Krocka v. Bransfield, 95 C 627.

• Decision Date: 24 June 1997
• Docket Number: No. 95 C 627.,95 C 627.
• Citation: 969 F.Supp. 1073
• Parties: Vincent J. KROCKA, Plaintiff, v. James BRANSFIELD and the City of Chicago, an Illinois Municipal Corporation, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois

Page 1073

969 F.Supp. 1073

Vincent J. KROCKA, Plaintiff, v. James BRANSFIELD and the City of Chicago, an Illinois Municipal Corporation, Defendants.

No. 95 C 627.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

June 24, 1997.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James Michael Chesloe, Willow Springs, IL, Terrance Anthony Norton, Chicago, IL, for Vincent J. Krocka.

Thaddeus S. Machnik, Eileen B. Libby, Shelly Rachel Remen, City of Chicago, Law Dept. Corp. Counsel, Chicago, IL, Susan S. Sher, Corp. Counsel, City of Chicago, Chicago, IL, for James J. Bransfield.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LINDBERG, District Judge.

Plaintiff Vincent J. Krocka is a police officer in the 16th District of the Chicago Police Department ("CPD"). He brings this action against the City of Chicago ("City") under Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq., and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991, 42 U.S.C. § 1981a, to remedy allegedly unlawful employment practices and discrimination on the basis of disability. In addition, Krocka brings a claim against Dr. James Bransfield, former chief surgeon of the CPD, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for deprivation of his constitutional and statutory rights. Both plaintiff and defendants have moved for summary judgment.

I. Background

Krocka began working for the CPD in January 1984 and has been assigned to the 16th District since 1992. As a beat officer, Krocka performs patrol duties that involve answering calls, writing tickets, making arrests and going to court. Krocka is now a licensed attorney in Illinois, Washington, DC, and Florida; and works 20 to 25 hours a week as an attorney in addition to his police work. From 1990 until 1992, he took a leave of absence from the police force to study for the bar and practice law.

Plaintiff has experienced depression nearly all of his life, with symptoms including irritability, antisocial behavior, fear, anxiety, upset stomach, gagging, loss of self-esteem, feelings of worthlessness, insomnia, an aversion to social contact and the inability to get out of bed. He has had problems with authority figures since he was a child and responds negatively to supervisory personnel in employment. His feelings of irritability and antisocial behavior have existed "throughout his working career." Krocka's bouts with more severe depression have lasted from six months to a year.

After he finished law school and began practicing, Krocka went through a period of depression, during which he experienced an inability to get out of bed for much of the day, although he stated that it did not affect his ability to research or write. During this time, his law partner would call him in the morning to get him out of bed when they had to be in court. On days that Krocka did not have to be in court, he stayed in bed until early afternoon.

In 1990, plaintiff told his physician, Dr. Glenn Cabin, that he was experiencing difficulty with authority figures at the CPD, that he had been terminated from a law firm after being accused of sexual harassment, and was having trouble finding another legal position. The law firm at which Krocka was working terminated him in July 1990 after a clerk accused him of sexual harassment.¹ Krocka indicated that he thought he might be having a nervous breakdown, that he did not get out of bed until early afternoon, was short-tempered and felt that his job situation was deteriorating.

Throughout his working life, plaintiff has been fired numerous times. Krocka stated that he had not gotten along with supervisors at previous positions, including a security position at the University of Chicago that he held from 1975 to 1977. Krocka began working at the Evanston Police Department in November 1977, where he admitted he was sometimes insubordinate towards supervisors and did not get along with his fellow officers. Krocka was fired from this position in May 1978, while still on probation, for misconduct.² After his termination, Krocka experienced a more severe period of depression and contemplated suicide. He began working as a security officer at Swedish Covenant Hospital in December 1978 but was terminated approximately a month later for excessive absenteeism. In 1979, Krocka was fired from a job with the University of Illinois campus police force when it learned about his discharge from the Evanston Police Department. In Spring 1991, Krocka began working for the Federal Aviation Administration, a position he lost in April 1992 for using the phone for personal business.³ Krocka returned to the CPD in 1992 and has continued to maintain a private law practice, which has become increasingly active over the years.

Dr. Cabin referred Krocka to Dr. Michael Bresler, a psychologist, who began intensive psychotherapy in weekly sessions that lasted until mid-1992. Dr. Bresler also referred plaintiff to another psychologist, Dr. Edward Wittert, for an interview and testing to confirm Dr. Bresler's diagnosis of depression. Dr. Wittert diagnosed plaintiff as having dysthymia associated with an impulse control disorder and mixed obsessive-compulsive and paranoid personality features. Dysthymia is defined as mild to moderate depression that lasts more than two years in an adult. Dr. Bresler indicated that plaintiff's depression was in the range of low end of severe to high end of moderate. He also experienced "double depression," which refers to dysthymia that is punctuated by a bout of major depression.

Dr. Bresler recommended that plaintiff begin taking Prozac, and Dr. Cabin prescribed it for Krocka based on this recommendation. Prozac is an antidepressant medication that entered the market in the late 1980s. It is prescribed to treat depression and in 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 users can cause physical side effects such as chills and fever, abnormal dreams and agitation, migraines, neck rigidity and pain, and dermatological conditions, among others. Although Dr. Bransfield stated that ataxia, or stumbling and falling, can be a side effect of taking Prozac, the Physician's Desk Reference does not list it as such. Dr. Bransfield stated that the literature he read indicated that a small percentage of users have experienced suicidal or homicidal ideation while taking Prozac. Eli Lilly, the manufacturer, advises patients not to drive or operate hazardous machinery until their doctor determines that Prozac is not affecting them. The drug reaches a steady state in the body within two weeks. Both Drs. Cabin and Bresler monitored plaintiff's use of Prozac. Besides the weekly sessions with Dr. Bresler, Krocka spoke to Dr. Cabin every 90 days. Although Dr. Cabin did not personally observe plaintiff using a firearm or driving a car, plaintiff stated that Dr. Wittert tested his motor skills and indicated that they were "intact."

Dr. Bresler testified that after Krocka began treatment with Prozac, he was functioning much better in all areas of life and that "within a few weeks [of beginning Prozac] we saw considerable improvement in Mr. Krocka's overall condition. His symptoms of depression diminished significantly, and his functioning in his family and on the job improved considerably." Bresler also indicated that plaintiff's touchiness, impatience and overaggressiveness could be the result of depression because "the discomfort of the symptoms" can make a person touchy or irritable. According to Bresler, depression affects a person's performance in general.

In 1991, when plaintiff reduced the amount of Prozac he took for about four to six months, his depressive symptoms returned. In April 1992, Dr. Bresler administered the Millon Clinical Inventory, which indicated that plaintiff was at the low end of the scale for dysthymia, and the Beck Depression Inventory, which indicated that plaintiff was at the lower end of moderate depression. Dr. Bresler increased plaintiff's Prozac dose in late 1993 from 20 mg a day to 30 mg a day. In 1995, Dr. Bresler moved out of state and plaintiff began seeing Dr. Peter Fink for psychotherapy and for prescriptions for Prozac.⁴ Dr. Fink has diagnosed Krocka as having a major depressive disorder that is recurrent and in remission; and a separate dysthymic disorder in remission. He counsels Krocka every three to four months; and also monitors Krocka's Prozac use and watches for signs of depression and mood instability. Dr. Fink states that plaintiff's cognitive abilities are unaffected by taking Prozac. He states that plaintiff is resilient and has the capacity to function in pressured situations. Krocka states that he still suffers diminished symptoms of depression, including irritability, insomnia, stomach problems and difficulty getting out of bed. He intends to take Prozac for the rest of his life, and would experience serious depressive symptoms if he stopped taking it. In April 1995, plaintiff stopped taking Prozac for three days, after which he felt that he had no energy and did not want to do anything.

In October 1991, Commander Richard Wedgbury, Director of the Labor and Management Affairs Division of the CPD, developed and implemented a written Psychotropic Medication Policy in response to the CPD's concerns about armed police officers on such medication. Wedgbury consulted with psychiatrists at area hospitals, who indicated that decisions as to the duty status of an officer taking Prozac should be made on a case-by-case basis. The policy states that no officer will be deemed psychologically fit for duty while taking psychotropic medication unless the officer's treating psychiatrist indicates that the officer is being closely monitored and that the medication is not impairing the officer's judgment, cognitive abilities, reaction time, driving skills or performance abilities. An officer could also be deemed fit for duty upon agreement of Dr. Bransfield and Stanard & Associates, a psychological evaluation firm hired by the CPD to examine officers.

In April...