Reeder v. Carter

• Decision Date: 21 September 2018
• Docket Number: No. 1:16-cv-02164-SEB-TAB,1:16-cv-02164-SEB-TAB
• Citation: 339 F.Supp.3d 860
• Parties: Dillon B. REEDER, Plaintiff, v. Douglas G. CARTER, in His Official Capacity as Superintendent of the Indiana State Police, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Indiana

339 F.Supp.3d 860

Dillon B. REEDER, Plaintiff,

v.Douglas G. CARTER, in His Official Capacity as Superintendent of the Indiana State Police, Defendant.

No. 1:16-cv-02164-SEB-TAB

United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division.

Signed September 21, 2018

Michael Edward Morken, Indianapolis, IN, for Plaintiff.

Benjamin Myron Lane Jones, Rebecca L. McClain, Indiana Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, for Defendant.

ORDER ON CROSS-MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SARAH EVANS BARKER, JUDGE, United States District Court

This matter comes before us on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff Dillon B. Reeder ("Mr. Reeder") [Dkt. No. 40] and by Defendant Douglas G. Carter, Superintendent of the Indiana State Police ("ISP") ("Superintendent Carter") in his official capacity [Dkt. No. 37]. The motions relate to Mr. Reeder's claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq ., and are ripe for ruling. For the reasons detailed below, we GRANT Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment and DENY the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by Plaintiff.

Factual and Procedural Background

The ISP Recruit Academy located in Plainfield, Indiana conducts an annual, limited duration program to train recruits who aspire to become State Troopers. Mr. Reeder, as part of his effort to become a State Trooper, enrolled in ISP's 74th class, which ran from July 21, 2014 to December 23, 2014. Deposition of Zachary Parker, Dkt. No. 37-1 ("Parker Dep.") at 2.

Academy curriculum consists of 929 hours of required training, which includes physical training and classroom-based training in criminal justice, administrative, and police-related subjects. Deposition of Superintendent Carter, Dkt. Nos. 37-2 and 44 ("Carter Dep.") at 99; Deposition of Sargent Russell Garrison, Dkt. Nos. 37-4 and 44 ("Garrison Dep.") Ex. 3. The ISP regards the physical training component as "not something that [one] can simply observe"; rather, active participation is required. Id. In that vein, the ISP retains authority to dismiss from the Academy recruits who fail to satisfy the minimum physical standards set forth by the Indiana Law Enforcement Training Academy ("ILEA").¹ Carter Dep. at 90; Garrison Dep. Ex. 3. Certain aspects of Academy training require recruits to wear Tactical Defense Uniforms ("TDUs") comprised of a duty belt and a bulletproof vest. Garrison Dep. Ex. 11.

The essential skills required of a State Trooper trainee are set forth by statute and by the 74th Recruit Academy Policy and Procedures Manual. Garrison Dep. Ex. 11. A recruit must complete rigorous physical training and pass substantive coursework selected by the Superintendent. Ind. Code § 10-11-2-14(b) ; see also 240 IAC 1-44-4 and 5 (providing that ISP requires that recruits "conform to the physical standards prescribed by the Superintendent and the State Police Board," specifying that recruits must "be able to successfully pass any physical agility tests as may be prescribed by the department.").

On weekdays during the training sessions recruits remain on Academy grounds with permission to leave only when released by their instructors. The ISP contracts with a third party provider to supply recruits with all meals, and the menus reflect a limited choice of options. Deposition of Major Charles Sorrells, Dkt. Nos. 37-2 and 44 ("Sorrells Dep.") at 39.

Superintendent Carter is vested with sole authority to determine recruits' eligibility to graduate from the Academy. Carter Dep. at 101. Upon successful completion of the ISP Academy course, recruits are eligible to apply for State Trooper positions located in various Indiana counties. Recruits are also required to participate in post-graduation training under the instruction of a Field Training Officer ("FTO"). Garrison Dep. at 105. The duration of this final stage of training is fourteen weeks, which allows a recruit to obtain capstone training and experience from a veteran trooper. Sorrells Dep. at 117.

Plaintiff's Attendance at the Academy

Mr. Reeder enrolled in and began attending the ISP Academy in July 2014. Within a few months, during his fifteenth and sixteenth weeks, he began experiencing significant back pain. Deposition of Dillon Reeder, Dkt. No. 37-3 and 44 ("Reeder Dep.") at 26, 28, 30. A few weeks following the onset of his back pain during the Academy's eighteenth week, he sought medical treatment on November 7, 2014 at Indiana University Hospital in Martinsville, Indiana, and was diagnosed with having uncontrolled Type 1 diabetes

. Dr. Thomas Lahr, M.D. admitted him to St. Francis Hospital to undergo glucose reduction and insulin treatment in an effort to stabilize his condition. As a result, he missed four days of classroom-based training offered that week. Reeder Dep. at 24. Mr. Reeder testified that at the time of his diagnosis he had lost over fifty pounds from the first day he enrolled in the Academy. Reeder Dep. at 28.

According to Mr. Reeder, Major Sorrells, the Academy's Human Resources officer, visited him at Indiana University Hospital in Martinsville on November 9, 2014, and again at St. Francis Hospital on November 10 and 12, 2014. Reeder Dep. at 29-30. Mr. Reeder testified that Major Sorrells informed him that a recording was being made of the classroom sessions during his hospitalization which would allow him to catch up with the missed presentations upon his return. Id. at 32.

Prior to his release from St. Francis Hospital on November 10, 2014, Mr. Reeder's physician provided him with guidelines and recommendations for meals and warned him against engaging in strenuous exercise which could negatively affect his blood sugar levels. Reeder Dep. at 38. Mr. Reeder was advised to request that the Academy make available to him an appropriate meal plan. Id. Mr. Reeder testified that Major Sorrells was present during this discussion with the discharging physician. Id. at 39.

Mr. Reeder maintains that Major Sorrells informed him that he had satisfied most of the requirements for becoming a State Trooper, needing only at that point to "log classroom hours" following his return to the Academy. Id. He recalls that Major Sorrells promised to arrange for an appropriate meal plan for him at the Academy and to assist him in securing a post-graduation job in the county closest to Mr. Reeder's hometown to allow him to continue his medical appointments. Id . at 33. Major Sorrells, however, denies having had any specific discussions with Mr. Reeder regarding accommodations following his return to the Academy. Sorrells Dep. at 115-16. In any event, the ISP stresses that only the Superintendent, not Major Sorrells or anyone else, has the authority to determine whether and when a recruit has satisfied the Academy's graduation requirements. Carter Dep. at 101.

On November 16, 2014, one day prior to Mr. Reeder's return to the Academy, Gary Midla, D.O., Mr. Reeder's family physician, cleared Mr. Reeder to return to the classroom but issued a written report to the ISP notifying ISP that Mr. Reeder was "not yet able to tolerate the rigors of the physical part of his training." Garrison Dep. Ex. 9. When Mr. Reeder returned to the Academy on November 17, 2014, he did so with the expectation that he would receive any and all required accommodations necessitated by his medical condition. Reeder Dep. at 96, 136.

Mr. Reeder asserts that for the most part his dietary needs were not met; only on a handful of occasions during the first few days after his return to the Academy were his meals properly adjusted. Reeder Dep. at 41-43, 61. The ISP explains that it did its best to accommodate Mr. Reeder's dietary needs, given its contractual relationship with the third party food service provider. Defendant's Answers to Plaintiff's Interrogatories, Dkt. 37-7 ("Defendant's Answers") at 3. During mealtimes, Mr. Reeder reported that he personally assumed responsibility for his meals by limiting his intake to foods lower in carbohydrates and substituting other fare with specially made turkey sandwiches. Reeder Dep. at 36, 38-39. On his first day back at the Academy, the ISP permitted Mr. Reeder to access snacks between meals, which had been delivered by his mother. ISP also allowed Mr. Reeder unrestricted access to refrigerated beverages. Defendant's Answers at 2.

Mr. Reeder sought to be excused from his physical training courses (Reeder Dep. at 96) but his instructors were unable to accommodate this request. He engaged as much as he could, even while wearing his TDU. Reeder Dep. at 39. However, Mr. Reeder found this activity to be too rigorous for him. Reeder Dep. at 45. On November 21, 2014, Dr. Lahr, Mr. Reeder's family physician, sent a letter to the ISP similar to the one provided by Dr. Midla advising that Mr. Reeder still "should not be involved in any physical activity." Garrison Dep. Ex. 10. This letter was received and read by Major Sorrells. Sorrells Dep. at 32. Nonetheless, Mr. Reeder was required to continue strenuous training, which produced episodes of significant exhaustion for him. Reeder Dep. at 60.

There is no dispute between the parties regarding the fact that any required accommodations to training procedures by the Academy are made on a case-by-case basis. Sorrells Dep. at 94. However, there is a dispute as to whether recruits were on occasion permitted to observe, as opposed to directly participate in, a training activity, a practice Mr. Reeder refers to as "red-tagging."

Reeder Dep. at 39. Mr. Reeder maintains that the practice of "red-tagging" occurred from time to time, though ISP staff apparently remained unaware of its use. Sorrells Dep. at 110-11. To make this point, Mr. Reeder identified certain other recruits who had suffered injuries and were excused from physical training for short periods of time (i.e. , one week). In such cases, the recruits were given a "red tag" to show they were under restrictions until they were physically able to return to training.² Reeder Dep. at 61-62. One...