Turner v. City of Taylor
| Decision Date | 15 June 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 03-2636.,03-2636. |
| Citation | 412 F.3d 629 |
| Parties | Christopher TURNER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF TAYLOR, City of Taylor Police Department, Sergeant Tapp, Lieutenant Francis Canning, Lieutenant Michael Zachary, Lieutenant R. Caldwell, Officer Thomas Yesta, Officer Roseanne Crapanzano, Officer P. O'Conner, and Police Officers John Doe I-VII, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
Hugh M. Davis, Jr., Constitutional Litigation Associates, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. John H. Dise, Jr., Dise & Associates, Southfield, Michigan, for Appellees.
ON BRIEF:
Cynthia Heenan, Constitutional Litigation Associates, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant.
John H. Dise, Jr., Gina U. Puzzuoli, Dise & Associates, Southfield, Michigan, for Appellees.
Before: KEITH, CLAY, and FARRIS, Circuit Judges.*
Plaintiff Christopher Turner appeals the district court's order denying his motion for summary judgment and granting Defendants' summary judgment motion as to his claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 that (a) he was unconstitutionally detained in the City of Taylor jail for four days without being presented to a magistrate for arraignment; (b) he was subject to excessive force and denied medical treatment during his incarceration; and (c) after his release from jail, the police unconstitutionally evicted him from his home. Plaintiff also appeals the district court's order affirming the magistrate judge's denial of his motion to reissue summons with respect to several proposed Defendants and to file a third amended complaint naming additional Defendants. For the reasons that follow, the district court's orders are AFFIRMED, in part, and REVERSED, in part.
Plaintiff Christopher Turner lived with his girlfriend Carolyn Wilson and their four children in Taylor, Michigan. According to a statement that Wilson provided to police, shortly after 1:00 a.m. on January 6, 2000, Plaintiff arrived home and began to argue with Wilson. During the argument, Plaintiff allegedly began knocking things over and then put a silver handgun to Wilson's head and threatened to kill her. Wilson called the Taylor Police Department, and officers arrested Plaintiff at his home for domestic violence/assault and battery. The officers later learned that the silver handgun was actually an inoperable BB gun.
After arriving at the police station, Plaintiff waited about a half an hour before being booked at approximately 2:00 a.m. As part of the booking process, Plaintiff was asked about his physical condition, and he indicated that he is HIV positive and an asthmatic, for which he uses an inhaler. Plaintiff also stated that he was currently suffering pain in his chest and right arm, and referred to having an ulcer on his right arm from an injury that he incurred prior to his arrest. Plaintiff was then placed in a cell.
At 3:38 p.m. on January 6, 2000, Detective Maureen Maher (a/k/a Maureen Brinker) prepared a Request for Warrant form and faxed it to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. The prosecutor's office did not respond until 8:27 a.m. on January 11, 2000, whereupon the prosecutor indicated that Plaintiff would be charged with the offense of "Domestic Violence—A & B." Despite the five day delay in hearing back from the prosecutor, Defendants claim that, after Plaintiff had been detained for 20 hours, it was determined on January 7 that Plaintiff would be charged with domestic violence, not felonious assault. Purportedly based on Plaintiff's imminent misdemeanor charge, Detective Maher set a one hundred dollar bond.
At noon on January 7, Plaintiff asked his jailers why he had not yet been arraigned and told them that he needed to be at work by 2:00 p.m. Plaintiff was told that he would be taken to court. By 2:00 p.m., Plaintiff still had not been processed, so he asked an officer if he could call his boss. The officer responded that he had called Plaintiff's employer, assuring Plaintiff that everything was okay. Plaintiff claims that he was not permitted to make any telephone calls during the entire period of his incarceration.
Plaintiff was moved to a different cell during the afternoon of January 7. In the process of the transfer, Plaintiff told the officers that he should not be put in the new cell without a blanket and a mattress because he would get sick. In response, four officers—Crapanzano, Yesta, O'Connor, and Porta—hit him a total of ten times on the head and back; the officer described as "fat" struck Plaintiff repeatedly, and Porta kneed him in the back. One of the officers purportedly used a blunt object. According to Plaintiff, the blows caused him to drop to the floor in a fetal position, whereupon Officer Crapanzano kicked him in the head. Plaintiff was then picked up off the ground and thrown into his cell. Once in the cell, an officer struck his left and right arms and his back, causing bruises on his arms. Jail logs indicate that Lieutenant Francis Canning was the supervisor in charge of the jail at the time the alleged beating occurred.
Thereafter, paramedics were summoned for Plaintiff, who was complaining of shortness of breath due to an asthma attack, a headache, and chest pain caused by the shortness of breath. The paramedics treated Plaintiff with medicine and oxygen. A report completed by the paramedics indicates that Plaintiff was having difficulty breathing, but that Plaintiff "denie[d] any other problems." The report further indicated that, after Plaintiff's breathing was brought under control, Plaintiff said that he felt fine. The report also states, "PD [presumably Police Department] refused to let him go to hosp[ital] after being told he should." An Officer Volante signed the back of the report in acknowledgment of the refusal to let the paramedics take Plaintiff to a hospital.
Plaintiff alleges that at the 80th hour of his detention, which would have been during the morning of January 9, he complained to a heavyset officer about being held without arraignment beyond a 72-hour period. The officer agreed, and approached another officer sitting at the front desk (Plaintiff claims that the other officer was a lieutenant), presumably to ask him about this issue. According to Plaintiff, the lieutenant "just waved his hand." The heavyset officer returned to the area of Plaintiff's cell, hunched his shoulders, and told Plaintiff that he had tried.
At approximately 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 9, Officer A. Minard approached Plaintiff's cell and told him to get up because he was going to be arraigned. When Plaintiff exited his cell, he expressed skepticism that he was really going to be arraigned because he did not believe there would be a judge available on a Sunday evening. In response, Minard said, "What the fuck did I tell you?" and started spraying mace at Plaintiff. He then spun Plaintiff around, pushed his head into a steel post, grabbed Plaintiff again, and pushed his head into another steel post.1 A few hours later, the paramedics were summoned a second time because Plaintiff was having symptoms of an asthma attack. Plaintiff alleges that this asthma attack was triggered by this second beating.
Some time that same night (Sunday, January 9), a female officer told Plaintiff that he could be released on a one hundred dollar bond. Plaintiff claims, however, that he was not permitted to make a telephone call in order to get the money. Further, Plaintiff testified that another inmate, referred to as the "Tire Man," had offered to pay Plaintiff's bond, but that the officers would not allow it. Plaintiff could not identify a specific officer at the jail whom he advised of the "Tire Man's" willingness to pay his bond; he did say, however, that he advised anybody who could hear him.
Plaintiff was released from jail at 8:00 a.m. on Monday, January 10. Once at his home, Officers Johnson and Matatall confronted Plaintiff and told him that he had two minutes to gather his personal effects and leave the house or else face arrest. Plaintiff allegedly called the Taylor Police Department from his home and asked to speak to a supervisor about being thrown out of his house. He spoke to a male lieutenant who told Plaintiff that he would go to jail if he stayed at his house. Jail logs indicate that Lieutenant Canning was the supervisor in charge of the Police Department at the time.
On January 12, 2000, Plaintiff went to a medical facility and told the treating physician that he had been incarcerated for three days and had suffered a beating. Plaintiff complained of dizziness and contusions on various parts of his body, which are documented in the medical record of his visit.
Plaintiff subsequently complained to Police Chief Thomas Bonner about his treatment at the City of Taylor jail. Commander Jac Desrosiers responded via letter of April 25, 2000, that he had investigated Plaintiff's complaint, but found no evidence to support his claims.
On July 21, 2000, Plaintiff sued the City of Taylor Police Department and John Doe (a police officer of the City of Taylor), alleging four claims: (1) gross negligence under Michigan law; (2) cruel and unusual punishment under the Michigan and U.S. Constitutions; (3) violations of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on the City of Taylor's failure to train and supervise its officers regarding the provision of medical treatment for, and the prevention of unnecessary injuries to, individuals in custody; and (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress under Michigan law against Defendant John Doe for assaulting and battering Plaintiff.
On January 17, 2002, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint, naming the City of Taylor, the City of Taylor Police Department, Sergeant Tapp, Lieutenant Canning, Lieutenant Zachary, and nine unnamed police officers (John Doe I through VIII and Jane Doe). The First...
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