Nanton v. Mecka
| Decision Date | 30 April 2013 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 2:11-cv-6132 (JAD) |
| Parties | ELLIS NANTON, Plaintiff, v. OFFICER LOUIS MECKA, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
This matter comes before the Court upon motion by defendants the Jersey City Police Department ("Jersey City") and police officer Louis Mecka ("Officer Mecka") (together, "Defendants") for summary judgment pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. 56. Pursuant to Rule 78 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, no oral argument was heard. Upon consideration of 1 the parties' submissions, and for the reasons stated below, Defendants' motion for summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.
This is a civil rights action brought by Plaintiff Ellis Nanton ("Plaintiff") against Defendants, alleging that Defendants violated Plaintiff's constitutional rights when they wrongfully arrested, detained and prosecuted him for the charge of eluding notwithstanding Plaintiff's presentation of evidence which he alleged established that he was out-of-state at the time of the incident.
On March 6, 2009, at approximately 10:30 p.m., Officer Mecka and his canine partner Froto ("Froto") were responding to a report of a prowler at the location of 137 Wilkinson Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey. (Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 1, ECF No. 16-1). As Officer Mecka was leaving the call and attempting to Place Froto in the patrol unit, he observed a red Chevy Venture minivan travelling down Wilkinson Avenue at a high rate of speed. (Defs' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 7, ECF No. 16-2). Officer Mecka claimed the vehide "almost struck him" (Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 1, ECF No. 16-1), but that he was able to Place Froto in the patrol unit and get out of the way. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 7, ECF No. 16-2). According to Officer Mecka, the minivan slowed down as it approached him due to the width of the street and the presence of other patrol cars. (Id. at ¶ 10). Officer Mecka was able to view the driver of the minivan through the vehicle's open window. (Id. at ¶ 11). Officer Mecka recognized the driver of the vehicle and his distinct dreadlocks, and observed that the driver was wearing a "letterman's jacket." (Id. at ¶¶ 12, 13). Officer Mecka believed the driver to be Plaintiff, whom he had interacted with on a previous occasion.1 (Id. at ¶ 14).
Officer Mecka attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the minivan. (Id. at ¶ 21). During the pursuit, Officer Mecka requested a license Plate check from his dispatcher via police radio and was informed that Plaintiff was the registered owner of the vehicle. (Id. at ¶ 22). Ultimately, Officer Mecka was unable to effectuate the traffic stop and discontinued the pursuit upon being ordered to do so. (Id. at ¶ 23)
At the time of the pursuit, the minivan had not been reported stolen. (Br. Supp. Mot. Summ. J. 1, ECF No. 16-1). The mini-van was located shortly after the pursuit, and there were no indications that the vehicle had been damaged or stolen. (Id.).
Later in the night on March 6th, Officer Mecka went to the Jersey City police department's bureau of criminal identification ("BO") and identified Plaintiff in a "booking photo." (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 7, ECF No. 16-2). In the early hours of March 7, 2009, Officer Mecka prepared an Investigation Report with respect to the incident (the March 7th Police Report"). In the March 7th Police Report, Officer Mecka stated: "Warrarts for [Plaintiff] will be issued, the U/S Officer can identify the actor." (Cert. Stevie D. Chambers ("Chambers Cert."), Ex. H, ECF No. 18).
Officer Mecka signed a ComPlaint-Warrant against Plaintiff on March 7, 2009, for the charge of eluding in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2B. (Id. at Ex. G).
According to Plaintiff, he was visiting his children out-of-state on the date of the alleged eluding incident and that his minivan, which was seen by Officer Mecka, had been stolen.
Plaintiff alleged the timeline of events as follows. On March 5, 2009, Plaintiff travelled to Fayetville, North Carolina, which is where the mother of his children and his children then lived. (Pl.'s Dep. 32:21-34-15). On the afternoon of March 6, 2009 (i.e., the date of the eluding incident), Plaintiff took his children to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (Id. at 34:11-37:24). While in South Carolina, at approximately 3:00 p.m., Plaintiff received two traffic tickets, one for speeding and another for a seat belt violation. (Pl.'s Counterstatement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 1, ECF No. 20-1). Plaintiff returned to Fayetville, North Carolina during theevening on March 6, 2009. (Pl.'s Dep. 37:23-24). On March 7, 2009, Plaintiff left North Carolina to return to New Jersey, and arrived home in the early morning hours of March 8, 2009.2 (Id. at 64:11-15). Upon returning home, Plaintiff realized his minivan was missing. (Id. at 64:16-22). Plaintiff went to the police station at approximately 10:00 a.m. on March 8, 2009 to report the vehicle as missing. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 27, ECF No. 16-2). Plaintiff stated he had last seen the vehicle on March 4, 2009, before he went out of town (Id.).
On March 19, 2009, Officer Mecka was called to report to BCI to identify Plaintiff after Plaintiff turned himself in with respect to the Complaint-Warrant charging him with eluding. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 28, ECF No. 16-2). At that time, Plaintiff told Officer Mecka that he had been in South Carolina on the date of the incident, and further stated that he had received two traffic tickets while in South Carolina at 3:00 p.m., which approximately seven and a half hours before the eluding incident. (Id. at ¶ 30). Plaintiff produced the two traffic tickets to another officer who was present who, in turn, showed the tickets to Officer Mecka. (Pl.'s Counterstatement of Material Facts ¶ 1, ECF No. 1). In resporse to this evidence, Officer Mecka stated that he could not account for Plaintiff's whereabouts earlier in the day on March 6th, but that he (Dep. Officer Mecka 99:2-4).
Following Plaintiff's arrest on March 19, 2009, Officer Mecka contacted the police officer in South Carolina who issued the tickets to Plaintiff, Sergeant Baily. (Pl.'sCounterstatement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 4, ECF No. 20-1). Sergeant Baily confirmed that he had issued the tickets to Plaintiff on March 6, 2009. (Id.).
On April 21, 2009, Officer Mecka prepared a supplementary investigation report (the "April 21st Supplemental Police Report"), which was intended to "clarify certain aspects of the [March 6, 2009] incident not contained in any previous reports." (Chambers Cert., Ex. I, ECF No. 18). The April 21st Supplemental Police Report contained two significant supplementations First, in the April 21st Supplemental Police Report, Officer Mecka specifically identified Plaintiff as the actor driving the vehicle on the night of the March 6th eluding pursuit, stating: "[Officer Mecka] had occasion to view [Plaintiff] operating the vehicle during the pursuit." (Id.). Previously, in the March 7 Police Report, Officer Mecka only indicated that he could "identify the actor." (Id. at Ex. H).
Second, Officer Mecka included information regarding Plaintiff's claim that he was out-of-state on March 6th, as well as additional information regarding his interaction with Plaintiff when Plaintiff turned himself in on the eluding charge. Officer Mecka stated that when he saw Plaintiff at BCI on March 19, 2009, he "again positively identified [Plaintiff] as the driver of the [] vehicle during the pursuit." (Chambers Cert., Ex. I, ECF No. 18). He further stated that Plaintiff was wearing a jacket similar to the one seen on the driver of the minivan during the incident. (Id.). In addition, with respect to Plaintiff's claimed whereabouts on March 6, Officer Mecka stated: "[Plaintiff] claimed he was in South Carolina visiting family, and provided some receipts and 2- traffic citations written in his name on the date of the incident." (Id.).
On May 26, 2009, Officer Mecka testified at a grand jury proceeding regarding the charge of eluding against Plaintiff. (Defs.' Statement of Undisputed Material Facts ¶ 35, ECE No. 16-2). Prior to the hearing, Officer Mecka met with Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Karyn Darish ("A.P. Darish"). A.P. Darish prepared questions based upon information she obtained from reading the police reports regarding the matter, and intended to review those questions with Officer Mecka. (Id. 38)
Importantly, at the time of this meeting before the grand jury proceeding, A.P. Darish was allegedly unaware that Plaintiff had presented two traffic tickets he received in South Carolina on the date of the eluding incident because she did not have the April 21st Supplemental Police Report. (Id. at ¶ 38). She alleged that she told Officer Mecka that her supervisor had informed her that an additional police report existed, but that it was missing from the file. (Id. at ¶ 37). A.P. Darish testified that it was her understanding at the time, based upon her conversation with her supervisor, that the missing report only addressed the identification of Plaintiff. (Id. at 42). Thus, she was not aware of the two traffic tickets. (Id. at ¶ 41).
Officer Mecka did not provide A.P. Darish with a copy of the April 21st Supplemental Police Report, but testified that he informed A.P. Darish of Plaintiff's claim that he was in South Carolina at the time of the incident. (Id. at ¶ 39). Also, Officer Mecka testified that he informed A.P. Darish that Plaintiff had...
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