Russo v. City of Hartford, s. CIV.A. 397CV2380(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV2382(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV1794(JCH).
| Citation | 184 F.Supp.2d 169 |
| Decision Date | 05 February 2002 |
| Docket Number | Nos. CIV.A. 397CV2380(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV2382(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV1794(JCH).,s. CIV.A. 397CV2380(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV2382(JCH), CIV.A. 300CV1794(JCH). |
| Parties | Nicholas RUSSO, Plaintiff v. CITY OF HARTFORD, et al. Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut |
David K. Jaffe, Eisenberg, Anderson, Michalik & Lynch, New Britain, CT, James S. Brewer, Erin I. O'Neil-Baker, West Hartford, CT, John T. Forrest, Law Offices of John T. Forrest, LLC, Hartford, CT, for Plaintiff.
Helen Apostolidis, Corporation Counsel's Office, Hartford, CT, Lind L. Yoder, Charles L. Howard, Gregg Peter Goumas, Kara L. Van Ausdall, Shipman & Goodwin, Joseph W. McQuade, Kainen, Escalera & McHale, PC, Stephen Richard Sarnoski, Attorney General's Office, Lynn D. Wittenbrink, Attorney General's Office, Peregrine Alban Zinn-Rowthorn, Attorney General's Office, Frank J. Szilagyi, Silvester, Daly & Delaney, Hartford, CT, for Defendants.
James A. Killen, Office of the Chief States's Attorney, Rocky Hills, CT, for Movant.
RULING ON MOTIONS TO DISMISS [DKT. NOS. 132, 138, 140, 142, 145, 147, 176]
This litigation involves federal civil rights actions brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by the plaintiff, Hartford Police Detective Nicholas Russo ("Russo"), against state criminal prosecutors and inspectors, Hartford police officers and supervisors, the Hartford Police Union and union officers, and the City of Hartford. Russo alleges several federal constitutional and state law violations arising out of events surrounding his arrest on December 16, 1997 and his suspension from his police duties. Russo filed three related lawsuits, Russo v. City of Hartford, et al., 3:97cv2380 (JCH); Russo v. Bailey, et al., 3:00cv1794 (JCH); and Russo v. Marquis, et al., 3:00cv2382 (JCH), which have been consolidated for purposes of discovery.1 Pending before the court are motions to dismiss filed by the defendants in each of the consolidated actions.
Russo has been employed as a police officer for the City of Hartford Police Department since 1981. For more than six years, Russo served as a Detective with CAPers, the Crimes Against Persons division of the Hartford Police Department. In June 1995, Russo was also assigned to the Federal Violent Crimes Unit in Hartford. He served as a detective in both capacities until his arrest on December 16, 1997.
On or about January 10, 1997, David Kenary ("Kenary"), a lieutenant assigned to the CAPers division, ordered Russo to bring a doctor's note to explain his absence from work. Russo brought a note from his physician stating that he had been absent from work for three days because he was being treated for influenza. Lieutenant Kenary and Charles Lilley ("Lilley"), a sergeant assigned to the CAPers division, also contacted Russo's physician and received confidential medical information. In addition, on January 10, Russo was ordered to submit to a drug test, the results of which were negative.
On or about January 15, 1997, Russo's recorded phone message calling in sick was played at a meeting of union officials and police supervisors, including Chief of the Hartford Police Department, Joseph Croughwell ("Croughwell"); Jeffrey Flaherty ("Flaherty"), a captain in the Hartford Police Department; and Lieutenant Kenary. At the meeting, Russo's supervisors and the union officials discussed Russo's alleged drug or alcohol abuse. The individuals agreed that referral to the Employee Assistance Program ("EAP"), pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the policy and past practice of the Hartford Police Department, would be appropriate, but no referral was ever made.
In the spring of 1997, while Russo was assigned to the Federal Gang Task Force, Daryl Roberts ("Roberts"), a sergeant with the CAPers division, Lieutenant Kenary, and Sergeant Lilley denied Russo access to the CAPers division after having the locks changed and refusing to provide Russo a key. Further, they ordered Russo to report to them each morning with a daily schedule. On several occasions, they also ordered him to report at the end of the day with a signed memo from the U.S. Attorney's Office detailing what Russo had done that day. No other officers supervised by those individuals were treated in this manner. Moreover, while Russo was working with the Federal Violent Crimes Unit, Russo's chain of command — Chief Croughwell, Captain Flaherty, Lieutenant Kenary, Sergeant Roberts, and Sergeant Lilley — harassed him generally by locking him out of his office at the CAPers division, moving his desk, and searching and removing the contents of his desk.
Also during the spring of 1997, anonymous allegations were made that Russo was suicidal. As a result, Chief Croughwell ordered Russo to submit a note from a therapist to verify he was fit to work. On or about March 9, 1997, Russo was required by the City of Hartford, Chief Croughwell, and Captain Flaherty, to take another drug test.
On June 15, 1997, a murder took place in the City of Hartford. Both the Hartford Police Department and the Federal Violent Crimes Unit investigated the murder. Russo investigated the murder as a member of the Federal Gang Task Force and helped effectuate the arrest of a suspect. Russo's involvement in the arrest and his affiliation with the federal authorities caused tension within the CAPers division of the Hartford Police Department. The Hartford Police Department released a different suspect that had been arrested for the murder, and, in news media, Russo strongly maintained that the Hartford Police Department had no probable cause to arrest their suspect.
On or about September 9, 1997, Lieutenant Kenary contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") to initiate a criminal investigation of Russo's physician, as a ruse to investigate Russo. State's Attorneys James Thomas ("Thomas"), Herbert Carlson, Jr. ("Carlson"), and Joan Alexander ("Alexander") also initiated a criminal investigation of Russo's physician in September 1997. A joint investigation team was formed that included Chief State's Attorney John Bailey ("Bailey"); State's Attorneys Thomas, Carlson, and Alexander; Lawrence Skinner ("Skinner"), an Inspector in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney; Chief Croughwell; Captain Flaherty; and Lieutenant Kenary.
In October 1997, the United States Attorney's Office ordered Russo to work on a police corruption probe involving, among other things, the theft of drugs, money, and weapons by Hartford Police Department officers and supervisors. On or about October 13, 1997, Russo confidentially told Stephen Kumnick ("Kumnick"), an Inspector in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, about the corruption probe. On or about October 30, 1997, State Inspector Kumnick notified James Rovella ("Rovella"), a detective assigned to the CAPers division of the Hartford Police Department. Detective Rovella notified two possible targets of the probe, Sergeant Christopher Lyons ("Lyons") and Detective Robert Lawlor ("Lawlor"). Sergeant Lyons and Detective Lawlor approached Chief Croughwell about the probe, and Chief Croughwell called Russo, in Lyons and Lawlor's presence, to convey threats by Lyons and Lawlor. During that conversation, Lyons and Lawlor also personally threatened Russo. Chief State's Attorney Bailey notified Chief Croughwell of the probe in an October 31, 1997 memorandum detailing Russo's conversation with State Inspector Kumnick.
During October and November, at the direction of Chief State's Attorney Bailey and State's Attorneys Thomas, Carlson, and Alexander in investigating Russo's physician, Joseph Hammick ("Hammick"), an Inspector in the Office of the Chief State's Attorney, State Inspector Skinner, and Lieutenant Kenary illegally seized Russo's confidential medical records from Russo's physician, illegally searched and seized Russo's prescription records from numerous pharmacies, improperly focused on Russo as the target of the investigation, and provided Russo's physician a cooperation agreement to fabricate information in order to implicate Russo in criminal charges in return for no prosecution on the valid charges against the physician. According to State's Attorney Thomas, the goal of the investigation was to discredit Russo, which would in turn discredit the federal investigation, arrest, and conviction of the suspect from the June 15 murder.
In response to the federal corruption probe, Chief Croughwell conspired with Captain Flaherty on November 4, 1997 to detain Russo under the pretext of a drug evaluation. Captain Flaherty and two other police sergeants confronted Russo at the United States Attorney's office in New Haven, Connecticut. Captain Flaherty stated that Chief Croughwell ordered that Russo be taken to Hartford to submit immediately to a drug test in Bloomfield, Connecticut. Captain Flaherty took Russo's firearm and escorted Russo to the back seat of an unmarked police vehicle. Russo was taken to the Medtox Laboratories facility for a drug test. While at the facility, Flaherty also interrogated Russo. During the return trip to Hartford, Flaherty told Russo that Chief Croughwell had ordered that Flaherty not return Russo's firearm and that Russo be placed on sick leave until Chief Croughwell received the results of the drug test. During this period, no one advised Russo of his Miranda rights. Subsequently, Captain Flaherty told Russo that Chief Croughwell had changed his mind and wanted Russo to either report to work in a limited capacity (no gun or field duty) or voluntarily use his sick leave. In addition, Captain Flaherty stated that Chief Croughwell had ordered Russo not to drive a car home and not to drive a car to work the next day. On Chief Croughwell's orders, a police sergeant drove Russo home.
Russo alleges that Chief Croughwell, Captain Flaherty, and others disseminated information about...
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