Peroli v. Huber

• Decision Date: 19 November 2021
• Docket Number: 21-3202
• Parties: JOETTE PEROLI; JUSTIN PEROLI, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GREGORY HUBER, Director of Law; TOM MILLER, Sheriff; MATTHEW LINSCOTT, Lieutenant; JAMES KIOUSIS, Sergeant; BENJAMIN TAYLOR, Deputy; MICHAEL NORRIS, Deputy; COUNTY OF MEDINA, OHIO; JOHN/JANE DOES 1-5; CITY OF MEDINA, OHIO; MEDINA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit)

JOETTE PEROLI; JUSTIN PEROLI, Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
GREGORY HUBER, Director of Law; TOM MILLER, Sheriff; MATTHEW LINSCOTT, Lieutenant; JAMES KIOUSIS, Sergeant; BENJAMIN TAYLOR, Deputy; MICHAEL NORRIS, Deputy; COUNTY OF MEDINA, OHIO; JOHN/JANE DOES 1-5; CITY OF MEDINA, OHIO; MEDINA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT Defendants-Appellees.

No. 21-3202

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

November 19, 2021

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION

ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO

Before: GUY, COLE, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

JANE B. STRANCH, CIRCUIT JUDGE

Joette Peroli filed a citizen complaint against officers who escorted her out of a local courthouse. After the sheriff's department investigated Ms. Peroli's citizen complaint, City Prosecutor Gregory Huber authorized the filing of a criminal complaint against her for filing a false report, resulting in a warrant for her arrest. Ms. Peroli alleges that her treatment at the courthouse and during her arrest caused debilitating problems with her existing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ms. Peroli and her husband sued Huber, the Medina County Sheriff's Office, Medina County Sheriff's officers, and the City of Medina. The Perolis asserted § 1983 claims for First Amendment retaliation and false arrest, Fourth Amendment false arrest and excessive force, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and municipal

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liability claims. They also alleged state law claims of conspiracy, false arrest, malicious prosecution, intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The district court granted judgment on the pleadings in favor of the City of Medina and Huber on the federal claims asserted against them and later granted summary judgment in favor of all defendants on the remaining claims. We AFFIRM the district court's judgment.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

1. Ms. Peroli's Visit to the Courthouse

Ms. Peroli came to the Medina County courthouse to testify in a friend's divorce proceeding. She was waiting in the lobby to be called as a witness when she observed an altercation between a lawyer and her friend's grandmother who was sitting nearby. Ms. Peroli decided to tell the lawyer "to leave the woman alone." The lawyer responded by yelling at Ms. Peroli. Because of the commotion, a court administrator said that no one was permitted to speak in the lobby. When Ms. Peroli continued to speak, Deputy Paul Demko was told to escort Ms. Peroli from the courthouse. She claims that Deputy Demko then "grabbed" her arm to "pull" her "out of the lobby." Ms. Peroli says that she flinched and "immediately informed" Deputy Demko that she has PTSD, and asked that Deputy Demko "stop touching" her. Ms. Peroli says that Deputy Demko did not stop touching her and "tugged on [her] arm and pulled [her] towards the hallway." When Deputy Demko followed her out of the waiting area, Ms. Peroli claims that he touched her again "in the hallway outside the lobby," and that he "just kept touching" her. When Deputy Demko and Ms. Peroli arrived at the elevator, they met Sergeant James Kiousis. As Ms. Peroli and the Deputy waited for the elevator, Deputy Demko instructed her to take the stairs instead. Sergeant Kiousis escorted Ms. Peroli down the stairs and out of the building. As Ms. Peroli took the stairs down, she asserts that an officer behind her touched her.

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The record contains the courthouse surveillance videos and Deputy Demko's body camera footage, which reveal many inconsistencies with Ms. Peroli's account of the incident. While in the courthouse waiting room, Deputy Demko was talking with Ms. Peroli when he pointed toward the exit. Ms. Peroli grabbed her belongings and stood up. As she walked past Deputy Demko, he put his hand near her shoulder on the back of her right arm. When Ms. Peroli moved away from Deputy Demko, he removed his hand. The videos show that was the only time an officer touched Ms. Peroli during the incident.

2. Ms. Peroli's Report of the Courthouse Incident and Charges

Shortly after the incident, Ms. Peroli went to the Medina County Sheriff's Department. She met with Sergeant Todd Heckel and filed a written complaint against Deputy Demko and Sergeant Kiousis. Lieutenant Matthew Linscott was assigned to investigate her complaint. As part of his investigation, he reviewed Ms. Peroli's complaint, the courthouse surveillance video, and the body cameras of Deputy Demko, Sergeant Kiousis, and Sergeant Heckel. Lieutenant Linscott set up a meeting with Ms. Peroli to discuss her allegations, but Ms. Peroli did not show up. He attempted to reschedule the meeting on multiple occasions, but Ms. Peroli did not return his calls.

Lieutenant Linscott found "stark differences" between Ms. Peroli's account of the incident in her citizen complaint and the video footage. For example, the video footage shows that the officers did not touch her multiple times. Linscott then assigned Sergeant Kiousis to investigate the incident and write a report "to determine if he believed criminal charges were appropriate against [Ms. Peroli] for making a false citizen's complaint." Lieutenant Linscott says that he never discussed the possibility of filing criminal charges against Ms. Peroli with Huber.

For Sergeant Kiousis' investigation, he reviewed Ms. Peroli's complaint and the body camera footage from Sergeant Heckel, himself, and Deputy Demko, and sent his report to Huber.

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Ohio Revised Code § 2921.15(B) makes it unlawful for a person to "knowingly file a complaint against a peace officer that alleges that the peace officer engaged in misconduct in the performance of the officer's duties if the person knows that the allegation is false." Ohio Rev. Code § 2921.15(B). A violation of § 2921.15 is a first-degree misdemeanor. Id. § 2921.15(C).

Huber reviewed the courthouse surveillance footage, Kiousis's report, body camera footage, and Ohio Rev. Code § 2921.15. Huber sent a letter to Kiousis authorizing a single charge against Ms. Peroli for violating Ohio Rev. Code § 2921.15(B). After finding out that Huber authorized a criminal charge, Lieutenant Linscott instructed Sergeant Kiousis to file the "Summons-Warrant on Complaint" and an affidavit with the Clerk of the Medina County Municipal Court. The "Summons-Warrant on Complaint" authorized the issuance of a summons in lieu of arrest.

3. Ms. Peroli's Arrest

After Lieutenant Linscott received the warrant, he gave it to Sergeant Heckle to assign to deputies. Sergeant Heckel assigned Deputies Benjamin Taylor and Michael Norris to execute the warrant. Taylor's body camera, which included audio, reveals the following. When Ms. Peroli answered the door, she stepped outside per Taylor's request. He told Ms. Peroli that she was under arrest for making a false complaint and asked her to turn around and place her hands behind her back. Ms. Peroli informed Deputy Taylor that she suffers from PTSD and that she needed her medication and shoes.

After the arrest, Deputy Norris walked Ms. Peroli toward the deputies' vehicles. Deputy Taylor then asked Ms. Peroli for permission to open the front door to call for her husband to get the items that she requested. Ms. Peroli granted permission to do so. Deputy Taylor informed Mr. Peroli that Ms. Peroli was under arrest and that she needed her medication.

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After Deputy Taylor received the medication and while Ms. Peroli was kneeling on the grass near the curb, she exclaimed that she was having a panic attack and that she needed an ambulance. Although Deputy Taylor initially responded, "that's not how this works," he called an ambulance within a minute. While they waited for the ambulance, Deputies Taylor and Norris lifted Ms. Peroli by her arms up into the vehicle as she screamed. When the ambulance arrived, the Emergency Medical Service personnel asked the deputies if it was necessary to keep Ms. Peroli handcuffed. Deputy Taylor resisted removing the handcuffs at first, but eventually agreed to remove Ms. Peroli's handcuffs. Ms. Peroli never asked to have her handcuffs removed.

During the ambulance ride to the hospital, Ms. Peroli continued to experience emotional distress. When they arrived at the hospital, Deputy Taylor told Ms. Peroli that she was no longer being arrested, but she needed to report to court instead and gave her the summons. Later, the court dismissed the criminal charge against Ms. Peroli. The Perolis claim that the municipal court "dismissed Peroli's prosecution on the grounds that no probable cause existed." The court, however, reasoned that Ms. Peroli's conduct in filing a citizen complaint did not constitute criminal conduct under § 2921.15(B). The court explained that a motion to dismiss "tests only the sufficiency of the Complaint without regard to the quantity or quality of evidence that might be produced at trial by either the State of Ohio or the Defendant." The court made no reference to a probable cause determination.

B. Procedural Background

The Perolis sued several defendants in federal court. Their amended complaint has allegations against two groups of defendants: the City of Medina and Huber (City Defendants);

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and Medina County, Medina County Sheriff's Department, ^[1] Medina County Sheriff Tom Miller, Medina County Sheriff's Department Captain Kenneth Baca, ^[2] Medina County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant Matthew Linscott, Medina County Sheriff's Department Sergeant James Kiousis, Medina County Sheriff's Department Deputies Benjamin Taylor and Michael Norris, and John/Jane Does 1-5 (County Defendants). All officials were sued in their individual and official capacities. County Defendants made a mistake in their answer regarding whether Taylor and Norris arrested Ms. Peroli in retaliation for her filing a civilian complaint and moved to correct this mistaken admission. The court denied the motion on the...