Mendoza v. Anne Arundel Cnty.

• Jurisdiction: United States,Federal,Maryland
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland
• Writing for the Court: JULIE R. RUBIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
• Docket Number: 1:23-cv-01383-JRR
• Decision Date: 22 March 2024
• Parties: MOSES MENDOZA, Plaintiff, v. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.
• topic: Civil Rights,Constitutional Law,Employment Law,Civil Procedure

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MOSES MENDOZA, Plaintiff, v. ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MARYLAND, et al., Defendants.

No. 1:23-cv-01383-JRR

United States District Court, D. Maryland

March 22, 2024

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JULIE R. RUBIN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Plaintiff Moses Mendoza filed the underlying action against Defendants Anne Arundel County, Maryland (“the County”) Officer Vanessa Dos Santos, and Officer Glenn Johnson (together, “Defendant Officers”), alleging state tort claims, and state and federal constitutional claims. (ECF No. 3; the “Complaint.”) Defendants removed the action to this court. (ECF No. 1.) Pending now before the court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, or in the Alternative, Motion for Summary Judgment. (ECF No. 9; the “Motion.”) The court has reviewed all papers. No hearing is necessary. Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2023). For the reasons that follow, by accompanying order, Defendants' Motion, construed as a motion to dismiss, will be GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART.

I. BACKGROUND^[1]

On April 25, 2020, Plaintiff, his wife (Colleen Mendoza), his six minor children, and his five-month-old Weimaraner puppy Zoey, weighing approximately 20 pounds, were in the front yard of Plaintiff's property located at 1805 Glenarm Road in Edgewater, Maryland. (ECF No. 3 ¶¶ 6, 34.) Mrs Mendoza's stepsister, Sarah Youngquist, lived on a neighboring property. Id. ¶ 16. Ms. Youngquist owned two Cane Corso dogs, Dexter (“Dex”) and Lexi, both approximately 88 pounds. Id. ¶¶ 16, 34. At around 12:00 p.m., Ms. Youngquist walked her dogs in front of the Mendoza home. Plaintiff was away from the home at the time; his family was outside in the yard. Id. ¶¶ 18, 19. At that time, Zoey left Plaintiff's property and approached Ms. Youngquist's dogs. Id. ¶ 18. Plaintiff's family called Zoey back to the yard, and, after she returned to the yard, Ms. Youngquist yelled to Plaintiff's children that her dogs would “fucking kill” Zoey. Id. ¶ 19. Mrs. Mendoza overheard the threat. (ECF No. 3 ¶ 19.) Out of fear, the children brought Zoey inside the house. Id. ¶ 20.

Later that afternoon, Plaintiff had returned home and was gardening in his front yard; his wife, children, and Zoey accompanied him in the front yard. Id. ¶¶ 22-23. Ms. Youngquist again walked her dogs past the Mendoza home. Id. ¶ 23. Zoey approached the dogs again but stayed on Plaintiff's property. Id. Plaintiff and his wife called Zoey back closer to the home and away from the dogs, and Plaintiff asked Ms. Youngquist to move past his property. Id. ¶ 24. At this time, Zoey remained at Plaintiff's feet in his yard. Id. ¶ 25. Ms. Youngquist remained in front of the Mendoza home while her dogs barked aggressively at Zoey and stood in threatening postures. (ECF No. 3 ¶ 26.) Ms. Youngquist then indicated to Plaintiff that she would drop the dogs' leashes and subsequently did so. Id. ¶¶ 27-28. Ms. Youngquist's dogs then charged onto Plaintiff's property and began attacking Zoey, inches from Plaintiff's feet and close to his children. Id. ¶¶ 29-30. Ms. Youngquist's dogs' movements were “erratic, chaotic, and uncontrolled.” Id. ¶ 33. Plaintiff, fearing for his safety - and that of his wife, his children, and Zoey - took a pole that he was holding and hit it on the ground in an attempt to scare the dogs apart. Id. ¶¶ 34, 36. When that did not work, Plaintiff again tried to stop the fight by inserting the pole between the dogs to separate them. Id. ¶ 37. As a result, the pole unintentionally “made contact with” Dex's head. (ECF No. 3 ¶ 38.) Ms. Youngquist's dogs then stopped their attack and returned to Ms. Youngquist on the street. Id. ¶ 39. The whole incident lasted approximately three seconds. Id. ¶ 40. Plaintiff then told Ms. Youngquist to “get off his property.” Id. ¶ 45. Ms. Youngquist left the area and returned to her home. Id. ¶ 46. Plaintiff and his wife later observed Ms. Youngquist speaking to her neighbor, Sandy Myers, and her neighbor's cousin, Kevin Robey. Id. ¶ 47.

Ms. Youngquist subsequently took Dex to Anne Arundel Veterinary Emergency Clinic where she contacted Anne Arundel County Police Department. (ECF No. 3 ¶¶ 48, 50.) The police department contacted the Animal Control Dispatch, which in turn assigned the matter to Animal Control Agency Officer Vanessa Dos Santos. Id. ¶ 51. Officer Dos Santos had a personal relationship with Ms. Youngquist, having lived together for nearly a year. Id. ¶ 56. At the time of dispatch, Officer Dos Santos knew that the matter involved Ms. Youngquist. Id. ¶ 55. Officer Dos Santos had also previously lived with Dex and knew that Dex had a history of aggressive behavior. Id. ¶ 60. Specifically, Officer Dos Santos knew that Dex had previously attacked a young girl who required medical care in the form of stitches and a skin graft. Id. ¶ 59.

Officer Dos Santos responded to the veterinary clinic where Ms. Youngquist provided her with the contact information for Mr. Robey as a witness. (ECF No. 3 ¶¶ 63-64.) Ms. Youngquist reported to Officer Dos Santos that Zoey approached her dogs, and that the dogs wanted to play. Id. ¶ 65. Ms. Youngquist then reported that Plaintiff approached her, yelled at her, picked up a metal pole, charged toward Ms. Youngquist on the street, and intentionally struck Dex on the head. Id. ¶ 65. Ms. Youngquist reported that Dex fell to the ground, bleeding. Id. Officer Dos Santos then proceeded to investigate the incident, and, prior to investigating, told the responding police officer that she would charge Plaintiff with animal cruelty after speaking with him. Id. ¶¶ 69-70.

Thereafter, Officer Dos Santos, accompanied by two police officers, went to Plaintiff's home where she interviewed Plaintiff and his wife. Id. ¶¶ 72-73. Officer Dos Santos's interview of Plaintiff lasted about four minutes. (ECF No. 3 ¶ 74.) Plaintiff provided his account of the incident. Id. ¶¶ 75-76. Plaintiff indicated he had interest in filing a complaint against Ms. Youngquist for her actions. Id. ¶ 80. During her interview, Mrs. Mendoza told Officer Dos Santos that multiple cameras captured video footage of the incident, and that such footage would verify the Mendozas' statements, yet Officer Dos Santos refused to review the footage. Id. ¶¶ 87-88. Indeed, the video footage revealed several falsehoods in Ms. Youngquist's and Mr. Robey's respective accounts. Id. ¶¶ 104-106, 109. Officer Dos Santos also refused to inspect Zoey. Id. ¶ 90. Officer Dos Santos then took a statement from Mr. Robey, who reported that he was inside his cousin's home at the time of the incident, but reported an account similar to Ms. Youngquist. (ECF No. 3 ¶¶ 91-93.) Mr. Robey reported that he could not hear what was said. Id. ¶ 95.

Officer Dos Santos then prepared an Animal Control report and Application for Statement of Charges, which she did not sign. Id. ¶¶ 96, 98. In the report and application, she reported the conflicting statements between the accounts of Ms. Youngquist, on the one hand, and Plaintiff and Plaintiff's wife, on the other. Id. However, Officer Dos Santos omitted any reference to available video evidence of the incident that she declined to review, that there were additional witnesses who were not interviewed (the Mendoza children), that she had a personal relationship with Ms. Youngquist, knew Dex and of his past aggression, and that the eyewitness, Mr. Robey, was in another house at the time of the incident and did not hear what had occurred. Id. ¶ 98. Officer Dos Santos also did not report any of Plaintiff's statements detailing his justification for his actions, including his personal and family safety concerns. Id. ¶ 77. Officer Dos Santos made those omissions in order to mislead the Commissioner who would review the application to issue criminal charges against Plaintiff for animal abuse and aggravated animal cruelty. (ECF No. 3 ¶ 99.)

Ultimately, Officer Dos Santos's application was not used to request criminal charges against Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 128. Instead, Officer Dos Santos had Officer Glenn Johnson, who had no involvement in the investigation, complete two subsequent Application for Statement of Charges, including the final application, which was used to pursue charges (the “Final Application”). Id. ¶¶ 129-31. Officers Dos Santos and Johnson “entered into an agreement or understanding, whereby Officer Johnson agreed” to use his position for the gain of Officer Dos Santos and Ms. Youngquist and in furtherance of Defendants' tortious conduct and constitutional attack on Plaintiff. Id. ¶¶ 207-08. Officer Johnson submitted the Final Application despite having not been present for the investigation. Id. ¶ 136. Instead, Officer Johnson relied on Officer Dos Santos's Animal Control reports and Application for Statement of Charges to complete the Final Application, but Officer Johnson removed Plaintiff's and his wife's accounts of the incident from the Final Application. (ECF No. 3 ¶¶ 138, 140.) The Final Application, like Officer Dos Santos's application, further omitted any reference to Officer Dos Santos's conflict of interest, the availability of corroborating evidence for Plaintiff that was rejected without reason, and that Officer Dos Santos declined to interview six eyewitnesses, instead relying solely on the account of a witness inside a house away from the incident. Id. ¶¶ 143-45.

By submitting the Final Application, Officer Johnson affirmed under penalty of perjury that the information was true and correct based on his knowledge, information, and belief. Id. ¶ 132. The Final Application sought criminal charges against Plaintiff, as well as a citation for violation of Anne Arundel County Code § 12-4-902 for having an animal at large. Id. ¶ 148. Officer Johnson, working with Officer Dos Santos and based on her application, intentionally misled the Commissioner in...