Sigg v. Allen Cnty.
| Decision Date | 15 November 2016 |
| Docket Number | Case No. 15-CV-01012-EFM,Case No. 15-CV-01007-EFM |
| Parties | JOHN M. SIGG, Plaintiff, v. ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS and BRYAN J. MURPHY, Allen County Sheriff, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants. MITCHELL SIGG, Plaintiff, v. ALLEN COUNTY, KANSAS, BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS and BRYAN J. MURPHY, Allen County Sheriff, individually and in his official capacity, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
Plaintiff John Sigg was driving at night when he was pulled over for driving with a malfunctioning head lamp. Allen County Sheriff's Deputy Jarod Tingley issued John a citation for driving without proof of insurance. John was reluctant to sign the citation, and words were exchanged. The situation escalated, and Deputy Tingley pulled John out of the car and began placing John in handcuffs. John's father, Mitchell Sigg, arrived while Deputy Tingley was handcuffing John. Mitchell Sigg was irate, and immediately began hurling expletives at Deputy Tingley and his partner, Deputy Jason Kegler. Deputy Tingley instructed his partner, Deputy Jason Kegler, to "cuff him," referring to Mitchell. The father and son duo were both arrested and subsequently transported to the Allen County Jail. John Sigg was not charged with any crimes, but Mitchell was charged with violating K.S.A. § 21-5904(a)(3)—Interference with Law Enforcement.
John Sigg filed suit on January 7, 2015, naming the Allen County Board of County Commissioners (the "Board") and Bryan Murphy, the Allen County Sheriff, as Defendants. On January 8, Mitchell Sigg brought his own suit against the same Defendants.1 Both John and Mitchell assert 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against the Defendants. John Sigg asserts that his Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated. Mitchell Sigg asserts that his First, Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were also violated. John and Mitchell both claim that their constitutional rights were violated by Deputy Tingley, who is not a party to this case. Instead of seeking damages from Deputy Tingley himself, John and Mitchell claim that Sheriff Murphy and the Board are liable for the negligent supervision and retention of Deputy Tingley.
John and Mitchell's separate cases were later consolidated into this present case, Case No. 15-CV-01007. Both Plaintiffs and both Defendants now seek summary judgment on the claims. The Court concludes that the uncontroverted facts do not give rise to personal, supervisory, or municipal liability. Thus, the Court grants the Defendants' motion for summary judgment (Doc. 45). Because neither the Board nor Sheriff Murphy can be held liable in any capacity for the alleged constitutional violations, the Court denies John Sigg's motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 41) and Mitchell Sigg's motion for partial summary judgment (Doc. 42) as moot.
On the evening of February 2, 2013, Plaintiff John Sigg was driving a vehicle from the inventory of his employer—Sigg Motors #1, LLC, a used vehicle dealership. John was driving on Highway 54 on the east side of Iola, Kansas, in Allen County, when he was pulled over for driving with a malfunctioning headlight. Jarod Tingley, a Deputy employed by the Allen County Sheriff's Department, performed the traffic stop. He was accompanied by Deputy Jason Kegler. Because Defendants entered a videotape of the traffic stop into the record, the following events are largely uncontroverted.
When Deputy Tingley approached John's vehicle, John explained to Deputy Tingley that the car he was in was a dealer vehicle. The vehicle had a current dealer license plate properly affixed to it, which was set to expire at the end of February, 2013. When Deputy Tingley ran the tag through Allen County Communications, the tag initially came back as expired, but the dispatcher informed Deputy Tingley that they had been having some issues with the state files.While Deputy Tingley was running the tag, John got out of the vehicle and confirmed that the passenger side headlight was not functioning.
Deputy Tingley then requested proof of insurance for the vehicle. The insurance information John provided to Deputy Tingley was located on the back of the dealer's plate, and had expired before February 2, 2013. Deputy Tingley then issued a citation for driving without proof of insurance, advising John that he "had" to issue him the ticket.3
After Deputy Tingley handed the dealer's plate back to John, he asked Deputy Tingley to explain the citation. Deputy Tingley explained that the insurance showed that it expired in September, 2012, and driving without proof of insurance is a misdemeanor in the state of Kansas.
"But what I am going to have you do is, I am sure you guys have insurance on all of your vehicles, so on Monday whenever you find that insurance, or have the updated insurance information, I'm going to have you give the court a call and see if they'll just let you bring it up."
After explaining the citation to John, Deputy Tingley asked for John to sign it. "What I need for you to do is sign by the 'x' where I have circled, by signing you are not stating that you are guilty or anything, just promising to appear in court on the 6th of March."
"You are giving me a ticket?" John asked.
Tingley answered:
John then opened the car door, but Deputy Tingley quickly shut it, telling John, "Nope, stay in the car."
After a brief delay, Tingley asked: "Are you going to sign the citation for me?"
John silently stared forward for at least five seconds before he responded: "And if I don't?"
"You're going to go to jail."
John sat in silence once again for about ten seconds.
Deputy Tingley eventually spoke up. "Are you willing to sign the citation?"
Again, John did not immediately respond. He continued to stare silently into the distance for about ten more seconds.
The silence was broken when Deputy Tingley told John to "Step on out."
As he attempted to open the car door, Deputy Tingley advised John that he was under arrest.
John finally spoke. "Are kidding me, let me sign the f*cking thing."
"Nope, you're under arrest," Deputy Tingley replied. Deputy Tingley then had John exit the vehicle and he began to place John in handcuffs. This occurred on the driver's side of John Sigg's vehicle.
At some point during the traffic stop, John used his phone to tell his father, Plaintiff Mitchell Sigg, of the news that he had been pulled over. For reasons unknown, Mitchell Sigg decided to drive to the scene. He arrived while Deputy Tingley was still placing John Sigg in handcuffs, parking his car immediately behind the Deputies' vehicle on the side of the road.
Upon exiting his vehicle, Mitchell began approaching the Deputies.
he yelled directly at Deputy Tingley. As he was doing so, he kept advancing towards Deputy Tingley, who was still occupied with handcuffing John.
Deputy Kegler, who was riding with Deputy Tingley that evening, physically blocked Mitchell from getting any closer. To give reference to how close Mitchell was able to get, Mitchell had made contact with the trunk of John's vehicle before he was pushed to the side by Deputy Kegler. At that time, John was standing in front of the rear tire well on the driver's side of the vehicle, and Deputy Tingley was immediately behind him, still working on securing the handcuffs.
Right when Mitchell made contact with John's vehicle, Deputy Tingley instructed Deputy Kegler to "cuff him, cuff him," referring to Mitchell.
"No, you dumb mother f*cker," Mitchell responded.
Mitchell then turned to Deputy Kegler.
After that statement, Deputy Tingley again instructed Deputy Kegler to "cuff him, he's going to jail." Deputy Kegler then began to place Mitchell in handcuffs. While being placed in handcuffs, Mitchell addressed Deputy Tingley, asking: "What the f*ck is your name, boy?"
John and Mitchell were then transported to the Allen County Jail where they were booked. Afterwards, Deputy Tingley was advised by Trooper Hines of the Kansas Highway Patrol of the exemption to the proof of insurance statute for dealer vehicles. Up until that point, Deputy Tingley had no knowledge of the exemption contained within K.S.A. § 40-3104(m).
After all was said and done, Mitchell was the only Sigg to be charged with a crime. He was charged with violating K.S.A. § 21-5904a(a)(3)—Interference with Law Enforcement in the Discharge of an Official Duty.4 Despite his arrest, John was not charged with a crime arising from the February 2, 2013 traffic stop.
After completing the requisite 560 hours of training, Deputy Tingley graudated from the Kansas Law Enforcement Full-Time Officer Basic Training Program on October 8, 2010. In the following year, he completed forty hours or more of law enforcement education or training in subjects relating directly to law enforcement.
Prior to working for the Allen County Sheriff's Department, Deputy Tingley had been employed by the Liberal Police Department for about eighteen months. He was terminated from the Liberal Police Department with no reason given but it was rumored that he had been released because he had applied for employment with the Seward County Sheriff. He applied for employment with the Allen County Sheriff on May 10, 2012. His Allen County Sheriff's Department application was supported by reference letters, including from Robert Buchanan and Lt. Daniel Yorio, both who had worked with Tingley at the Liberal Police Department.
Bryan Murphy, undersheriff at the time, performed a background check of Deputy Tingley which included contacting the two Liberal officers who were listed as references and a former Liberal officer who was then...
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