M.J. v. Akron City Sch. Dist. Bd. of Educ.

Decision Date28 April 2020
Docket NumberCASE NO. 5:18-cv-577,CASE NO. 5:18-cv-870
PartiesM.J., et al., PLAINTIFFS, v. AKRON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., DEFENDANTS. M.H., et al., PLAINTIFFS, v. AKRON CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF EDUCATION, et al., DEFENDANTS.
CourtU.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

JUDGE SARA LIOI

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

In these consolidated civil rights actions, the parties have completed discovery, and each defendant has sought summary judgment. (Case No. 5:18-cv-577 [hereinafter the "M.J. Case"], Doc. Nos. 86, 87; Case No. 5:18-cv-870 [hereinafter the "W.H. Case"], Doc. Nos. 99, 102.) All motions are fully briefed and ripe for resolution.

I. BACKGROUND

These actions share a general core of facts and involve the April 2017 activities of defendant Christopher Hendon ("Hendon") at Leggett Community Learning Center ("Leggett") in Akron, Ohio. Leggett, a public school within defendant Akron City School District (the "District"), is an elementary school with an enrollment of approximate 380 students in grades kindergarten through fifth. (Deposition of Philomena Vincente ["Vincente Dep."] at 21-25.)1 At all times relevant to these lawsuits, defendant David James ("James") was the superintendent of the District, and defendant Philomena Vincente ("Vincente") was the principal of Leggett. The District, James, and defendant Akron City School District Board of Education ("Board") constitute the "administrative defendants" in both actions.

In 2017, approximately 60% of the Leggett student body was African-American. (Id. at 8-9.) Twenty percent of the African-American students at Leggett were issued Individualized Education Plans ("IEPs"), which are plans that support and accommodate children with learning and behavioral disabilities. (Id.) The community Leggett served was economically disadvantaged, and many of Leggett's students were also living in federally subsidized housing. (Id. at 9.)

It was not uncommon for members of the Akron Police Department ("APD") to visit Leggett. (Id. at 81.) In 2017, there was an on-going initiative by the APD whereby officers would visit Leggett and other District schools to conduct "walk-throughs" once or twice a week. (Id.; see Deposition of Dan Rambler ["Rambler Dep."] at 17-19, 34.) The purpose of these periodic walk-throughs was two-fold: First, the walk-throughs permitted officers to familiarize themselves with the layout of the school buildings in the event of a crisis. (Vincente Dep. at 81; Rambler Dep. at 78-19.) Second, the walk-throughs provided opportunities for officers to build rapport with students and staff. During these visits, officers were encouraged to engage with the students in the lunchroom and even play basketball with the students on the playground. (Vincente Dep. at 81-83.) Members of the APD might also be called to respond to particular criminal or dangerous situations occurring on school property. APD police officers, however, were not supposed to enforce school rules or assist in the discipline of the students. (Vincente Dep. at 83; Rambler Dep. at 16, 34.)

The Board also employed police officers who were responsible for providing security in the schools. Board officers wear a uniform and a badge that reads "Akron BOE Police." (Deposition of Donald Good-Johnson ["Good Dep."] at 10.) A Board officer's duties include patrolling the schools and responding to safety issues involving students, parents, and other members of the public. (Id. at 15.) Additionally, the District entered into a contract with the APD to provide "resource officers" to be permanently stationed in certain schools. (Rambler Dep. at 16-17.) Resource officers were responsible for maintaining security in their assigned schools. Elementary schools, such as Leggett, did not have resource officers, and, instead, relied on Board officers who were responsible for multiple schools. (Vincente Dep. at 80; Rambler Dep. at 8, 17; Good Dep. at 15-16.)

Office secretary Holly DeLisi ("DeLisi") testified that Leggett has an electronic locking system, and that she is required to "buzz" in visitors.2 (Deposition of Holly DeLisi ["DeLisi Dep."] at 21; see Vincente Dep. at 50-51.) Once a visitor is buzzed in, they are supposed to report to the school office to sign in on the school's sign-in registry. (Rambler Dep. at 19; Vincente Dep. at 48, 54.) After a visitor signs in, he or she is issued a visitor's pass that is to be visible on the person at all times. (Vincente Dep. at 54.) Numerous witnesses testified that while all visitors are supposed to sign in, police officers were often informally exempted from this requirement. (Vincente Dep. 54-55; Rambler Dep. at 19; see Deposition of Patricia Derita ["Derita Dep."] at 19-20; DeLisi Dep. at 10, 14.)

Hendon visited Leggett for the first time on April 6, 2017, on a day that was particularly frenetic. Immediately prior to 1:30 that afternoon, Vincente asked DeLisi to contact the mother of a boy who was misbehaving to take him home. (Vincente Dep. at 111-133.) The mother initially agreed to pick up the boy but called back fifteen minutes later and said that her boyfriend, whom she indicated was a police officer, would come and get the child. (Id. at 115-16.) Vincente admitted that, at the time, she questioned whether the mother really was dating a police officer, but she believed that she would find out when the individual came to pick up the boy. (Id. at 116-17, 173.)

At approximately the same time, a different mother called the school office and reported that her husband was high on drugs and was coming to Leggett to attempt to remove their children from the school. In this call, the mother shared her concern that her husband intended to commit suicide in front of the children. (Vincente Dep. at 135-37.) DeLisi called the District's security office and the APD to request assistance with the matter. (DeLisi Dep. at 32.) When the father arrived at the school and attempted to remove his son from music class, Vincente intervened until members of the APD could arrive. (Vincente Dep. at 137.) Ultimately, the crisis was averted when the father, upon seeing an APD cruiser pull up in the school parking lot, fled the building; he was eventually apprehended by law enforcement. (Id. at 137-39.)

While the situation with the suicidal father was still unfolding, Hendon arrived at the school. He drove up in a white unmarked sedan. (Id. at 181.) From her office window, Vincente saw Hendon outside the school. Hendon was wearing a black police uniform, a bullet proof vest, handcuffs, and a badge with black tape on it. (Id. at 125-28, 133; DeLisi Dep. at 32-33.) Witnesses testified that Hendon's uniform resembled the uniform worn by SWAT officers on police shows. (Derita Dep. at 40; see DeLisi Dep. at 76.) Vincente observed Hendon in the parking lot speaking with the APD police officers who had been summoned to address the issuing involving the suicidal father. (Vincente Dep. at 125; DeLisi Dep. at 32, 34, 36.)

Hendon also spoke with Officer Donald Good-Johnson ("Good"), a Board officer who was assigned to Leggett as part of his route and had also been dispatched to Leggett that day to address the crisis.4 (Vincente Dep. at 126; Good Dep. at 31, 34.) Hendon approached Good and asked if he remembered him. When Good hesitated, Hendon explained that he had been a student at a school in the District that Good often patrolled. He told Good that he now worked for the juvenile court diversion program. (Id. at 35-37.) While Good knew from Hendon's uniform that he was not an Akron police officer, Good believed that the uniform was consistent with uniforms worn by court diversion personnel. (Id. at 41-43.)5 Hendon shook Good's hand before being buzzed into the building. (Id. at 37.)

Hendon walked into Vincente's office where Vincente and the boy who had been misbehaving earlier in the day were waiting. Hendon advised Vincente that he was there to pick up the boy. He asked the boy what kind of trouble he was in, raising his voice and telling the boy that he cannot act that way in school. (Vincente Dep. at 128.) Hendon then explained to Vincente that he was currently talking to the Akron City Counsel about instituting a "scared straight" program in the schools. (Id. at 129-30.) Hendon remained at Leggett that day from approximately 1:30 p.m. until dismissal at 3:30 p.m.—speaking with staff in the office—before he ultimately left with his girlfriend's son. (Id. at 133-135, 139-40.)

Hendon returned to Leggett the next day (April 7, 2017) around 8:30 a.m. and, within fifteen minutes of his arrival, he was joined by a man dressed in street clothes named James. (Vincente Dep. at 140-41, 147-48.) Hendon and James spoke again with Vincente. James introduced himself and indicated that he worked at the Juvenile Detention Center.6 (Id. at 148-49.) Hendon advised Vincente that he had just gotten off his shift and had decided to come over because he wanted to speak with some of the teachers and students about the scared straight program he and James wanted to start in Akron. (Id. at 140-41.) During their 20-minute conversation, Hendon mentioned the success he had at a local private school and showed Vincente a picture on his phone of him in full uniform shaking hands with the Mayor of Akron. (Id. at 142.) He also asked Vincente whether she would be willing to arrange a meeting with the parents of the school to discuss the program. Vincente refused to set up the meeting and informed Hendon that he would not be permitted to start such a program at Leggett.7 (Id.) Hendon and James spent the afternoon at Leggett speaking with teachers and students. (Id. at 156-57.)

Over the next few days, Hendon visited the school several times, with and without James, and interacted with staff, parents, and students.8 (Id. at 158-60.) During this time period, he also met with students and parents away from Leggett. There is no dispute that Hendon was never employed by the...

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