Webster v. Westlake
| Citation | 587 F.Supp.3d 846 |
| Decision Date | 24 February 2021 |
| Docket Number | 4:19-cv-00302 |
| Parties | Trenisha WEBSTER, Plaintiff, v. Jennifer WESTLAKE, Lori Kelly, and Des Moines, Iowa, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa |
587 F.Supp.3d 846
Trenisha WEBSTER, Plaintiff,
v.
Jennifer WESTLAKE, Lori Kelly, and Des Moines, Iowa, Defendants.
4:19-cv-00302
United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division.
Signed February 24, 2021
Brandon John Brown, Jessica Donels, Brown & Bergmann, L.L.P., Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiff.
Michelle Mackel-Wiederanders, Des Moines City Attorney, Des Moines, IA, for Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
ROBERT W. PRATT, Judge
Before the Court are Plaintiff Trenisha Webster's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment filed on August 14, 2020, and Defendants’ City of Des Moines, Lori Kelly, and Jennifer Westlake's Motion for Summary Judgment filed on September 3, 2020. ECF Nos. 23, 26. Defendants filed a Response to Plaintiff's Motion on September 3, 2020. ECF No. 27. Plaintiff filed a consolidated Response to Defendants’ Motion and Reply to Defendants’ Response on September 24. ECF No. 33. The Court
heard oral argument on the Motions on November 24, 2020. ECF No. 36. The matter is fully submitted.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
On October 16, 2018, Defendants Jennifer Westlake and Lori Kelly, detectives with the Family Conflict Unit of the Des Moines Police Department, visited Plaintiff Trenisha Webster's home with Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) child protective worker (CPW) Melissa Krug, Des Moines Police Officer Lindsey Kenkel, and Des Moines Police Detective Brian Mathis. See ECF No. 24; ECF No. 23 Ex. 2 at 14:00. CPW Krug had previously visited the home to investigate a claim of child abuse involving Plaintiff's minor child, L.B. ECF No. 28 at 4. CPW Krug saw injuries on L.B.’s legs, and L.B. informed CPW Krug that Robert Rushing, Plaintiff's romantic partner at the time, inflicted the injuries using a belt. Id. L.B. also stated Plaintiff had beaten her in the past. Id.
Krug photographed L.B.’s injuries1 and then attempted the aforementioned home visit. Id. Finding Plaintiff "dismissive" and "defensive," CPW Krug contacted the Des Moines Police Department. Id. at 5. Defendants Westlake and Kelly agreed to meet Krug at the home "to ensure the safety of the child and to have [Plaintiff] cooperate with DHS and sign a safety plan." Id. Defendants did not seek or obtain arrest warrants, a search warrant, or a removal order prior to the home visit. ECF No. 23-1 ¶ 16.
The remainder of the relevant interactions in this case were clearly recorded by police body cameras. See ECF No. 24; ECF No. 23 Ex. 1 at 1:19–6:38, Ex. 2 at 8:44–14:03. Both parties agree the footage accurately represents the interaction between Plaintiff and Defendants Westlake and Kelly on October 16, 2018. ECF No. 23-1 ¶ 4. The material facts in this case are therefore readily ascertainable. Because this decision relies heavily upon the body camera footage, it is prudent to describe the footage in detail.
The Court takes judicial notice, based on body camera footage from Defendant Westlake and corroborated by footage from Officer Kenkel's body camera, that an interaction began when Defendant Westlake knocked on Plaintiff's back door and she answered. ECF No. 23 Ex. 1 at 1:19, Ex. 2 at 8:44. Less than six minutes later, Defendants arrested Plaintiff. ECF No. 23 Ex. 1 at 6:38, Ex. 2 at 14:03. Based upon the body camera footage, the Court takes further notice that the intervening dialogue proceeded as follows:
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Hi, are you Trenisha?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: What is this for?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: This is—I'm Detective Westlake with the Des Moines Police Department. I need to talk to you about your daughter, L.B.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: L.B.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Yeah. L.B., okay. Yeah.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Hold on.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Is she here?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Do you need speak to her?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: I'd like to see her and see how she is.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She's fine.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. That's not what I said. I said I'd like to speak to her. Is Robert here?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Why?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Umm, because—
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: I need to know the full extent of all of this.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: So DHS got a call from the school today because she has injuries to her legs. Are you aware of the injuries to her legs?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She has no injuries.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. I have photos of the injuries to her legs.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Okay. They're not considered injuries.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. Those actually would be considered injuries; okay? And so DHS came here to talk to you guys about what happened and how she got them. Do you know how she got them?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Yes.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. How did she get them?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She got them.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Next question.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: How—how did she get them? That's what I'm saying.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She got them. She was punished.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Next question.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. So is this a best—is this a belt mark then, is that how she was punished? Is that with a belt?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It is a marking of a punishment.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. And did you do that or did Robert do that?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It doesn't matter who did it.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Well, it does matter who did it.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Why?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Because this is excessive punishment.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Is someone getting arrested or does anybody have a warrant, is the question?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Actually, I—I—I am gonna arrest Robert, if he's the one that did it. Unless you tell me did you it.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: For what? What is this?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Because these are excessive.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Those are not considered excessive.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: They—they are excessive.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: How so?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: I've already talked to the County Attorney; okay? So we're here to try to, like, make a safety plan, make sure she's okay. Because these marks are not okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She's fine.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Listen. I get it.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She's my daughter and I raise her.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Right. But these marks are not okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: She bruises easily. She takes after her mother. I bruise easily.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. This isn't—this isn't a bruise. This is an open—this is a skin broken type of injury. This is not okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Do you have kids?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Does it matter?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Yes, it does.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Well, why is that?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: You're asking me about mine. So do you have kids?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: That doesn't matter.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It does matter.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Because I investigate cases with kids.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Because I want to know how you discipline your children.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: We're not talking about whether or not I have kids or how I discipline them.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: How do you discipline your kids?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: That doesn't matter.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: So why should I continue to ask questions—answer questions?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Because I have proof of injuries to your daughter.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Yeah, my daughter.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Right. But—
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: So how do you discipline your children?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: —just because it's your daughter doesn't mean that these injuries are okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: I didn't say they were okay.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: You just said—
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It's called discipline.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Right.
DETECTIVE KELLY: No, this is called a—
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: This is called abuse.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: I'm not talking to you.
DETECTIVE KELLY: This is a beating.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: That is not a beating.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: That is not—this is—
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Do you have kids?
DETECTIVE KELLY: Yes, I do have kids.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Okay. Mind your damn business. Next question.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: This is how it is. Like, this is not okay. So you can either cooperate or not cooperate.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: I am cooperating, but—
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: You're not cooperating.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: —it's my child.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Right. And this is abuse.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: And I just asked you a question.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: What—what is your question?...
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: My question is: Do you have children?
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: That has nothing to do with it.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It does.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: I don't have children.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: You're questioning my choices.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: I investigate crimes, and I am trained to investigate crimes, regarding children.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: And I am authorized by rights to ask my questions.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. So we're only going to go round and round so much; okay?
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Yeah, we are.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: So you can work with DHS and you can work with myself, or you can not to.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: I don't trust y'all. I don't trust the system.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: I'm not asking you to trust me.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: DHS is the biggest sex trafficking company that there is. And don't you roll your eyes and smirk because you know it is. It's because of y'all—
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: —that black kids and other minority kids are taken away from their family and sent to other families and then later on become dead.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: Thank you DHS.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: This is not how this is gonna go.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: You're not doing that to my kid.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. Listen. I don't want to take away your kid.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: You're not going to.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: Okay. But this is abuse.
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: It is not called abuse.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: And so you guys—
MS. TRENISHA WEBSTER: This is called discipline.
DETECTIVE WESTLAKE: —can either sit down and discuss this with
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