Martinez Correa v. Lopez Feliciano

• Decision Date: 14 March 1991
• Docket Number: Civ. No. 88-2029 (JAF).
• Citation: 759 F. Supp. 947
• Parties: Lydia E. MARTINEZ CORREA, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Carlos LOPEZ FELICIANO, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Puerto Rico

759 F. Supp. 947

Lydia E. MARTINEZ CORREA, etc., et al., Plaintiffs, v. Carlos LOPEZ FELICIANO, et al., Defendants.

Civ. No. 88-2029 (JAF).

United States District Court, D. Puerto Rico.

March 14, 1991.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Howard Charles, Jorge Ortiz-Brunet, Ortiz-Toro & Ortiz-Brunet, San Juan, P.R., for plaintiffs.

Dept. of Justice, Federal Litigation Div., Com. of Puerto Rico, Saldaña, Rey, Moran & Alvarado, San Juan, P.R., for López-Feliciano.

OPINION AND ORDER

FUSTE, District Judge.

On October 14, 1988, defendant Gary Bosque, an off-duty police officer, shot and killed Angel Ríos Molina in a bar in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Plaintiffs, family members of the decedent, filed this suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging deprivation of decedent's constitutional rights. Plaintiffs also invoked the pendent jurisdiction of this court alleging violations of Articles 1802 and 1803 of the Civil Code of Puerto Rico, 31 L.P.R.A. §§ 5141, 5142. Jurisdiction is based on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343(a)(3), and (4). Included as defendants are various police officials of the Puerto Rico Police Department who were responsible for Bosque's admission, training, and supervision. Plaintiffs have alleged that defendants were grossly negligent in their failure to properly screen Bosque for entrance onto the police force and in their failure to properly follow administrative procedures to discipline or discharge Bosque prior to the shooting. These failures by supervisory personnel, plaintiffs claim, were the proximate cause of the death of Ríos Molina. Before the court are the parties' cross-motions for summary judgment. For the reasons outlined below, we GRANT the summary judgment motions of Carlos López Feliciano, Miguel Velázquez, Francisco Figueroa, and José Prats. We DENY the plaintiffs' and the remaining defendants' summary judgment motions. Further, we DISMISS the claims of all plaintiffs, except those of decedent's wife, in her representative capacity, and those of her minor child.

I. Facts

Plaintiffs in the present action are decedent's common-law wife, Lydia Martínez Correa, and his seven-year-old child, Angel Omar Ríos, both of whom are residents of Puerto Rico. Also included as plaintiffs are decedent's mother, two brothers, three aunts, and two cousins, all of whom reside in various states other than the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Defendants who are the subject of plaintiffs' summary judgment motion are Carlos López Feliciano, former Superintendent of the Police Department of Puerto Rico; Aida M. Vélez, Director of the Human Resources Division; Sergeant Juan Meléndez, and Captain Isodoro González, Bosque's former supervisors. The spouses of the above-named police officials and the conjugal partnerships formed by them are included as party defendants. Also, Lieutenant Miguel Velázquez, Director of the Drug and Narcotics Division in Arecibo, Captain Francisco Figueroa, and Sergeant José Prats, also of the Drug and Narcotics Division in Arecibo, were named as defendants in the Second Amended Complaint, Docket Document No. 24, and have moved the court for summary judgment. On April 13, 1989, the Clerk of the Court filed an Entry of Default against defendant Bosque, leaving solely the supervisory personnel as defendants actively litigating the action.

The facts surrounding the present action revolve around Officer Bosque's fitness to serve as a police officer and the acts or omissions by officials of the Police Department of Puerto Rico in Bosque's recruitment, training, and supervision. Bosque began the application process for the Police Department in 1986. After failing Part I of the Registration exam in 1986, he retook the test in 1987 and passed.¹

After passing Part I of the examination, Bosque was administered a battery of psychological exams by the Human Resources Division of the Police Department ("Human Resources"). Defendant Vélez, as director of the division, was ultimately responsible for the administration, interpretation, and evaluation of the exams. According to plaintiffs, Bosque's performance on these tests demonstrated that, psychologically, he was a borderline candidate for duty as a police officer. While the test results themselves were not submitted to the court, plaintiffs claim that the tests used were improperly administered, scored, and validated. Also, plaintiffs claim that certain of the tests were not completed by Bosque. In support of these allegations, plaintiffs submitted a review of Bosque's psychological evaluation by Dr. Ricardo del Castillo, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist. Dr. del Castillo identified the tests taken by Bosque as a "screening battery," a group-administered test used in order "to have a quick and `efficient' assessment" of candidates. (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 3 at 4). According to Dr. del Castillo, the types of scores Bosque received revealed that he should have been considered a borderline case and, as such, should have had follow-up review in order to verify the accuracy of the tests themselves and to further evaluate Bosque's aptitude for service as a police officer. Dr. del Castillo faulted defendant Vélez for not actively monitoring the clinicians under her supervision in their evaluation of clinical findings and for her "inability to create or properly supervise a system of quality control" in the Human Resources Department. (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 3 at 8).² Despite the incomplete evaluation, Bosque was found eligible to join the Police Department and began training at the Police Academy in August 1987.

After finishing his training at the Police Academy, Bosque was assigned in January 1988 to the Vega Baja Vice Control unit. He remained in this unit until September 19, 1988. During this period defendant Meléndez was Bosque's immediate supervisor. In Meléndez' deposition he stated that on two occasions between January and April 30, 1988 he had noticed the odor of alcohol on Bosque's breath and, on at least one occasion, counseled him about the excessive use of alcohol while off-duty. (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 5 at 10).

The major incident prior to the October shooting which plaintiffs claim demonstrated both Bosque's unfitness for duty as a police officer and the gross negligence of police supervisory personnel occurred during the evening of April 29-30, 1988. From the police administrative investigation report (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 6), it was established that Bosque, after participating in a local fiesta, was walking home. However, because of excessive alcohol consumption, he failed to complete the journey. Instead, he was found unconscious in a back alley at six o'clock the following morning. He was disoriented and there was a strong smell of liquor on his breath. His police-issue revolver was found about a yard away, laying on the ground. Sergeant David Román, the supervisor called to the scene, awakened Bosque and took him to the local police station in Arecibo. Román took possession of Bosque's firearm and delivered it to the local commander. At the station, Román explained to Bosque that he would have to submit to analysis to determine the amount of alcohol in his system. Román explained that Bosque could refuse to submit to the analysis but that, if he did so refuse, he would be cited for a "fault" (violation) of police regulations. At first, Bosque agreed to submit to the test but then left the police station for about a half hour. When asked why he had left the station, Bosque told the supervisors there that he went to buy coffee and cigarettes. The analysis was never conducted.

In the conclusions of the police incident report, it was found that Bosque had violated four provisions of the police personnel rules.³ Also, in a memorandum dated May 2, 1988 which Colonel Héctor Laureano, the Arecibo Area Commander, sent to Captain Angel Pagán, the Division Director of Administrative Investigations for Arecibo, Sergeant Román described the facts of the April 30th incident. At the bottom of page two there appears to be a memo to Colonel Laureano from Captain Rosario, Arecibo District Commander, saying that Rosario suspects that this might be a situation dealing with the use of drugs and recommending an administrative investigation, as well as implementation of the procedures found in General Order 87-4IX(H).

Thereafter, defendant Meléndez was informed of the incident and he, in turn, reported it to his supervisor, defendant González, Coordinator of Vice Control Investigations. (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 9). Meléndez related in the report that Sergeant Román had arranged with police personnel at the Arecibo Area Commander's office to have Bosque's service revolver returned to him. Meléndez contacted Colonel Laureano, who told him "that he had referred the case for Area Administrative Investigation" and that Bosque should be sent to retrieve the firearm. The final administrative report, dated December 22, 1988, incorporated the facts as outlined above and also found Sergeant Román had committed a serious violation in allowing Bosque to leave the precinct before the analysis was administered. (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 8).

In mid-September 1988, Bosque was transferred to the Arecibo Drug and Narcotics Division. Because of accumulated vacation time, he had only reported for duty a few days when the shooting in the bar took place.

The circumstances of the October 14, 1988 shooting were that Bosque and decedent were in the bar shooting pool and drinking. The police administrative investigation of the shooting, (Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 11), revealed that there did not seem to be any dispute between the two and that the gun simply went off hitting the decedent in the chest. He died en route to the hospital. Subsequently, Bosque was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and was given a three-year suspended sentence. See Docket Document No. 39, Exhibit 12.

II. Standards

A. Summary Judgment

The...