Pacheco v. Hopmeier

• Decision Date: 09 March 2011
• Docket Number: Case No. 09–cv–1207 BB/DJS.
• Citation: 770 F.Supp.2d 1174,268 Ed. Law Rep. 845
• Parties: Zachery PACHECO, Plaintiff,v.Bruce HOPMEIER and The Espanola Public School District Board of Education, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico

770 F.Supp.2d 1174

268 Ed. Law Rep. 845

Zachery PACHECO, Plaintiff,

v.Bruce HOPMEIER and The Espanola Public School District Board of Education, Defendants.

Case No. 09–cv–1207 BB/DJS.

United States District Court, D. New Mexico.

March 9, 2011.

Richard Rosenstock, Daniel Yohalem, Santa Fe, NM, for Plaintiff.Joel M. Young, Brown Law Firm, Kevin M. Brown, Albuquerque, NM, Gerald A. Coppler, Coppler Law Firm, P.C., Santa Fe, NM, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BRUCE D. BLACK, District Judge.

On December 29, 2009, Plaintiff Zachery Pacheco, a student at Espanola High School, filed suit against several individuals and entities under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for, inter alia, violation of his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. Mr. Pacheco alleges that Defendants seized him from his high school classroom, forcibly handcuffed him, searched his person, and transported him, entirely without either his or his parents' consent, to the New Mexico State police station. Mr. Pacheco claims that Defendants had neither probable cause nor reasonable suspicion that he had violated any school rule or committed any crime, and consequently argues that they searched and seized him unreasonably, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. On April 1, 2010, Defendants Principal Bruce Hopmeier and the Espanola Public School District Board of Education (School Board) filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 13) and on May 18, 2010, Plaintiff filed a Cross Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Against Defendant Hopmeier (Doc. 31). The Court must determine whether, under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court should grant summary judgment to either Defendants or Plaintiff.

For the reasons explained below, the Court concludes that to the extent that Plaintiff alleged a negligence claim, summary judgment is proper on that claim, but not on the other claims. Therefore, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment will be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Further, the Court concludes that summary judgment for Plaintiff is proper on Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment claims. Thus, Plaintiff's Motion for Summary Judgment will be GRANTED.

Factual and Procedural Background

On November 6, 2007, New Mexico state police officer Robert Larsen came to Espanola High School and told the school principal, Bruce Hopmeier, that Plaintiff Zachery Pacheco, then a sixteen-year-old student at the school, was a potential witness to a crime committed by another. Officer Larsen told Principal Hopmeier that because of Zachery's status as a potential witness, they wanted to take him to the police station for questioning. Principal Hopmeier was told that Zachery was not personally suspected of any crime. Further, neither party suggests that anyone suspected Zachery of having violated any school rules. The above facts are undisputed.

However, the parties dispute whether or not any officers told Defendant Hopmeier that Zachery's parents had consented to Zachery's removal to the police station. Defendant Hopmeier claims that an officer had informed him that Zachery's mom consented to Zachery's removal from the school. Plaintiff disputes this fact, noting that (a) Officer Larsen stated that he had not told Principal Hopmeier that anyone had contacted Zachery's parents, (b) no one at the police station had contact information for Zachery's parents before visiting the school on November 6, and (c) the police did not in fact contact Zachery's parents until after arresting him and taking him off campus.

Based on Officer Larsen's request to take Zachery to the police station, Principal Hopmeier ordered the school nurse to retrieve Zachery from class and to tell him falsely that the nurse needed to check his immunization records. Once the nurse escorted Zachery from the classroom, Officer Larsen confronted Zachery and asked him for his cell phone. Zachery believed that Officer Larsen just wanted to borrow it temporarily and handed it over. Officer Larsen then confiscated Zachery's phone. Subsequently, Officer Larsen told Zachery that he had no choice and had to accompany Officer Larsen to the police station for questioning. Zachery refused, insisting that he did not want to go. All parties agree that Zachery made clear that he did not consent to being taken to the station.

However, the parties disagree about how Zachery physically responded when Officer Larsen insisted that Zachery come to the police station against his will. Defendants claim that Zachery became “unmanageable.” In contrast, Plaintiff asserts that he did not try to run away or physically resist the officers, but rather simply tensed up his body. When Zachery made clear his unwillingness to leave campus with the officers, Officer Larsen twisted Zachery's right arm behind his back while a second officer twisted his left arm. Then Officer Larsen handcuffed Zachery. While being handcuffed, Zachery cried and repeated that he did not want to go anywhere with Officer Larsen. During the handcuffing, Officer Larsen allegedly caused Zachery serious shoulder injuries.

An Espanola High School policy permits an “administrative authority” to direct a search or an “authorized person[s]” to conduct a search of a student only when they have “reasonable suspicion” that a crime or breach of disciplinary rules is occurring or has occurred. Further, the policy permits an “administrative authority” to direct or conduct a search when he or she has “reasonable cause” to believe that the search is “necessary to help maintain school discipline.” (Doc. 35, Pl. Ex. 10 at 3.) Further, the extent of the search “must be reasonably related to the infraction.” ( Id.) Defendant Hopmeier, relying on his assertion that Zachery became “unmanageable” when Officer Larsen insisted that Zachery come to the police station, describes the handcuffing as a “disciplinary measure.” (Doc. 14, at 5.) Plaintiff disputes this characterization.

Further, after Officer Larsen had handcuffed Zachery, Chris Archuleta, a security guard for the high school, claims that Principal Hopmeier ordered him to search Zachery. In contrast, Defendant Hopmeier denies knowledge of the search and thus implicitly denies that he advised Mr. Archuleta to search Zachery. Officer Larsen claims that he did not request the search and did not help conduct it. So either at Principal Hopmeier's orders, or on his own initiative, Mr. Archuleta proceeded to conduct a pat down search on Zachery and then searched his pockets, his wallet, and his shoes. No official at this time had any information that Zachery was armed, had any contraband on him, or had committed any crime. Mr. Archuleta claims that Principal Hopmeier was present during the search. Defendant Hopmeier denies being present.

After the search, Officer Larsen escorted Zachery against his will to the New Mexico State police station. The entire detention lasted from thirty minutes to an hour. Subsequently, on December 29, 2009, Zachery filed suit against, inter alia, Principal Hopmeier and the Espanola Public School District Board of Education for, among other things, violating his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. On April 1 and May 18, 2010, Defendants and Plaintiff filed the motions for summary judgment now before the Court.

Discussion

Summary judgment is only proper if the pleadings, affidavits, and other exhibits show that there is no genuine issue regarding any material fact and that on the undisputed facts, the law entitles the movants to judgment in their favor. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2). Material facts are those which “might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The court may not pass on the credibility of witnesses or weigh evidence, but rather must assess objectively whether factual issues exist for a jury to decide. See id. at 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505. A dispute of facts is “genuine” if a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party based on the nonmovant's version of the facts. See id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. In assessing whether genuine issues of material fact exist, the court must view the facts and draw reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-movant. See Cole v. Ruidoso Mun. Sch., 43 F.3d 1373, 1379 (10th Cir.1994).

I. Validity of Plaintiff's Fourth Amendment Claims

Plaintiff Zachery claims that Defendants violated the Fourth Amendment by unreasonably seizing and searching him. The Fourth Amendment, which applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, protects “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.” U.S. Const. amend. IV. The Supreme Court has held that not only police officers, but also school administrators are state actors bound by the Fourth Amendment. New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 333–37, 105 S.Ct. 733, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985). With these basic principles in mind, the Court first addresses the seizure claim and then the search claim.

A. Seizure Claim

1. Seizure

Under the Fourth Amendment, a seizure occurs when “a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.” Jones v. Hunt, 410 F.3d 1221, 1225–26 (10th Cir.2005) (quoting Michigan v. Chesternut, 486 U.S. 567, 108 S.Ct. 1975, 100 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988)). The court views the facts as a reasonable person of the age and circumstances of the detained person. See id. at 1226. In the Tenth Circuit, courts look to the following factors to determine whether a detention amounts to a seizure: whether (a) several officers were present; (b) any officer brandished a gun; (c) any officer physically touched the detainee; (d) any officer used aggressive language or a tone of voice conveying that compliance with the officer's request was compulsory; (e) any officer retained the detainee's property for a prolonged period; (f) any officer requested the detainee to...