his parents' contact information. John refused to let the officers in when they knocked on the door, saying they lacked a warrant. The officers then asked John to step outside, which he did. The police and CPS workers told John they needed to get into the house to check on the welfare of the children. Baldwin told John that he would be arrested if he did not cooperate. John continued to block the door and refused to let the officers and CPS workers in because they lacked a warrant. After about 15-20 minutes of conversation on the front porch, Baldwin arrested John for obstruction, handcuffed him, and took him to a squad car.
After John's arrest, Ruth too refused to let the officers into the home. She called the family's pastor to tell him what was happening. Officer Beatti spoke with the pastor and continued to speak with Ruth for about 10 minutes. Then the officers decided to enter the home without Ruth's consent. After following the police in, Parks and Duhm inspected the home. According to Parks, he then reached the decision to remove the children, so he called Sharp and then Referee Whitworth to get verbal authorization for the removal and placement of the children in a relative's foster care. Meanwhile, the family's pastor arrived. John, who was sitting in the squad car, informed him where the envelope with the contact and emergency information was located. The police brought John to the precinct station, booked him, and put him in a holding cell. The family's pastor posted bail, and John was permitted to leave at around 3:00 a.m. Meanwhile, the other children were taken to their grandmother Hewson's house.
Parks made arrangements to set a hearing for Monday, September 18, which the O'Donnell parents attended. At the hearing, FIA concluded that the child neglect complaint was unsubstantiated, the investigation was closed, the case was dismissed, and the children were returned to their parents.
Plaintiffs later filed their...
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