Watson v. City of New York

• Decision Date: 05 August 1996
• Docket Number: Nos. 979,1325,D,s. 979
• Citation: 92 F.3d 31
• Parties: Shirley WATSON, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, Peter Holtz, individually and as a Police Officer, City of New York, Defendant-Cross-Appellee, Allyn R. Sielaff, individually and as Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the City of New York, Defendant. ockets 95-7573(L), 95-7613(XAP).
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 31

92 F.3d 31

Shirley WATSON, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant, v. The CITY OF NEW YORK, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee Peter Holtz, individually and as a Police Officer, City of New York, Defendant-Cross-Appellee Allyn R. Sielaff, individually and as Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the City of New York, Defendant.

Nos. 979, 1325, Dockets 95-7573(L), 95-7613(XAP).

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued March 20, 1996.

Decided Aug. 5, 1996.

Deborah R. Douglas, Assistant Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, New York City (Paul A. Crotty, Corporation Counsel, Kristin H. Helmers, Assistant Corporation Counsel, New York City, of counsel), for Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee.

Carolyn A. Kubitschek, New York City (Lansner & Kubitschek, New York City, of counsel), for Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant.

Robert M. Baum, Attorney-in-Charge, Criminal Defense Division, The Legal Aid Society, New York City (Michele Maxian, Anthony Elitcher, The Legal Aid Society, New York City, of counsel), for Amicus Curiae The Legal Aid Society.

Before LUMBARD and MAHONEY, Circuit Judges, and OWEN, ^* District Judge.

MAHONEY, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-appellant-cross-appellee the City of New York (the "City") appeals from the denial by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, John F. Keenan, Judge, of the City's motions for judgment as a matter of law pursuant to Rule 50 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that were made both before and after a jury verdict that awarded plaintiff-appellee-cross-appellant Shirley Watson ("Watson") $20,000 on her claim that the City unduly delayed her arraignment in violation of New York law. Watson cross-appeals from the district court's dismissal, at the conclusion of the plaintiff's case, of her claim that the undue delay in her arraignment violated her rights under the United States Constitution. These determinations are reflected in a judgment entered June 1, 1995 in that court from which the appeal and cross-appeal are taken.

We reverse on the appeal and affirm on the cross-appeal.

Background

On the evening of September 9, 1991, Watson learned from a neighbor that Watson's son, Marty Watson, had been shot. At approximately 8:00 p.m., Watson, accompanied by her daughter Marcia, arrived at Metropolitan Hospital ("Metropolitan") at 96th Street and First Avenue in Manhattan, where her daughters Regina and Francine were already present and Marty was undergoing treatment. Watson attempted to get information about Marty's condition.

Captain Brian Milzoff, the Emergency Medical Services ("EMS") duty captain for Bronx County, testified that between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. that evening a group of people who had gathered outside Metropolitan accused a paramedic of taking a gold chain from the neck of a patient who had been admitted to Metropolitan earlier in the evening. Milzoff testified that he suggested that the group file a formal grievance, but the group became unruly "and a big melee broke out."

Milzoff decided that he needed assistance in handling the situation, and contacted the New York City Police Department (the "NYPD"). Several officers quickly arrived and ended the altercation. They authorized the hospital police to take into custody a man, later identified as Watson's son, Hezekiah or Peter Watson, who had allegedly assaulted an EMS lieutenant during the fight. Initially, the hospital police released Peter Watson after issuing him a summons for disorderly conduct. After Milzoff's supervisors told him that this was an unacceptable response to the assault, Milzoff again contacted the NYPD and requested that they arrest Peter Watson.

Shortly thereafter, defendant-cross-appellee NYPD Lieutenant Peter Holtz came to Metropolitan in order to assess whether Peter Watson should be arrested, and if so, to effect the arrest. Holtz interviewed several witnesses, and learned that Peter Watson was still present at Metropolitan. Accompanied by two other NYPD officers, Felipe Rodriguez and Julio Moreno, Holtz then located and arrested Peter Watson.

At trial, the parties offered conflicting testimony about the subsequent events. Watson testified that she calmly approached the officers who were placing Peter Watson in handcuffs, and repeatedly asked Holtz where her son was being taken. She claimed that Holtz eventually replied, "All you black people are just alike. I'm tired of you asking me the same question." Then, according to Watson, Holtz punched Watson in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She testified that the other two officers pulled Holtz back and told him not to strike Watson. The officers then handcuffed and arrested Watson, intentionally tightening the handcuffs after she requested that they be loosened. She was successively brought to the Twenty-third Precinct, where she was briefly interrogated, fingerprinted, and photographed, to Central Booking at One Police Plaza, where she was again fingerprinted and photographed, and to the courthouse at 100 Centre Street, where she was held in a cell with a number of other people awaiting arraignment.

According to Holtz (whose testimony was generally corroborated by Rodriguez and Moreno), Peter Watson was with a group of six or seven people, including his mother, when he was arrested. Watson persistently inquired why her son was being arrested, and then became loud and boisterous after Holtz explained that the arrest resulted from Peter Watson's assault upon an EMS officer and that Peter Watson would be taken to the Twenty-third Precinct.

After receiving an affirmative identification of Peter Watson from the assaulted EMS lieutenant, Holtz testified that the officers brought Peter Watson outside to their patrol car at the south side of Metropolitan, followed by Watson and the group of people accompanying her. Throughout the period when Holtz was escorting Peter Watson to the police car, Watson was continually tugging on Holtz's arm.

Holtz claimed that Peter Watson resisted being placed in the patrol car, and the officers attempted to pull down his shoulders in order to put him into the back seat. Holtz alleged that while he was attempting to get Peter Watson into the car, Watson jumped on his back and grabbed his neck. Startled by this attack, Holtz turned and pushed Watson, who fell backwards to the ground in a sitting position. The officers then arrested Watson, and charged her with assault, resisting arrest, and obstructing governmental administration. Holtz denied either having punched Watson or having used racial epithets.

It is undisputed that Watson remained incarcerated until her arraignment, which occurred at 12:00 p.m. on September 11, 1991, approximately thirty-six hours after her arrest. On October 15, 1992, all charges against Watson were dismissed on speedy trial grounds pursuant to section 30.30 of the New York Criminal Procedure Law.

On December 7, 1992, Watson initiated the present action against the City, Holtz individually and in his official capacity, and Allyn R. Sielaff, the Commissioner of the Department of Correction of the City, individually and in his official capacity. Count one of Watson's complaint charged Holtz with violating Watson's constitutional rights by using racially motivated excessive force in effecting her arrest, and the City with "deliberate indifference to police brutality[,] ... especially [regarding] African-Americans." Count two charged the City with failing its obligation adequately to train its police officers. Count three charged that Holtz falsely imprisoned Watson by arresting her without probable cause on account of her race, and charged the City with knowledge of racism within the police department and a failure to take adequate steps to address this situation. Count three also charged Sielaff and the City with a "fail[ure] to provide individuals with hearings within a reasonable time after the arrests of those individuals," ¹ acting under color of state law in violation of federal law. Count four alleged that the excessive force used by Holtz violated Watson's rights under New York State law. Count five charged Holtz with false arrest, and the City and Sielaff with wrongfully imprisoning Watson, in violation of New York State law. Finally, Count six charged Holtz with malicious prosecution of Watson.

Trial commenced on March 13, 1995. At the conclusion of the plaintiff's case, Watson agreed to dismiss count one as to the City, leaving Holtz as the sole defendant on that count. Watson also agreed to dismiss count two in its entirety, and count three as to Sielaff. The district court dismissed the federal constitutional claim against the City with respect to count three, but ruled that the "state claim" under that count, see infra note 5, survived. The district court dismissed count five as to the City and Sielaff on the ground that it was duplicative of count three, and also dismissed count six.

In denying the City's motion to dismiss the "state claim" under count three, see infra note 5, the district court stated that People ex rel. Maxian ex rel. Roundtree v. Brown, 77 N.Y.2d 422, 568 N.Y.S.2d 575, 570 N.E.2d 223 (1991) (per curiam), "say[s] that there is an obligation [on the part of the City] to give an explanation when the delay [in arraignment] is more than 24 hours." The City argued that Roundtree, which was a habeas corpus case interpreting section 140.20(1) of the New York Criminal Procedure Law, ² was inapplicable because it did not create a private right of action for money damages in a civil case. ³ Nevertheless, the district court ruled that the issue could go to the jury.

At the conclusion of trial, the district court submitted special interrogatories to the jury on the remaining counts. The basic interrogatories regarding liability inquired whether Holtz had (1) used excessive force against Watson in violation of her constitutional rights, (2) committed an assault and...