Garcia v. Hartford Police Dep't

• Decision Date: 28 January 2013
• Docket Number: Docket No. 11–4618.
• Citation: 706 F.3d 120
• Parties: Edwin GARCIA, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. HARTFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT, Joseph Croughwell, Robert Casati, HPD, Dep. Chief, Timothy Hogan, Timothy Palmer, James Blanchette, Defendants–Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

706 F.3d 120

Edwin GARCIA, Plaintiff–Appellant,

v.HARTFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT, Joseph Croughwell, Robert Casati, HPD, Dep. Chief, Timothy Hogan, Timothy Palmer, James Blanchette, Defendants–Appellees.

Docket No. 11–4618.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: Jan. 9, 2013.

Decided: Jan. 28, 2013.

Juri E. Taalman (Timothy Brignole, on the brief), Brignole, Bush & Lewis, LLC, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff–Appellant.

Helen Apostolidis, Storrs, CT, for Defendants–Appellees.

Before: KEARSE, KATZMANN, and LOHIER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

In a matter involving employment discrimination and First Amendment retaliation claims, Plaintiff–Appellant Edwin Garcia appeals from a September 27, 2011 final judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut (Thompson, C.J.), granting summary judgment to the Defendants–Appellees. Garcia, a former sergeant with the City of Hartford Police Department (“Hartford PD”), seeks monetary damages under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, and the parallel Connecticut state employment law provisions, claiming that defendants-appellees wrongfully failed to promote him to lieutenant and instigated several internal affairs investigations into Garcia's conduct on the basis of his race or national origin. Garcia also brings a First Amendment retaliation claim against defendant-appellee Joseph Croughwell, Chief of the Hartford Police Department, claiming that Chief Croughwell retaliated against Garcia because Garcia spoke to the press about an incident Garcia alleges involved excessive force by Hartford police officers against a Hispanic citizen. On appeal, Garcia contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to defendants-appellees on his discrimination claims because the district court failed to take into account the report of Dr. Leonard Territo, plaintiff's expert on police practices and procedures; failed to consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the plaintiff; and failed to apply the burden-shifting analysis set forth by the Supreme Court in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802, 93 S.Ct. 1817, 36 L.Ed.2d 668 (1973). Garcia also argues that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to defendant-appellee Chief Croughwell on plaintiff's First Amendment retaliation claim because the district court incorrectly concluded that, as a matter of law, plaintiff's press conference was intended to defend his reputation only, and thus did not implicate a matter of public concern.

Having reviewed the record de novo, we affirm the judgment of the district court. First, we conclude that Garcia can point to no factual evidence in the record that would allow a jury to find that the defendants' proffered nondiscriminatory reasons were pretextual. Second, with respect to Garcia's retaliation claim against Chief Croughwell, although we agree with Garcia that his statement to the press implicated a matter of public concern, we affirm the judgment on the district court's alternate ground that Chief Croughwell is protected from liability by qualified immunity.

I. Background

The following description is largely taken from the district court's thorough recitation of the factual record and is undisputed unless otherwise indicated. At the time of the alleged discrimination in 1994, Edwin Garcia was a police officer for the Hartford PD. In November 1990, Garcia was promoted to sergeant, making him one of the first Hispanic officers to reach the level of sergeant in the Hartford PD. In 1993, Garcia was also elected to the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut.

On April 23, 1994, Garcia was present at an incident at the El Coqui Café in Hartford, Connecticut involving Hartford PD police officers and members of the Hispanic community. Garcia, who was off-duty that evening, was at a restaurant in Hartford with friends, including Jose Rodriguez. Cesar Cordero, the owner of the El Coqui Café, arrived at the restaurant and asked Rodriguez to come to the Café to fix his computer. Garcia accompanied Cordero and Rodriguez to the Café, and the three of them arrived at the Café at approximately 1:15AM. At 2:27AM, after Hartford's 2AM mandated closing time, Officer Donald Rodrique observed activity at the Café. He found that the doors to the Café were locked, but that people remained inside. Rodrique later stated that he intended to give the owner a warning, close the Café, and send everyone home.

When Rodrique knocked on the door, Cordero ignored him, and Rodrique called for backup. Sergeant Richard Kemmett, Officer Ezequiel Laureano, and Officer Feirravanti arrived. After the officers again knocked on the door to the Café, someone let them inside and told them that Cordero was in the basement. Laureano proceeded downstairs and found Cordero there with plaintiff Garcia. Cordero went upstairs with the officers; Garcia stayed downstairs, but was able to watch and listen to the interactions between Cordero and the officers through the bar's surveillance equipment.

Cordero was placed under arrest for allegedly hindering the officers' investigation by dimming the lights to the Café. When Kemmett attempted to place Cordero under arrest, Cordero struggled with Kemmett and ran towards the basement stairs. When Kemmett gave chase, Kemmett pushed Cordero down the stairs and the two of them became embroiled in a scuffle. Rodrique attempted to help Kemmett arrest Cordero, while Laureano kept an unknown individual from interfering. Garcia did not intervene, and instead placed a call to Chief Croughwell, Mayor Michael Peters, and Deputy Mayor Eugenio Caro as he watched the arrest unfold. According to Garcia, Kemmett was “pummeling” and “pounding” Cordero.

After the incident, Garcia met with Croughwell, Peters, and Caro, and explained that he thought that Kemmett used excessive force against Cordero. When the meeting was over, plaintiff and Chief Croughwell agreed that no information would be given to the press because the police department would investigate the incident. Someone, however, leaked the incident to the press, and the local media began running articles about it. One article reported Chief Croughwell dismissing Garcia's complaint as “overstated.” On May 4, 1994, Garcia held a press conference responding to what he deemed to be Chief Croughwell's attempt to assail his reputation. An article published shortly thereafter discussed plaintiff's press conference and how he accused fellow officers of bias in targeting a Hispanic bar.

Defendant Blanchette, an investigator with the Internal Affairs Division of the Hartford PD (“IAD”), investigated the El Coqui incident to determine whether the arrest of Cordero was lawful, whether Kemmett used excessive force, and whether Garcia acted properly. After the investigation, Garcia was charged with two violations: (1) undermining the good order, efficiency and discipline of the department; and (2) failure to take appropriate action concerning illegal activity, which was communicated to him by letter sent by Chief Croughwell on May 27, 1994.

Approximately six months later, Garcia was involved in another incident that ultimately led to disciplinary charges. On November 13, 1994, Karla Krengel, an editor with WFSB Television, visited the Hartford PD station house. When she entered the building, she saw Garcia and engaged him in conversation. Garcia asked Krengel about people who worked at the television station, and the topic of Brian Garnett, a reporter at WFSB, came up in their conversation. Garcia said that he did not like Garnett because of a story Garnett wrote about Garcia before his election. Garcia allegedly told Krengel that “you can tell Brian that if I ever see him somewhere I'm gonna beat the - - - - out of him.” Krengel was shocked and told Garnett about the conversation. Garnett filed a complaint against Garcia with IAD on December 23, 1994. The complaint reported the comments Garcia made to Krengel, and also stated that a WFSB anchorman, Dennis House, told Garnett that Garcia had made a similar statement to House when he saw Garcia in the apartment building where they both lived.

One month prior to this incident, in October 1994, the Hartford PD posted a notice to all sergeants that they had the opportunity to sit for an examination to be promoted to lieutenant. The department indicated that there were eleven positions available. Garcia took the test, and, on December 29, 1994, he was told that he had ranked third out of the forty-six sergeants who took the examination. Garcia's name was included on a list of thirteen people for Chief Croughwell to interview and consider for the eleven available lieutenant positions.

Chief Croughwell interviewed all the candidates, including Garcia, on December 30, 1994. Chief Croughwell did not promote Garcia, and informed him of his decision by letter dated January 6, 1995. Chief Croughwell's letter did not give Garcia a reason for denying him the promotion. Chief Croughwell promoted candidates ranked 1–2 and 4–12 and did not promote Garcia (who ranked 3rd) and the 13th ranked candidate. Ten out of the eleven candidates promoted were white.

On April 6, 1995, after a hearing for which Garcia was represented by counsel, the hearing officer Garcia selected found him guilty of violating the Hartford PD Code of Conduct and recommended that Garcia be demoted from Sergeant to Police Officer. Specifically, the hearing officer concluded that by not intervening in the arrest of Cordero, either to assist the officers or to stop any police brutality, and thereby failing to take appropriate action concerning illegal activity, Garcia violated Article V, Section 22 of the Hartford PD Code of Conduct. Further, by making statements to the press that “discredit[ed]” the Hartford PD and its officers in violation of the Hartford PD media policy, the hearing officer concluded that Garcia violated Article 1, Section 1.00 of the Code of Conduct by...