Santini v. Fuentes
| Decision Date | 18 September 2013 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 11-639 (JAP) |
| Parties | BRYAN M. SANTINI, Plaintiff, v. COLONEL JOSEPH R. FUENTES, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
This is a § 1983 case by Plaintiff Bryan M. Santini ("Plaintiff") against Defendants Colonel Joseph R. Fuentes, Trooper J.L. Fuhrmann, Trooper R.H. Sickles, and the State of New Jersey (collectively "Defendants"). Presently before the Court is Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [docket # 41]. The Court decides this case without oral argument. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 78. For the reasons outlined below, Defendants' Motion is granted with respect to the federal claims, and this Court declines to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the remaining state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c).
On February 3, 2009, two women — Tiffany Drake and Crystal Knighton — had a physical altercation at Plaintiff's family's dairy farm in Harmony Township, New Jersey, and 911 was called . Because there were reportedly fifteen people involved in the incident, several law enforcement officers responded,including officers from Greenwich and Lopatcong Townships as well as Troopers Fuhrmann and Sickles from the New Jersey State Police . Plaintiff's family farm, the location of the dispute, is in the State Police's jurisdiction. Id. at Ex. D, 14:2-4.
By the time Troopers Fuhrmann and Sickles arrived at the farm, the scene was calm. [Id. at Ex. C; docket # 50, Declaration of Jeffrey M. Patti, Ex. I, Trooper Fuhrmann's Deposition, Ex. 44:12-15]. The officers from Greenwich and Lopatcong Townships, who were at the scene before the Troopers, told them that Plaintiff "may have witnessed" the altercation "or may have videotaped the incident with his cell phone" [docket # 41, Declaration of Vincent J. Rizzo, Jr., Ex. D, Grand Jury Testimony, 15:10-20]. The Troopers also spoke to one of the women who engaged in the physical altercation, Tiffany Drake. Id. at Ex. C. Although Ms. Drake stated that she "unequivocally did not say that [Plaintiff] recorded video/pictures of the altercation with his cellular telephone to the Trooper," Grand Jury testimony revealed that Ms. Drake stated that Plaintiff "possibly videotaped the incident on his cell phone." .
As a result, Trooper Fuhrmann spoke with Plaintiff [docket # 41, Declaration of Vincent J. Rizzo, Jr., Ex. C.; Ex. D, 20:4-7]. Plaintiff was wearing a baggy sweatshirt and sweatpants at the time. Id. at Ex. D, 21:5-17. Trooper Fuhrmann asked Plaintiff if he videotaped the altercation, and at that point, Plaintiff shoved his hands in his pockets and avoided eye contact with the Trooper. Id. at Ex. D, 21:17-22:1. Based on his training, Trooper Fuhrmann thought that Plaintiff's response indicated that Plaintiff was deciding whether to run away, conceal something, or get involved in an altercation with the Trooper. Id. at Ex. D, 22:5-10. TheTrooper asked Plaintiff "repeatedly" to take his hands out of his pockets because Trooper Fuhrmann could see "some type of hard object in there" and was worried about everyone's safety. Id. at Ex. D, 22:11-23; see also Ex. C. Plaintiff took his hands out of his pocket and put them right back into his sweatshirt pocket. Id. at Ex. D, 22:24-25. Again, he took his hands out of his pockets for a "couple of seconds" and then put them into his pants pocket. Id. at Ex. D, 23:1-3. Plaintiff admits that he had his hands in his pockets and Trooper Fuhrmann kept asking him to remove them. Id. at Ex. E, Deposition of Bryan Santini, 62:1-64:24. At this point, Trooper Fuhrmann went over to Plaintiff to try and "retrieve his hands from his pockets" because he learned in law enforcement training that "hands are what's going to . . . cause you harm" since a weapon cannot hurt a person if it is on the floor and not in someone's hands. Id. at Ex. D, 23:7-19. Plaintiff told the Trooper that he was going to return to work and began walking away. Id. at Ex. E, 64:20-24; see also Ex. C. According to the Trooper, Plaintiff took his right hand out of his pocket and touched Trooper Fuhrmann with an open hand on the shoulder to prevent the Trooper from gaining control of his hands. Id. at Ex. D, 23:21-24:1. According to Plaintiff, however, Trooper Fuhrmann grabbed Plaintiff's arm as Plaintiff walked away [docket # 50, Declaration of Jeffrey M. Patti, Ex. D, Deposition of Plaintiff, 65:1-13]. Plaintiff and Trooper Fuhrmann engaged in a "grasping match" as the Trooper tried to obtain control of Plaintiff's hands since he did not know if Plaintiff was concealing anything [docket # 41, Declaration of Vincent J. Rizzo, Jr., Ex. D, 24:2-7]. Plaintiff and the Trooper struggled, fell to the ground, and other officers attempted to assist Trooper Fuhrmann. Id. at Ex. D, 24:8-25:4; see also Ex. C. The other officers "repeatedly" told Plaintiff to stop resisting. Id. at Ex. C; Ex. D, 25:15-16; Ex. E, 67:21-68:2. Ms. Drake, who witnessed Plaintiff's confrontation with the Trooper, however, stated that Plaintiff did not resist but "just laid there like a dead fish" [docket # 50, Declaration ofJeffrey M. Patti, Tiffany Drake's Affidavit, ¶ 11]. During this struggle, Trooper Fuhrmann and Detective Michael Patricia used pepper spray on Plaintiff, and Trooper Sickles and Patrolman LaFord from Lopatcong Township used their police batons on Plaintiff [docket # 41, Declaration of Vincent J. Rizzo, Jr., Ex. C; Ex. D, 39:4-6, 70:13-17; Ex. G, Complaint Report, Greenwich Township Police]. Subsequently, Plaintiff was arrested and charged with aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1. Id. at Ex. C; Ex. I, Arrest Record.
Three days after the incident, on February 6, 2009, Plaintiff went to see Dr. James T. Finegan, Jr., an opthomalogist, because Plaintiff complained of some unresolved pain due to the Troopers using pepper spray on him. Id. at Ex. L, letter from Dr. Finegan to Dr. Durrani. Dr. Finegan did not see any "sign[s] of bruising, trauma or any other disturbance to the face or the head on exam." Id. Dr. Finegan opined that "[t]here was no sign of trauma or residual damages from the mace to his eyes or his face." Id. Plaintiff also saw his family doctor, Dr. Durrani, to "see if anything was wrong with" him. Id. at Ex. E, 80:1-11. Dr. Durrani sent Plaintiff for an Open MRI. Id. at Ex. E, 80:12-15. Plaintiff had the Open MRI on February 9, 2009, and the results of the test revealed "[n]o facial fractures." Id. at Ex. N, Findings of the CT Scan. On that day, Plaintiff also had an X-ray of the chest and ribs, which revealed no fractures. Id. at Ex. O, Findings of Xray of Chest and Ribs. Plaintiff "has not served a medical expert report attributing any alleged injury suffered by [P]laintiff to these [D]efendants." Defendants Statement of Undisputed Material Facts, #68.
On May 13, 2009, the case was presented to the Warren County Grand Jury [docket # 41, Declaration of Vincent J. Rizzo, Jr., Ex. D, Grand Jury Transcript]. That day, the Grand Jurors returned a True Bill against Plaintiff, indicting him for aggravated assault pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(5)(a). Id. at Ex. J, Grand Jury True Bill.
In August 2009, two days before a scheduled pre-trial conference, the State brought two new charges in addition to the aggravated assault charge: obstruction of justice and resisting arrest. Id. at Ex. B, Transcript of Plea, 3:16-24; docket # 50, Declaration of Jeffrey M. Patti, Ex. J, Plaintiff's Affidavit, ¶ 6. On August 12, 2009, Plaintiff pled guilty to resisting arrest; the aggravated assault and obstruction charges were dismissed as part of the plea. Id. at Ex. B, 4:14-18. Plaintiff described what happened on February 3, 2009 and admitted that he resisted arrest. Id. at Ex. B, 8:8-9:12.
On February 3, 2011, Plaintiff filed this Complaint against Defendants and Greenwich Township, Patrolman Dennis Cahill, Chief of the Greenwich Township Police Richard Guzzo, Lopatcong Township, Chief of Lopatcong Township Police Scott Marinelli, Detective Michael Patricia, and Sergeant David Voll. Id. at Ex. A, Compl. Plaintiff alleged: (1) federal constitutional violations, including 42 U.S.C. § 1983, Fourth Amendment, Fifth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment; (2) a violation of N.J.S.A. 10:6-2; (3) New Jersey constitutional violations, including N.J.S.A. 10:6-2; (4) false imprisonment/false arrest/malicious prosecution; (5) civil conspiracy; and (6) a violation of the New Jersey Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:1-1 et seq. Ex. A, Compl. On September 12, 2011, this Court signed a stipulation of dismissal, dismissing Defendants Greenwich Township, Sergeant David Voll, Patrolman Dennis Cahill, Chief Richard Guzzo, Lopatcong Township, Detective Michael Patricia, and Chief Scott Marinelli, with prejudice [docket # 15].
The remaining Defendants filed the Motion for Summary Judgment currently at issue on January 11, 2013 [docket # 41]. In that Motion, Defendants' argued judgment as a matter of law on Count One - the federal constitutional claims - should be granted because: (1) the claims against the State and the Troopers in their official capacities are barred by the EleventhAmendment; (2) neither the State nor the Troopers are persons under § 1983; (3) § 1983 precludes recovery based on the theory of respondeat superior and supervisory liability; and (4) the Troopers are entitled to qualified immunity on all § 1983 claims. Additionally, Defendants' assert that summary judgment is proper as to Count Two - the violation of the New Jersey Civil...
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