Henley v. Brown

• Decision Date: 26 July 2012
• Docket Number: No. 11–2561.,11–2561.
• Citation: 686 F.3d 634,115 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 949
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit
• Parties: Crystal HENLEY, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Sgt. Bill BROWN, In his Individual and Official Capacity; Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Patrick McInerney, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Alvin Brooks, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Lisa Pelofsky, Acting Member of the Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Angela Wasson–Hunt, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Mark Funkhouser, Mayor, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Officer Michael Throckmorton, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Officer Dwight Parker, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Officer John Connor, An Alias Name For an Instructor at the Police Academy (In his Individual & Official Capacity); Officer John Doe, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Chief James Corwin, In his Official Capacity, Defendants–Appellees.

686 F.3d 634
115 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 949

Crystal HENLEY, Plaintiff–Appellant,
v.
Sgt. Bill BROWN, In his Individual and Official Capacity; Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Patrick McInerney, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Alvin Brooks, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Lisa Pelofsky, Acting Member of the Kansas City Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Angela Wasson–Hunt, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Mark Funkhouser, Mayor, Acting Member of the Kansas City, Missouri Board of Police Commissioners; Officer Michael Throckmorton, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Officer Dwight Parker, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Officer John Connor, An Alias Name For an Instructor at the Police Academy (In his Individual & Official Capacity); Officer John Doe, In his Individual & Official Capacity; Chief James Corwin, In his Official Capacity, Defendants–Appellees.

No. 11–2561.

United States Court of Appeals,
Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: Feb. 15, 2012.
Filed: July 26, 2012.

[686 F.3d 636]

Rebecca M. Randles, Randles, Mata & Brown, LC, Kansas City, MO, argued (Brian J. Klopfenstein, Kearney, MO, on the brief), for appellant.

Nicolas Taulbee, Asst. Atty. Gen., Kansas City, MO, argued (Chris Koster, Atty. Gen., Jefferson City, MO, Lauren A. Horsman, Asst. Atty. Gen., Kansas City, MO, on the brief), for appellees.

Before LOKEN, BYE, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.

BYE, Circuit Judge.

Crystal Henley brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and its members, Chief of Police Jim Corwin, and certain individual police officers, alleging constitutional violations under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. The district court dismissed the action for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, reasoning Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides the exclusive remedy for Henley's claims and she could not circumvent the Act's procedural requirements by solely pleading constitutional violations under section 1983. We reverse and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUNDA. Facts.¹

In May 2005, Henley enrolled in the Kansas City Police Academy (“Academy”) and began her training for becoming a police officer. The Academy is located in Jackson County, Missouri, and is staffed and operated by members of the Kansas City Police Department. Both the trainees and the trainers at the Academy are primarily male. Henley alleges during her time at the Academy four male trainers in particular—Michael Throckmorton, Bill Brown, Dwight Parker, and an officer, allegedly “John Conner”—discriminated against, sexually harassed, and physically assaulted her because of her gender while acting under color of state law. Henley's complaint provides the following examples in support of these allegations.

In late May or early June 2005, shortly after Henley enrolled at the Academy, Officer

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Michael Throckmorton asked Henley to conduct a “tactical recovery” exercise for thirty-five to forty minutes in a specific manner. None of the male trainees were asked to conduct the exercise in the same manner. Henley sustained a torn quad muscle as a result, suffered leg convulsions, and developed a large knot in her leg.

In July 2005, Throckmorton asked Henley to repeatedly jump over a crack in the gym mat during another training exercise. The commands lasted for the entire class session. As Henley performed the jumps, Throckmorton stared at her from a very close distance, concentrating on her breasts. At the end of the exercise, Throckmorton wrote Henley up for not jumping high enough, even though her male classmates told her afterwards they could not have jumped as high as she did.

The complaint further alleges Throckmorton disciplined Henley differently because of her sex by kicking her in the back for allegedly having bad posture during the performance of a push-ups exercise and by pulling her by the hair to a sit-up position during the performance of a sit-ups exercise for allegedly not having her hands “clasped tight around her head.” Complaint ¶ 18. Throckmorton also “screamed” at Henley on multiple occasions for allegedly failing to perform certain exercises; for being a “lazy quitter,” even though thirty male trainees had quit before she did; and for being a “chicken” for staying home after Sergeant Bill Brown demanded she go home because of her “raspy voice.” Id. at ¶¶ 15, 17, 19.

In September 2005, Throckmorton asked Henley to close her eyes during a training session. “While her eyes were closed, Throckmorton administered a brachial hit that dislocated her shoulder[.]” Id. at ¶ 19. When she did not show any pain, Throckmorton threatened to hit her again. Henley had to seek medical assistance for the injury she sustained as a result of the hit.

A month later, as an alleged part of training, Throckmorton used pepper spray on Henley's face. He used a new can of spray to allow for a high stream of carbon monoxide. The high stream opened Henley's right eye, causing damage to it. Henley again had to seek medical assistance for the injury.

Following the pepper spray incident, Henley left for the women's locker room to take a shower. As she was coming out of the shower, along with another female trainee, Brown entered the room and saw both of them fully undressed. Brown proceeded to leave the door to the locker room open as to allow other male officers to see the women.

In addition to the locker room incident, Henley alleges Brown came to the shooting range during a training exercise with one purpose in mind: to “rant, rave, and intimidate” her. Id. at ¶ 14. “The ranting was so bad” Sergeant Conroy had to step out of his office and summon Brown inside. Id. Brown's harassment also consisted of telling Henley's training partners to work against her during the performance of certain exercises, screaming she “had a loaded weapon and had gone crazy” before an incoming class, and writing her up for staying home sick, although it was him who had sent her home in the first instance for having “a raspy voice.” Id. at ¶¶ 15, 20, 21.

In October 2005, Henley participated in a training exercise designed to teach trainees how to apply a choke hold to restrain an attacker. Henley was chosen to be the attackee in a simulated attack, which involved another male officer at the Academy. She applied the hold as directed. After she released the hold, however, the

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male officer, allegedly “John Conner,” attacked Henley from behind and physically assaulted her. It took four other officers to break the attack. Henley contends she attempted to report the incident, “but command staff did not listen.” Id. at ¶ 24.

As to Officer Dwight Parker, Henley asserts that in June 2005 Parker talked to her and another female trainee about the size of their breasts. Parker allegedly told Henley it would be difficult to take her seriously as a police officer because “her button down shirt would pucker” and reveal her bra. Id. at ¶ 11. Parker further stated he would work hard to assure Henley does not graduate from the Academy and “had taken a bet to see how fast ‘they’ could get rid of her.” Id. at 12. According to Henley, Parker suggested she is better suited to be “some rich Johnson [C]ounty man's wife” than a police officer. Id.

On November 8, 2005, Parker and Brown provided Henley with a memorandum, explaining their reasons as to why Henley should not graduate from the Academy. Henley was subsequently forced to leave the Academy and was unable to complete her training to become a police officer with the Kansas City Police Department.

B. Procedural Posture

On October 15, 2010, Henley brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of her rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution. Specifically, in her second amended complaint Henley asserted the following constitutional violations: (1) gender discrimination against Conner and Throckmorton, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; (2) sexual harassment and violation of bodily integrity against Brown, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments; (3) sexual harassment hostile work environment against Parker, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment; and (4) “failure to instruct, supervise, control, and discipline” against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners, its individual members, and Chief of Police Jim Corwin. Defendants moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.² The district court granted the motion, ³ concluding Henley had failed to exhaust her administrative remedies, as required by Title VII, and was therefore precluded from suing in federal court. The district court explained that while Henley could theoretically bring her gender discrimination claims under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the claims were also prohibited by Title VII and she could not “circumvent Title VII requirements by only pleading violations of the Equal Protection Clause under § 1983.” Order Granting Mot. to Dismiss, April 29, 2011, at 9. Accordingly, the court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

Henley subsequently filed a motion to amend or alter the judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e), arguing the district court manifestly erred in its application of the law by concluding the procedural requirements of Title VII applied

[686 F.3d 639]

to her constitutionally-grounded claims brought under section 1983. The district court denied the motion on the ground Title VII provides the exclusive remedy for Henley's gender discrimination claims and the law in our circuit indicates “a plaintiff bringing a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claim alleging employment discrimination must first proceed through Title VII's requisite...