Gratsch v. Hamilton County Sheriff's Dept.
| Decision Date | 24 March 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. C-1-97-964.,C-1-97-964. |
| Citation | 91 F.Supp.2d 1160 |
| Parties | William GRATSCH, Plaintiffs, v. HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Ohio |
Marc David Mezibov, Sirkin Pinales Mezibov & Schwartz, Cincinnati, OH, Ted L Wills, Cincinnati, OH, for William R Gratsch, plaintiff.
John Joseph Arnold, Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney, Cincinnati, OH, Christian Joseph Schaefer, Hamilton County Prosecutor, Civil Unit, Cincinnati, OH, Kathleen Mary Elfers, Hamilton County Prosecutor Juvenile, Cincinnati, OH, for Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, defendant.
Christian Joseph Schaefer, Kathleen Mary Elfers, Francis David Albanese, Cincinnati, OH, for Eastern Hamilton County Special Deputy Sheriffs Unit, defendant.
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT EASTERN COUNTY SPECIAL DEPUTY UNIT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT, DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR JUDICIAL ESTOPPEL, AND DISMISSING PLAINTIFF'S SUBSTANTIVE DUE PROCESS CLAIM
This matter comes before the Court on Defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment (docs. 25 and 27) and Plaintiff's Motion for Judicial Estoppel (doc. 44). This Court held a hearing on October 28, 1999 at which time the parties presented their arguments. Plaintiff William Gratsch, who worked as a special deputy for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department, filed suit against the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department ("Sheriff's Department"); the Eastern County Special Deputy Unit ("Eastern Unit"); Simon Leis, Sheriff of Hamilton County; Don Rabold, Special Deputies Commander; John Bowles, special deputy; and Joe Corry, special deputy. Gratsch alleges that Defendants terminated him in contravention of his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. He contends that he was: 1) fired for engaging in constitutionally protected speech, and 2) denied the due process to which he was entitled prior to his termination.
Defendants move for summary judgment, arguing: 1) that Gratsch's speech was not constitutionally protected because he knew his statements were false, and 2) that Gratsch was a volunteer who had no property interest in his special deputy commission and was thus not entitled to a hearing before termination. The individual Defendants also claim that they should have qualified immunity for the acts at issue.
In a separate Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 27), the Eastern Unit argues that the claims against it should be dismissed. The Unit asserts that it is not a state actor for purposes of § 1983, and, with regard to Gratsch's state claims, it should not be held liable for the actions of special deputies Bowles and Corry because it is not their employer.
Finally, in his Motion for Judicial Estoppel (doc. 44), Plaintiff argues that Defendants should be prevented from arguing that he is employed by the private merchants for whom he works private details because Defendants have taken an inconsistent position in another judicial proceeding.
Upon consideration of the facts and law, the Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 25) is DENIED, the Eastern Unit's Motion for Summary Judgment (doc. 27) is GRANTED, and the Plaintiff's Motion for Judicial Estoppel is (doc. 44) DENIED. Furthermore, the Court dismisses sua sponte the substantive due process claim which Plaintiff makes in Count Two of his Complaint.
Beginning in July 1983, Plaintiff William Gratsch began working as a special deputy in the Eastern Unit. According to a Sheriff's Department fact sheet, a special deputy is a "volunteer non-paid officer with the Sheriff's Department, who [provides] auxiliary or supplemental assistance to various regular activities of the Sheriff's Department." Ex. # 1058. For example, special deputies provide law enforcement services at private premises such as Coney Island, River Downs, or church festivals. This service is called a "private duty detail." Special deputies also ride with regular deputies on vehicle patrols, assist the patrol clerk with desk duties, transport prisoners, and perform special security or traffic duties. See Ex. # 2.
Gratsch's lawsuit stems from his termination from the Eastern Unit in October 1996. The Court will briefly summarize the incidents which led up to Gratsch's termination.
The first occurrence which is relevant to this proceeding occurred on March 4, 1995. Gratsch went on an assignment with a special deputy trainee, Joann Taylor. Taylor claimed in a letter to Defendants Bowles and Corry that: 1) during a traffic stop and while observing some buildings and a seemingly abandoned pick-up truck, Gratsch put her in a vulnerable position; 2) he shined a spotlight at her while observing the truck and inhibited her vision; and 3) when she tried to roll up the car window because she was cold, Gratsch activated a lock-up switch which prevented her from rolling up the window and said "try to roll it up now."
In response to Taylor's complaints, on May 18, 1995, Lieutenant Corry recommended that Gratsch be demoted from the rank of sergeant to patrol officer and placed on a one-year period of probation. In July 1995, Sheriff Leis followed Lieutenant Corry's recommendation.
The parties disagree about whether Gratsch agreed to these terms. Captain Bowles states that he and Lieutenant Corry spoke with Gratsch, and all agreed to the demotion and probation. However, Gratsch states that in July 1995, he complained to his supervisors that he was entitled to a hearing with representation from an attorney before this action was taken. Gratsch claims that, in response to his request for a hearing, Defendants Corry and Bowles recommended that Gratsch be further disciplined for insubordination. Captain Bowles states, however, that Gratsch was disciplined not for requesting a hearing, but for walking out of a unit meeting against orders and going outside of the chain of command in challenging his demotion. Gratsch claims that in November 1995, he complained to Defendant Don Rabold, Special Deputies Commander, about being disciplined without a hearing. In December 1995, Defendant Bowles informed Gratsch that he was suspended for two months for insubordination.
Also in December 1995, Gratsch wrote a letter to Defendant Rabold about the possible misuse of Eastern Unit funds and other inappropriate behavior on the part of Defendant Bowles. In the letter, Gratsch made several accusations. First, Gratsch stated that Bowles asked him and another special deputy, Shawn Robinson, to work a private duty detail for Bowles' wife's birthday party. Gratsch claims that Bowles proposed to pay them with unit funds, but Gratsch agreed to work the detail without pay. Second, Gratsch alleged that someone was signing his name as co-signer on Eastern Unit checks without his permission. Third, Gratsch claimed that Bowles abused his position by soliciting a discount on a ham at the Honey Baked Ham store.
In response to these allegations, Defendant Rabold conducted an investigation. With regard to Gratsch's claim that Bowles attempted to use unit funds to pay Gratsch and Shawn Robinson to work at his wife's birthday party, Rabold reported:
The ... allegation that Capt. Bowles charged the cost of the officer working traffic at his wife's birthday party in 1994 is accurate. S/D Shown (sic) Robinson received $48.00 in a unit paycheck for working the private party hosted by S/D Bowles. This expenditure was not approved before or after the party.... When interviewed, S/D Bowles stated that this in fact did occur and that he did not see anything wrong with this, it was "captain's expenses," and that at a unit meeting subsequent to the party the unit voted and approved this expense. (This did not occur.) He later, in his written explanation, claimed that he intended to reimburse the unit but forgot.
Ex. # 6.
Next, Rabold found that Sergeant Gene O'Connor had been signing Gratsch's name to unit checks for a number of years, but that Gratsch knew and approved of this practice. Rabold found that:
The unit checks do require two authorized signatures, S/D Bill Gratsch's being one of them and the unit book-keeper S/D Gene O'Connor being the other. For at least the past three years S/D O'Connor has been signing Gratsch's name on the checks with Gratsch's knowledge and permission in that Gratsch had moved to Colerain Twp. and was not physically present to sign the checks to pay unit bills. Prior to this S/D Gratsch had been pre-signing blank checks for the same purpose at unit meetings, due to his being unavailable to be present when S/D O'Connor paid unit bills. S/D Gratsch has been receiving unit pay checks for a number of years with his signature signed by S/D O'Connor without complaint.
Ex. # 6. Rabold concluded that Gratsch had "misrepresented the check signing allegation and presented it in writing as potentially a criminal act, forgery or embezzlement." Ex. # 6.
With regard to Gratsch's discount-solicitation allegation, Rabold stated that Captain Bowles did receive a discounted ham in April of 1995. Rabold explained, however, that Bowles claimed he only paid the price presented by the manager. Rabold concluded that this issue was not of concern because no one from the business had complained.
Finally, Rabold reported that each year, Captain Bowles had submitted hand-written expense vouchers on index cards for personnel expenses ranging from $375 to $475 over a period of five years. Rabold stated that "no receipts or other documentation for these receipts was offered or required." Ex. # 6.
As a result of these findings, Defendant Rabold ordered an audit of all four special deputy units and...
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