Schiller v. Strangis

• Decision Date: 04 June 1982
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 77-3116-K.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts
• Parties: Lawrence SCHILLER, Plaintiff, v. John STRANGIS and Joseph Picchione, Defendants.

540 F. Supp. 605

Lawrence SCHILLER, Plaintiff, v. John STRANGIS and Joseph Picchione, Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 77-3116-K.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

June 4, 1982.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Bramberg, Hamada, Barker & Frieden, James A. Frieden, Boston, Mass., for plaintiff.

Kenneth J. Elias, Brockton, Mass., for defendants.

OPINION

KEETON, District Judge.

This is an action for compensatory and punitive damages by plaintiff Lawrence Schiller, a resident of Brockton, Massachusetts, against defendants John Strangis and Joseph Picchione, police officers for the City of Brockton. Plaintiff alleges violations of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, actionable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and violations of Articles Twelve and Fourteen of the Declaration of Rights of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, actionable in tort as pendent state law claims. In addition plaintiff asserts common law claims for trespass, assault, battery, and false imprisonment. The case was tried before the court without a jury on March 15-17, 1982.

I.

The evidence before me is sharply in conflict with respect to many details of the incidents of September 25-26, 1976, described below. From a preponderance of the evidence I find as follows:

On Saturday afternoon, September 25, 1976 Lawrence Schiller, accompanied by his brother, drove to the Brockton Public Market ("BPM") to purchase a 50-pound bag of dog food. Schiller drove into the shopping center, parked at the front entrance of the BPM, and remained in the car with the engine idling while his brother went into the store to make the purchase. An employee of the BPM, having noticed that Schiller's vehicle was blocking the entrance ramp to the store, asked Schiller to move his car. Schiller refused and after a brief exchange of words the employee left to get assistance from a police officer. Inside the store the employee found John Strangis, a policeman with the City of Brockton who during his off-duty hours was working that afternoon as a security guard for the BPM. Strangis and the employee stepped outside the front doors of the store. Standing approximately fifteen feet from the vehicle Strangis whistled to get Schiller's attention and by hand signal directed him to move the car. Schiller responded with obscene words and an obscene gesture. Strangis immediately moved closer to the car and Schiller responded by driving away rapidly and in a manner that endangered the safety of pedestrians and other vehicles in the parking lot. Strangis attempted to pursue the vehicle on foot but was unsuccessful.

After losing sight of the vehicle Strangis returned to the BPM and telephoned the local police station. Strangis reported the registration plate number of the automobile and asked the police to obtain from the Registry some of the information he needed to issue a traffic citation. The information an officer needs to issue a citation includes the vehicle registration number, the name and address of the owner of the vehicle, the name and address of the driver, and the driver's license number and date of birth. Strangis was told that the Registry had answered the police request with "no response" and, therefore, that the information was unavailable at that time. As an officer with approximately ten years experience on the Brockton police force, Strangis understood that "no response" to this type of inquiry can mean, among other things, that the vehicle has been registered recently or that the Registry's computer is malfunctioning. Strangis made further inquiry at the BPM, and learned from an employee that the driver of the vehicle was known as either Lawrence Katz or Lawrence Schiller, that this individual had changed his name at some time, and that he lived on either Lookoff Street or Moncrief Road in Brockton.

The incident at the shopping center occurred at approximately 4:30 p. m. Strangis continued working at the BPM until 10:30 p. m. and reported for his regular tour of duty with the Brockton police at midnight. Strangis and his partner Joseph Picchione, an officer with approximately eight years of experience at that time, were assigned to cruiser patrol in the southwest district of the City. Strangis told Picchione about the incident at the BPM and the partners agreed that they would attempt to investigate further that evening for the purpose of issuing a traffic citation. If not transgressing limits that had not been clearly defined by the Brockton Police Department, an investigation during duty hours of an offense (including a traffic misdemeanor) observed in off-duty hours would be consistent with an announced Department policy of permitting overtime only in the most exceptional circumstances.

At approximately 1:00 a. m. Strangis and Picchione obtained authorization from police headquarters to leave their assigned territory and to travel in the police cruiser to Lookoff Street and Moncrief Road to investigate. Twice that evening the officers drove to these streets but were unable to find the automobile that had been involved in the incident at the BPM. The officers returned to these addresses a third time and spotted the vehicle in a driveway at 166 Moncrief Road. The policemen pulled the cruiser to the side of the road and approached the house. Both officers could see the light from a television set through a window of the house. With Picchione standing a few feet behind, Strangis walked to the front door and knocked.

It was approximately 3:30 a. m. when Schiller heard the knock at the door. Schiller, who was 21 years old at the time, had been to a movie and a bar that evening with a friend and had returned to the house at 166 Moncrief Road at approximately 3:00 a. m. When the officers knocked, Schiller was watching television, having not yet retired for the evening. He was fully clothed but without shoes.

Upon hearing the knock Schiller went to the door and asked for identification. Strangis responded, "Brockton police." Schiller opened the door. Strangis asked plaintiff if he was Lawrence Schiller or Lawrence Katz and plaintiff replied that his name was Lawrence Schiller. Strangis pressed closer, intentionally placing one foot on the threshold of the doorway so that Schiller would be unable to close the door. "I'm here for that stunt you pulled at the BPM," Strangis announced, and demanded to see Schiller's license and registration. Schiller asked whether the officer had a warrant and Strangis replied that he was there to issue a traffic citation only, not to make an arrest. Schiller stated that the registration was in his car, that he would need to put his shoes on to go outside, and that he did not want the policemen in his house. Schiller then attempted to separate himself from the officers by closing the door. Strangis, with his foot placed firmly on the threshold, prevented the door from closing. The two briefly exchanged words and as Schiller again tried to close the door Strangis reached inside the house and grabbed Schiller. After a short struggle in the doorway, Strangis subdued Schiller with a tight headlock and dragged the smaller Schiller onto the porch where Picchione secured Schiller's hands behind his back and applied handcuffs. The officers then escorted Schiller briskly from the porch to the street and placed him in the back seat of the cruiser. Strangis, holding his flashlight, demanded to see Schiller's license and registration. Schiller refused, stating that he did not wish to talk to Strangis. Seeing what appeared to be a wallet in plaintiff's back pocket, Strangis pushed Schiller to the side and reached for the pocket. Schiller, with his hands in cuffs behind his back, resisted by stiffening his body and bracing against the back of the seat. Strangis struck Schiller several times on the back of his head and neck with the flashlight. Strangis seized the wallet firmly and pulled it with force. As he pulled at the wallet Schiller's pants pocket, which was sewed onto the outside of the pants, ripped off, and the wallet dropped onto the seat. Strangis seized the wallet, intentionally opened it, and removed the license. Having obtained the desired information, Strangis returned the wallet and license to Schiller and repeated his original demand for the registration. Schiller refused to talk, and Strangis threatened him with the flashlight. Without the consent of Schiller, Strangis then walked to the car in the driveway, opened the door, which was unlocked, reached into the glove compartment, and removed the registration. Strangis copied the desired information, placed the registration back into the glove compartment, closed the car door, and returned to the cruiser. As the officers prepared to leave, Schiller told Picchione that the door to the house was wide open. Plaintiff stated that he wanted the door locked but that he did not want the officers to enter his house. Strangis walked to the front door, went inside the house, and discovered the keys hanging from the inside lock of the door. Strangis removed the keys, stepped outside, locked the door, and returned to the cruiser.

The officers returned to the Brockton police station and escorted Schiller to the booking room. The handcuffs were removed and Schiller was told to place his belongings on the booking desk. Schiller removed several coins from his pocket and tossed them at the booking desk. One or more of the coins fell to the floor. At some point during the booking procedures Schiller was advised of his rights, including his right to a phone call. When Schiller asked for money to make a phone call, Strangis informed him that there was a coin on the floor and that he should pick it up. Schiller accused Strangis of having knocked the coin off the desk and told Strangis that he should pick it up. Strangis again ordered Schiller to pick up the coin and when he refused, Strangis attempted to push Schiller to the floor. Schiller resisted and...