Smith v. Garrett

• Decision Date: 30 April 1984
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 80-0425-E.
• Citation: 586 F. Supp. 517
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of West Virginia
• Parties: Harrison H. SMITH, Helen Smith and Ronald Harrison Smith, Plaintiffs, v. Joseph L. GARRETT, Charles Christopher and Robert G. Koehler, Jr., Defendants.

586 F. Supp. 517

Harrison H. SMITH, Helen Smith and Ronald Harrison Smith, Plaintiffs, v. Joseph L. GARRETT, Charles Christopher and Robert G. Koehler, Jr., Defendants.

Civ. A. No. 80-0425-E.

United States District Court, N.D. West Virginia.

April 30, 1984.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

LaVerne Sweeney, Grafton, W. Va., for plaintiffs.

Herbert G. Underwood of Steptoe & Johnson, Clarksburg, W.Va., for state defendant Garrett.

Betsy Steinfeld, Asst. U.S. Atty., Wheeling, W.Va., for federal defendants Koehler and Christopher.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GORDON, Senior District Judge^*.

Plaintiffs, Harrison Smith, his wife, Helen Smith, and their son, Ronald Smith, brought this civil action against three state and federal law enforcement officers. The plaintiffs claim that they suffered various violations of their constitutional rights when they were arrested, and vehicles on their property were seized, during an investigation that recovered five allegedly stolen cars. A trial on these claims was held February 1 and 2, 1984. After considering the evidence, pleadings, and proposed findings, the Court has concluded that plaintiffs have failed to demonstrate any violation of their constitutional rights. Their complaint will therefore be dismissed.

FACTS

Plaintiff Ronald Smith owns and operates a business known as Smith Motor Sales. Ronald is regularly assisted in the business by his father, Harrison Smith, and occasionally assisted by his mother, Helen Smith. The business, which is located on Route 50 in Preston County, West Virginia, sells both new and used cars. On the afternoon of September 15, 1978, defendant J.L. Garrett, a Trooper with the West Virginia State Police, and co-defendant Charles Christopher, a Special Agent with the Elkins Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, stopped at Smith Motor Sales to investigate a report that the Smiths had stolen vehicles in their inventory. Garrett had received information that two cars previously purchased from the Smiths by a North Carolina car dealer had been reported as being stolen from a Ford Motor Company testing facility in Michigan.

Upon their arrival at the business, Garrett and Christopher were met by Harrison and Ronald Smith. The officers identified themselves and asked to inspect the titles and other documents for the vehicles on the lot; they were informed, however, that these documents were not immediately available. Arrangements were made to have the officers return on September 20, 1978, to inspect these papers. While on the lot, Garrett and Christopher inspected all the vehicles on the lot, as well as car frames and other parts. Ronald and Harrison were less than cooperative with the officers during this inspection. In response to the officers' request to inspect the cars, the plaintiffs produced only one key at a time, and returned each key to their sales office before securing another key for the officers. During their inspection, Garrett and Christopher obtained the Vehicle Identification Numbers ("VIN") from certain vehicles, and radioed these numbers to the National Crime Information Center ("NCIC") to determine whether they had been reported as stolen. This check revealed that there was currently no record of these autos as having been stolen.

Unbeknownst to Garrett and Christopher, co-defendant Robert Koehler, a Special Agent with the Fairmont Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, was also pursuing an investigation of stolen vehicles in the Preston County area. He contacted the Smiths at their business on the morning of September 19, 1978. Koehler had information from FBI offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Detroit, Michigan, that stolen vehicles had been recovered from a North Carolina dealer who had purchased those same vehicles from Smith Motor Sales.

Upon arrival at Smith Motor Sales, Agent Koehler was told that Garrett and Christopher had visited the lot earlier. This was the first time Koehler learned of the dual investigations. With the grudging cooperation of Ronald and Harrison,¹ Koehler obtained the VIN from five apparently new Ford cars and vans that were on the front of the lot, facing Route 50. Ronald informed Koehler that these cars had been purchased for parts only. All of these vehicles, however, had current West Virginia inspection stickers, which would have permitted their use on public roads. (Defendants' Exhibits 9-13).

Koehler then contacted the Detroit Office of the FBI, which later informed him that the VIN from the five vehicles he had checked at the Smiths' lot corresponded with the VIN of five vehicles that had been reported as being stolen from a Ford test track facility. Around 6:00 P.M. that evening, Koehler contacted Garrett, and for the first time, both officers exchanged the information revealed by their respective investigations. It was decided that an attempt would be made to recover the five Fords. Koehler contacted a local towing service and instructed it to send two trucks to Smith Motor Sales between 7:30 P.M. and 8:00 P.M. that evening.

Around 8:30 P.M., Koehler, Garrett, and Christopher met near Smith Motor Sales. The tow trucks Koehler had contacted earlier were already present. The five vehicles identified by Koehler as being stolen had been moved from the front of the lot to a position near the rear of the lot, and were now obstructed by other vehicles. The three officers proceeded to the Smith residence, which is located adjacent to the car lot. Mrs. Smith informed the officers that neither her husband nor her son were at home; she was unable to contact them by phone after being asked to do so. She also informed the officers that she did not have authority to release the cars, and that they would have to return later.

Garrett then contacted the Prosecuting Attorney for Preston County and notified him of the situation. It was decided that due to the absence of Ronald and Harrison Smith, and the realignment of the suspect vehicles, search and arrest warrants should be procured.² Garrett and Christopher left for Kingwood, West Virginia, to attempt to secure warrants from a West Virginia magistrate; Koehler remained behind to keep the premises secure. Based on the information presented by Garrett and Christopher, Magistrate Joe Serino issued warrants for the arrest of Ronald and Harrison Smith, and the seizure of the suspect autos. (Defendants' Exhibits 1-3).

While Garrett and Christopher were absent, Ronald and Harrison returned home, arriving between 11:15 P.M. and 11:30 P.M. with a male acquaintance. Koehler met Ronald and Harrison in the driveway leading to their home, and informed both that the cars were going to be impounded. Ronald demanded a showing that Koehler had authority to remove the vehicles. After what was apparently a short and heated confrontation, Koehler ordered the towing service to prepare to remove the vehicles. In light of this confrontation and his concern for the safety of the civilian tow truck operators, Koehler also proceeded to place his shotgun on the front seat of his car.

Garrett and Christopher then returned to the lot, arriving between 11:30 P.M. and 11:50 P.M. with the warrants in hand. The towing service was then instructed to begin removing the vehicles. All three officers proceeded to the Smith residence, where Trooper Garrett knocked on the front door. When Mrs. Smith answered, Garrett advised her of the warrants, and asked for Harrison and Ronald.³ Mrs. Smith informed Garrett that they had gone to bed, and she was not going to disturb them.⁴

After being told this, Garrett stepped toward the door. Mrs. Smith tried to push him away by placing her hands on his chest. Garrett grabbed her right hand, and using her momentum, pulled Mrs. Smith out onto the porch. As he entered the house, Garrett instructed Christopher and Koehler to arrest Mrs. Smith for attempting to obstruct the arrests of Harrison and Ronald. Garrett proceeded into the living room, where he was confronted by Harrison, who had assumed a fighting stance. Harrison took a swing at Garrett, who deflected the blow. Harrison then grabbed Garrett.

At about the same time, Ronald Smith had entered the living room, and Mrs. Smith had come in from the porch, followed by Christopher and Koehler. Ronald lowered his head to "ram" Garrett, but was grabbed by Agent Koehler, who then attempted to arrest and handcuff Ronald. Mrs. Smith tried to interfere with Koehler, but she was pushed out of the way by Garrett. Ronald and Mrs. Smith were eventually handcuffed by Koehler and Garrett, and placed in chairs in the living room.

During this time, Christopher was unsuccessfully trying to arrest Harrison Smith. Christopher had succeeded in placing a handcuff on Harrison's right hand, but Harrison had struggled and was now trying to hit Christopher with his left hand. Because of the danger presented by the open cuff dangling from the right hand, Christopher grabbed Harrison's right hand with both hands; Christopher placed his back to Harrison, and brought Harrison's arm over his shoulder and held it in front of him. Agent Koehler came over to assist Christopher by placing a restraining hold on Harrison; at this point, Harrison's elbow was apparently pulled out of its socket.

After the Smiths were arrested and handcuffed, the warrants were read, and they were informed of their rights. It was apparent that Harrison would require medical attention for his arm, so Christopher called the Kingwood jail to notify them that one of the arrestees about to be brought in would require medical assistance. This call was made at 12:09 A.M., September 20, 1978. (Plaintiffs' Exhibit 16).

Warrants for resisting arrest were later obtained against all of the Smiths. In state court, Ronald and Harrison were convicted on these charges. The charges against Mrs. Smith, however, were dismissed due to a fatal variance between the warrant and the proof presented at trial. On appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals of...