Reynolds v. Smythe

• Decision Date: 09 March 2006
• Docket Number: No. CIV.A.04-2136.,CIV.A.04-2136.
• Parties: Anthony A. REYNOLDS, Plaintiff, v. Robert SMYTHE, William Batista, Steven Killian, Julius Quartapella, and William Sminkey, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania

418 F.Supp.2d 724

Anthony A. REYNOLDS, Plaintiff, v. Robert SMYTHE, William Batista, Steven Killian, Julius Quartapella, and William Sminkey, Defendants.

No. CIV.A.04-2136.

United States District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania.

March 9, 2006.

Craig L. Thorpe, Law Offices of Craig L. Thorpe, P.C., Leonard R. Parks, Law Offices of Leonard R. Parks & Assoc., Philadelphia, PA, for Plaintiff.

Robert P. Didomenicis, Holsten & Associates, Media, PA, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM

DuBOIS, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Anthony A. Reynolds ("plaintiff') filed suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged police misconduct on North Third Street, Darby, Pennsylvania on May 26, 2002. Presently before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, filed by Police Chief Robert Smythe ("Chief Smythe") and Police Officers William Batista, Steven Killian, Julius Quartapella, and William Sminkey.

II. BACKGROUND

The evidence may be summarized as follows: On May 26, 2002, officers from the Darby Borough Police and the Colwyn Borough Police responded to a disturbance at 33 North Third Street in Darby, Pennsylvania. Plaintiff and defendants describe the disturbance as a fight on North Third Street, a residential street, although they present different accounts of exactly where the fight took place, the number of people involved, and the severity of the incident. The officers who responded included Officers Batista, Killian, Quartapella, and Sminkey.

When the officers arrived at the scene, plaintiff—an African-American man, then twenty-five years old—was standing on the sidewalk in front of 19 North Third Street, some distance from the disturbance. The incident in question appears to have been triggered when Officer Sminkey ordered the plaintiff to move off the sidewalk. Plaintiff responded by sitting on steps adjacent to the sidewalk. The parties present different accounts of what followed.

Plaintiffs testimony of the encounter may be summarized as follows: Plaintiff obeyed the police order to move off the sidewalk, and he did not resist arrest or struggle with defendants. Nevertheless, Officer Sminkey forcibly handcuffed one of plaintiffs wrists, and then Officer Quartapella slammed plaintiff head-first into a parked car several times. Individually or in combination, Officers Batista, Killian, Quartapella, and Sminkey hit plaintiff in the ribs and legs with clubs. Officer Killian then placed a second handcuff on plaintiffs other wrist. After plaintiff was double handcuffed, Officer Batista slammed plaintiff into a parked police car. Next Officer Quartapella pepper sprayed plaintiff for about 30 seconds, causing plaintiff to temporarily lose his vision. Individually or in combination, Officers Batista, Killian, Quartapella, and Sminkey thereafter shoved plaintiff face first into a patrol car. At some point during the encounter, one of the officers hit plaintiff in the neck with a club, causing great pain.

Defendants' testimony of the encounter is dramatically different, and may be summarized as follows: Plaintiff refused to move off the steps adjacent to the sidewalk, despite orders from Officer Sminkey and then Officer Quartapella. Plaintiff then began to yell and curse at the officers, which caused a crowd of people to gather. Some people from the crowd also began to yell. Officer Sminkey next told plaintiff that he would be arrested for disorderly conduct and for creating a disturbance. As Officer Sminkey placed a handcuff on one of the plaintiffs wrists, plaintiff responded with profanity and physical resistance. Plaintiff attempted to pull away from Officer Sminkey, and Officer Quartapella came to his assistance. The momentum of the struggle brought the three individuals over the hood or trunk of a car. Officers Killian and Batista joined the efforts of the other officers to subdue the plaintiff. At some point, Officer Batista yelled that the plaintiff had grabbed Batista's groin.¹ Officer Quartapella instructed plaintiff to let go²; when plaintiff did not comply, Quartapella pepper sprayed him.

After the incident, plaintiff was transported to the Darby Borough Police Station, where he was charged with simple assault, aggravated assault, harassment and stalking, recklessly endangering another person, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest or other law enforcement. According to plaintiff, upon his release, he went to the emergency room for treatment. The record before the Court does not include evidence of medical treatment.

On May 27, 2002, plaintiffs mother, Luveina Reynolds, met with Chief Smythe, with whom she had worked in the past. Ms. Reynolds testified that Chief Smythe told her that he "was going to handle" and "take care of the charges against her son. Luveina Reynolds Dep. 25, 28. Chief Smythe testified that he told Ms. Reynolds that he would "negotiate . . . out" the charges against her son. Robert Smythe Dep. 26. The charges were later withdrawn. Chief Smythe testified that he construed the withdrawal of charges against plaintiff as an "agreement" between the police department and the Reynolds family to forget the incident.³ Id. 33-34.

By letter dated March 28, 2003, plaintiff s counsel sent Chief Smythe a notice of claim against Officers Killian, Quartapella, and Sminkey, and several other police officers, for excessive use of force and false arrest of plaintiff on May 26, 2002.⁴ Chief Smythe perceived the notice of claim as a breach of his agreement with the plaintiffs mother and plaintiff to withdraw the charges. As a result, Chief Smythe reinstated the charges on April 4, 2003.

In October 2003, plaintiff was involved in an unrelated incident. In November 2003, plaintiff was arrested on outstanding warrants for the unrelated incident and the May 26, 2002 incident. Plaintiff entered a nolo contendere plea for the unrelated incident, and a nolo contendere plea for the disorderly conduct and harassment charges stemming from the May 26, 2002 incident. At his deposition, plaintiff explained that, at the time of his nolo contendere plea, he "was really confused" and did not understand that he had pleaded nolo contendere to the disorderly conduct and harassment charges against him for the May 26, 2002 incident. Reynolds Dep. 72.

III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiff filed a Complaint in this Court on May 17, 2004, asserting five causes of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Specifically, the Complaint alleges unreasonable use of force (Count One), unlawful detention (Count Two), and false arrest (Count Three) against all defendants, including Chief Smythe; and malicious prosecution (Count Four) and retaliation, harassment, and intimidation ("retaliation claim") (Count Five) against only Chief Smythe.

On June 24, 2005, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff filed a response to this motion on or about July 15, 2005. Plaintiffs response conceded that the motion for summary judgment should be granted as to the claim against Chief Smythe for excessive use of force.

IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A court should grant summary judgment if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). A "genuine" issue exists if "the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). A factual dispute is "material" when it "might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law." Id.

"In determining the facts, the court should draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party." Id. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505; Highlands Ins. Co. v. Hobbs Group, LLC, 373 F.3d 347, 351 (3d Cir.2004). The nonmoving party, however, cannot rely merely upon bare assertions, conclusory allegations, or suspicions to support its claim. Fireman's Ins. Co. v. DuFresne, 676 F.2d 965, 969 (3d Cir.1982); see also Anderson, 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (stating that summary judgment may be granted if the evidence is "merely colorable" or "not significantly probative"). In a summary judgment motion, the moving party has the initial burden of identifying evidence which demonstrates the absence of a genuine issue of material fact. However, where the nonmoving party bears the burden of proof, it must "make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of [every] element essential to that party's case." Equimark Commercial Finance Co. v. C.I.T. Financial Services Corp., 812 F.2d 141, 144 (3d Cir. 1987), citing Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323-24, 106 S.Ct. 2548. If reasonable minds can differ as to the import of the proffered evidence that speaks to an issue of material fact, summary judgment should not be granted.

V. DISCUSSION

A. Introduction

To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must show that defendants, acting under color of state law, deprived the plaintiff of rights secured by the Constitution or federal statutes. 42 U.S.C. § 1983. In the instant case, plaintiff alleges, and defendants LID not deny, that they acted under color of state law. Accordingly, the Court turns to the next step in analyzing a § 1983 claim, which "is to identify the specific constitutional right allegedly infringed." Albright v. Oliver, 510 U.S. 266, 271, 114 S.Ct. 807, 127 L.Ed.2d 114 (1994). In the Complaint, plaintiff alleges violations of his rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution.

Claims of excessive use of force, unlawful detention, false arrest, and malicious prosecution by law enforcement officers implicate the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments. See Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386, 395, 109 S.Ct. 1865, 104 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989) ("all claims that law enforcement officers...