Smith v. Barber
| Decision Date | 13 February 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. CIV.A.01-2179-CM.,CIV.A.01-2179-CM. |
| Citation | 316 F.Supp.2d 992 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Kansas |
| Parties | Debra SMITH, et al., Plaintiffs, v. James BARBER, et al., Defendants. |
Keith E. Renner, Lee R. Barnett, Barnett & Renner, PA, Auburn, KS, for Plaintiffs.
Allen G. Glendenning, Watkins, Calcara, Rondeau, Friedeman, Bleeker, Glendenning & McVay, Chtd., Great Bend, KS Chanda M. Feldkamp, David R. Cooper, J. Steven Pigg, Teresa L. Sittenauer, Fisher, Patterson, Sayler & Smith, Topeka, KS, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs Daniel Smith, Josh Traxson, Aaron Spencer, Jestin McReynolds, Bryan Vail (the "five student plaintiffs"), Deborah Smith, Kendra Smith, Billy McReynolds, Alverda McReynolds, William "Billy" Spencer, Dennis Spencer, Mallory Sanders (the "remaining plaintiffs"), and Gayle Vail brought suit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging multiple constitutional violations and asserting numerous state law claims. Defendants to the action include the City of Altamont, Kansas, former Altamont Police Chief James Barber (the "city defendants"), Labette County, former Labette County Attorney Robert Forer, Sheriff William Blundell, Detective Scott Higgins, Undersheriff C.W. Davis (the "county defendants"), Unified School District ("U.S.D.") 506, Principal Greg Cartwright, and Superintendent Dennis Wilson (the "school district defendants").
This matter comes before the court on the city defendants' and the school district defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 171) and the County Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 173).
On Friday, December 17, 1999, Labette County High School ("LCHS") officials learned of an alleged plot to stage an armed assault on the school by Smith, Traxson, Spencer, McReynolds, Vail,1 and non-parties Dwayne Heiskell and Noah Van Buren. The plan had been allegedly formulated the previous evening, December 16, 1999, at the Smith's residence by the five student plaintiffs and Heiskell, and the alleged attack was to take place on Monday, December 20, 1999. The evidence is uncontroverted that Smith, Traxon, Spencer, McReynolds, and Heiskell were all present Thursday evening, December 16, when at least certain of them discussed an armed attack on LCHS, but plaintiffs contend that the conversation was a joke and the boys never in fact intended to follow through on their idea.
The next day, December 17, 1999, Heiskell and McReynolds discussed, in the presence of Van Buren, the alleged plan to attack LCHS. The parties contest the details of the conversation with Van Buren, although the record confirms the general topic. Also, at some point during that day, Van Buren was allegedly recruited to participate in the attack by sitting on a building outside LCHS and shooting people as they came out of the building.
Over the lunch hour, Heiskell and Van Buren approached teacher Stacy Smith to tell her about the alleged assault plan. Heiskell informed Stacy Smith about the conversation of the night before at plaintiff Smith's house and warned her not to come to school on Monday. Upon questioning by Stacy Smith, Heiskell described the discussion about attacking the school, including directly targeting several teachers. In particular, Heiskell warned Stacy Smith that McReynolds remained upset with her because she had informed McReynold's mother about his drinking.
Van Buren also warned Stacy Smith to not come to LCHS on Monday, and he told her that McReynolds had asked him to sit on the roof of the adjacent building to shoot people as they came out of LCHS. Van Buren then became very emotional and began to cry. Stacy Smith immediately thereafter reported the conversation to principal Cartwright.
Cartwright interviewed Heiskell in the presence of Stacy Smith and Van Buren. Heiskell told Cartwright that he and the five student plaintiffs had been drinking and doing drugs the night before, and they started talking about assaulting the school. According to Heiskell, they had a plan for the attack, knew who they were going to shoot, and determined where they were going to get the guns. Heiskell informed Cartwright that the boys had drawn a map of the school and then burned it. The plan, Heiskell told Cartwright, was for them to gather at the Spencer's home that Monday and then begin their attack at the end of the school where the art room was located. McReynolds, Heiskell reported, could get police uniforms for them to wear, and they were to paint their faces and wear ski masks. According to Heiskell, someone planned to drive a vehicle through the school while the others shot anyone who got in their way. Heiskell also reported that they had discussed a list of specific individuals they would shoot, including Cartwright. Heiskell also told Cartwright that he did not believe the five student plaintiffs were serious until Van Buren was approached about sitting on top of a building and shooting people as they came out.
Following the conversation, Cartwright called the Safe School Hotline to report the alleged threat.
LCHS Assistant Principal Ken Swender called undersheriff Davis at the sheriff's office in Oswego, Kansas, to report the alleged plot to attack the school. Sheriff Blundell, detective Higgins, and Davis then left the sheriff's office and drove to LCHS in Altamont to investigate the allegation.
After arriving at LCHS, Blundell observed police chief Barber and informed him that the sheriff's office would handle the investigation. Cartwright advised Blundell, Higgins, and Davis of the plan, as related by Heiskell, to assault LCHS and target several administrators, teachers, and at least one student. Cartwright then called superintendent Wilson to inform him of the events unfolding at LCHS.
After Wilson arrived at LCHS, Blundell and Higgins interviewed Heiskell in the presence of his parents and Wilson. Heiskell informed them that he and the five student plaintiffs were at the Smith's residence the night before, doing crank and other drugs and planning the attack on LCHS. Heiskell relayed detailed aspects of the plan, including: (1) the boys planned to wear black clothing or law enforcement uniforms; (2) they had drawn a map of the school for the attack and then burned it in an ash tray; (3) Van Buren was to sit atop a building to the east of the school and shoot people as they emerged; (4) someone would drive McReynold's demolition derby car into the school; and (5) the assault was planned for Monday. Throughout the interview with Heiskell, he was crying and visibly upset.
Following the interview, Blundell and Higgins drove to Parsons, Kansas, to meet with county attorney Forer in his office.
Blundell advised Forer of the details of the interview with Heiskell. They also discussed the need to interview Van Buren, and Blundell contacted the Kansas Bureau of Investigation ("KBI") to request assistance in the investigation. Blundell and Higgins then returned to the sheriff's office in Oswego.
Higgins began preparing an affidavit in support of an application for search warrants. A sheriff's deputy called Cartwright to come to the sheriff's office and provide them with the details of Cartwright's interview of Heiskell, along with information about where the boys lived, and what activities they might be attending over the weekend. Cartwright also informed Higgins of a report he had received from teacher's aide Kelly Bedore. According to Bedore, Van Buren warned Bedore not to come to school on Monday. Higgins did not tell Cartwright that he was preparing an affidavit in support of search warrants.
Cartwright and Higgins did not discuss Heiskell's credibility while the two were at the sheriff's office. Cartwright already had informed Higgins that Heiskell had lived in Cartwright's home for a period of time until Cartwright told him to move out. Higgins also was aware that Heiskell had three prior juvenile convictions for felony theft, residential burglary, and misdemeanor criminal damage. Higgins was not aware at the time he was preparing the affidavit that Heiskell was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder ("ADD") or that he took medication to remedy the symptoms.
Later that evening of Friday, December 17, Higgins called Heiskell to conduct a second interview by telephone. Higgins asked Heiskell to describe the police uniform, which was to be worn during the attack, that he had observed the previous evening while in Smith's bedroom. Heiskell told Higgins that the shirt was light blue and the pants were a dark blue or black, which is consistent with the colors of the uniforms of the Labette County Sheriff's Department. Heiskell described the badge as a rusty bronze color and oval shape with wings protruding from the top, which is not the shape or color of the badge worn by the sheriff's department deputies.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., KBI Senior Special Agent Robert Beckham interviewed Van Buren in Independence, Kansas. Beckham reported to Higgins that Van Buren had told him the following:
a. that Jestin McReynolds had approached him just prior to 4th period (approx. 11:00 am) at the high school [LCHS];
b. that McReynolds said that [he] and a couple [of] guys had a plan and if Van Buren was not in on the plan he should not come to school on Monday;
c. that during auto mechanics class, Jestin McReynolds approached Dwayne Heiskell and asked whether Dwayne Heiskell was in on the plan; and
d. that he and Dwayne Heiskell went to LBHS [(LCHS)] Principal Greg Cartwright and told him what was going on and that Van Buren then found Ms. Smith, a teacher, and told her what Jestin McReynolds had told him.
Based upon that information, Higgins completed an application for search warrants. In...
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Smith v. Barber.
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