Martin v. City of Eastlake

• Decision Date: 18 May 1988
• Docket Number: No. C86-3969.,C86-3969.
• Citation: 686 F. Supp. 620
• Parties: Timothy MARTIN, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF EASTLAKE, William DePledge, etc., Thomas Doyle, etc., Robert Jaksa, etc., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

686 F. Supp. 620

Timothy MARTIN, Plaintiff, v. CITY OF EASTLAKE, William DePledge, etc., Thomas Doyle, etc., Robert Jaksa, etc., Defendants.

No. C86-3969.

United States District Court, N.D. Ohio, E.D.

May 18, 1988.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Gary D. Zeid, Sternberg & Zeid Co., L.P.A., Mentor, Ohio, for plaintiff.

Theodore R. Klammer, Law Director, City of Eastlake, Mentor, Ohio, for defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF OPINION

KRENZLER, District Judge.

The plaintiff, Timothy Martin ("Martin"), commenced the instant action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("§ 1983") against defendants, City of Eastlake ("City"), William DePledge, Chief of Police for the City ("DePledge"), Thomas Doyle, police officer for the City ("Doyle"), and Robert Jaksa, police officer for the City ("Jaksa"). Martin alleges deprivation of his constitutional rights under color of state law. The amended complaint, in essence, alleges that defendants Doyle and Jaksa, acting as police officers under color of state law, violated plaintiff's constitutional right to be free from illegal search and seizure. The amended complaint further alleged that the City maintained a policy and practice of illegal search and seizures. Finally, the amended complaint alleges a pendent state claim for assault and battery. Defendants responded with general denials as well as affirmative defenses, including that of qualified immunity.

This matter came on for a hearing on the issue of qualified immunity. At the hearing, the parties engaged in oral argument and presented evidence.

I. Facts

A review of the pleadings, depositions, exhibits, and hearing testimony, reveals the following facts. On May 2, 1986, Tammy Poldiak ("Tammy"), a mentally retarded 15-year-old girl, reported to her teacher that she had been raped the previous night. After her teacher contacted the Lake County Department of Human Services and the Eastlake Police Department, Tammy was taken to the Lake County Memorial Hospital. At the Hospital, Tammy was examined by a doctor utilizing the Dew's Expert Rape Kit. The examination revealed that some sexual activity may have occurred, although it was unclear whether such activity was self-inflicted or through intercourse.

Detective Leon Hodkey ("Detective Hodkey"), a police officer for the City, arrived at the Hospital between 3:30 and 4:00 p.m. Detective Hodkey's initial information regarding the case was conveyed by Rene Friedrich of the Lake County Human Services Department. Detective Hodkey was informed that Tammy was mentally retarded and had the mentality of a third grader. Detective Hodkey interviewed Tammy, Tammy's mother, and a friend of Tammy's.

According to Tammy, the alleged rape took place at the home of a neighbor. At approximately 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. the previous night, Tammy had gone over to the neighbor's home to play with one of the children who lived in the house. Subsequently, Tammy's friend was taken shopping, leaving Tammy in the yard. Tammy then told Detective Hodkey that she had been invited into the house by a male. It was at this time that the alleged rape occurred. Tammy told Detective Hodkey that she had been taken into the basement of the house, shown nude pictures, and then had been sexually assaulted. Tammy identified her assailant as a man having big muscles and curly yellow hair. Tammy also described the interior of the residence and described the television shows that she had watched at the house the previous night.

Certain inconsistencies developed in Tammy's statement. She originally stated that her assailant was wearing a black mask, that he was not wearing underwear, and that he injected Tammy with drugs. However, Tammy later stated that her assailant was wearing a red mask and that he was wearing underwear. In addition, the medical examination found no evidence that Tammy had been injected with drugs. These inconsistencies, with the exception of the information regarding the drugs, were conveyed to other officers on the case.

While Detective Hodkey was still at the Hospital gathering information, he was in contact with Detectives Jaksa and Doyle by telephone. Hodkey informed Jaksa and Doyle of the basic alleged facts of the case. After conferring with Detective Hodkey, Detectives Jaksa and Doyle went to plaintiff's residence where they interviewed Cathy Dennis ("Dennis"), the owner of the house where the alleged rape took place. Dennis lived in the house with three children and a boarder, the plaintiff. Dennis identified the plaintiff as matching the physical description given by Tammy. Dennis told the Detectives that Tammy had been at the house the previous evening. Dennis had left Tammy alone in the yard when Dennis had left the house with her children to go to the store. When Dennis returned later in the evening, plaintiff and Tammy were watching television. Dennis also told the Detectives that Tammy had been in the house on one or two prior occasions. There was a common room in the house which contained nude pictures but that, to Dennis' knowledge, Tammy had never been in that portion of the house. Dennis also informed the Detectives that plaintiff was presently at his place of employment.

Detectives Jaksa and Doyle next proceeded to the plaintiff's place of employment. The detectives identified themselves as police officers and informed plaintiff's employer that they were conducting an investigation and needed assistance from the plaintiff. Plaintiff was summoned by his employer and met the officers outside. The officers informed plaintiff of Tammy's allegations against him. At approximately 4:30 p.m., the officers placed plaintiff in custody and, after stopping for coffee, took him to the police station. At no time was a warrant for plaintiff's arrest obtained by any officer of the Eastlake Police Department. At the station, the plaintiff was "booked," informed of his constitutional rights, and questioned. Plaintiff offered his full cooperation and consented to a search of his residence and the taking of blood and pubic hair samples. Plaintiff was held at the station for approximately three hours and was released at approximately 7:00 p.m.

Detective Jaksa searched plaintiff's residence and seized several items of clothing belonging to the plaintiff.

In his statement to the police, plaintiff acknowledged that Tammy had come to the house the previous evening looking for her friend. When informed that her friend was not there but would be returning shortly, Tammy asked if she could wait inside and watch television. The plaintiff allowed Tammy to wait inside. He stressed that no sexual activity occurred.

After plaintiff's arrest and the completion of the investigation, it was concluded that no charges would be filed against plaintiff. The physical evidence gathered by the detectives, the inconsistent statements made by Tammy, and the results of the medical examination did not support Tammy's allegations of rape. A report from the Lake County Forensic Lab, received on May 15, 1986, confirmed the lack of evidence that a rape had occurred. Consequently, no charges were ever filed against the plaintiff. Plaintiff then commenced the instant action.

II. The Law of Qualified Immunity

42 U.S.C. § 1983 provides for the redress of constitutional violations committed by state actors while acting under the color of state law. There are no affirmative defenses explicitly included in § 1983. However, the Supreme Court of the United States has determined that, in 1871 when Congress enacted § 1983, it was the congressional intent that certain common law immunities from liability apply in cases brought under § 1983. See generally Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 241-49, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 1689-93, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974). One such immunity is absolute immunity, most commonly asserted by judges and prosecutors, in which a defendant, despite committing a constitutional violation, is held immune from liability if the act was committed within the scope of defendant's official duties. See, e.g., Stump v. Sparkman, 435 U.S. 349, 356-57, 98 S.Ct. 1099, 1105, 55 L.Ed.2d 331 (1978) (A judge has absolute immunity in his actions, even if done maliciously, unless the actions were taken in total absence of all jurisdiction.).

The most commonly asserted immunity under § 1983 is qualified immunity. This immunity is almost always asserted by law enforcement officials in cases which allege that they have violated a plaintiff's constitutional rights.¹ Unlike absolute immunity, qualified immunity does not provide total protection to a defendant in a § 1983 case. Although courts talk in general terms about whether a defendant is entitled to qualified immunity, they often do not attempt to define qualified immunity, or to state its basic purpose. Qualified immunity, in its simplest terms, is given to an officer who may have violated a constitutional right of a person, if the officer's actions are such that a reasonable officer could have believed that the actions were lawful, in light of clearly established law and the information the officer possessed. In effect, qualified immunity may shield from liability, an officer who violates another's constitutional rights.

The extent to which qualified immunity protects a defendant from liability, the standard for applying the qualified immunity defense, and the procedural and case management issues arising out of the qualified immunity defense, have undergone several major changes recently. These changes have occurred because of both the increasing number of § 1983 cases filed against public officials, particularly law enforcement officers, and because of the increasing burden the large number of § 1983 cases places on the courts.

Prior to 1982, the standard or test for the qualified immunity defense included both an objective and a subjective element. The objective element "involved a presumptive knowledge of and respect for `basic unquestioned constitutional rights.' The subjective component referred to `...