White v. City of Athens

• Decision Date: 04 March 2016
• Docket Number: Case No.: 5:14-cv-00445-MHH
• Citation: 169 F.Supp.3d 1254
• Parties: Jason A. White, Plaintiff, v. City of Athens, William R. Marks, Floyd Johnson, Tracy Harrison, Reed Wayne Harper, and Trevor Harris, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

169 F.Supp.3d 1254

Jason A. White, Plaintiff,

v.City of Athens, William R. Marks, Floyd Johnson, Tracy Harrison, Reed Wayne Harper, and Trevor Harris, Defendants.

Case No.: 5:14-cv-00445-MHH

United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Northeastern Division.

Signed March 4, 2016

John D. Saxon, John D. Saxon, Jr., John D. Saxon P.C., Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiff.

Mary Ellen Gill, C. Gregory Burgess, Lauren A. Smith, Lanier Ford Shaver & Payne P.C., Huntsville, AL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MADELINE HUGHES HAIKALA, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

I. Introduction

This case is before the Court on the defendants' motion to dismiss. Jason A. White claims the defendants retaliated against him for exercising his right to free speech under the First Amendment. Mr. White, a former member of the Athens Police Department, acted as a source for media reports concerning improprieties within the police department and expressed to his superiors support for the independent investigation of other officers. The defendants argue that Mr. White has failed to adequately allege legal bases for holding them liable for any purported retaliatory employment action. For the reasons discussed below, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the defendants'motion to dismiss.

II. Standard of Review

Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure states that a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a defendant may move to dismiss a complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). “Generally, to survive a [Rule 12(b)(6) ] motion to dismiss and meet the requirement of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), a complaint need not contain ‘detailed factual allegations,’ but rather ‘only enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Maledy v. City of Enterprise , 2012 WL 1028176, at *1 (M.D.Ala. March 26, 2012) (citation omitted) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). “Specific facts are not necessary; the statement need only ‘give the defendant fair notice of what the ...claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’ ” Erickson v. Pardus , 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (quoting Twombly , 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955 ).

“Thus, the pleading standard set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8 evaluates the plausibility of the facts alleged, and the notice stemming from a complaint's allegations.” Keene v. Prine , 477 Fed.Appx. 575, 583 (11th Cir.2012). “Where those two requirements are met ... the form of the complaint is not significant if it alleges facts upon which relief can be granted, even if it fails to categorize correctly the legal theory giving rise to the claim.” Id. When deciding a motion to dismiss, the Court must assume the truth of the factual allegations in the complaint and view those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Adinolfe v. United Tech. Corp. , 768 F.3d 1161, 1169 (11th Cir.2014).

In assessing the sufficiency of a complaint, the Court may consider only “the well-pleaded factual allegations, documents central to or referenced in the complaint, and matters judicially noticed.” La Grasta v. First Union Sec., Inc. , 358 F.3d 840, 845 (11th Cir.2004). In accordance with Federal Rule of Evidence 201 and the Court's previous ruling, the Court will take judicial notice of the City of Athens Code of Ordinances and the City of Athens Personnel Policies and Procedures. (Doc. 32); Fed. R. Evid. 201 (“The court may judicially notice a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it: (1) is generally known within the trial court's territorial jurisdiction; or (2) can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.”).

III. Factual and Procedural Background

The City of Athens hired Jason White in April 1999 as a police officer in the Athens Police Department. (Doc. 25, ¶ 12). Mr. White served with distinction, and the police department promoted him to sergeant in June 2005. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 13–15). Shortly after his promotion, Mr. White became the supervisor of the department reserve unit. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 17–20). Mr. White transferred to the general investigations unit as a detective sergeant in July 2006 and began to learn about some of the police department's “unsavory secrets.” (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 21–23).

In the summer of 2009, the Athens Police Department was rocked by scandal. (Doc. 25, ¶ 24). Tracy Harrison, then a captain in the police department, “covered up a DUI arrest made by the Department” after he received a call from the arrestee's attorney. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 24, 25). Captain Harrison deleted police department records; used a police car to pull over a U.S. mail carrier to obtain and destroy records that were en route to the Alabama Department of Public Safety; and asked arresting officer Jason Threet to lie about the arrest. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 24–28). Captain Harrison enlisted the help of Officer Threet and Lieutenant Pressnell to assist in the cover up, after which Officer Threet was promoted to sergeant. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 26–29). The Alabama Attorney General's Office investigated these incidents, and Chief of Police Harper formally reprimanded Captain Harrison and Officer Threet. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 30–32).

As the scandal unfolded, Mr. White communicated with Decatur Daily reporter Holly Hollman about the police department's cover-up of the Harrison corruption scandal and another incident involving a DA investigator fighting in public. (Doc. 25, ¶ 33). Local officials were not happy that an insider had contacted the media about the scandal. Mr. White met with Athens City Council President William R. Marks¹ in Mr. Marks's home in the fall of 2009. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 35–38). Mr. Marks told Mr. White that “whoever called the media [regarding the Harrison scandal] ... [was] looking at serious trouble.” (Doc. 25, ¶ 39). Two weeks after Mr. White met with Mr. Marks, Chief Harper and Lieutenant Floyd Johnson interrogated all police department investigators to determine who reported Captain Harrison to the Alabama Attorney General's Office and the media. (Doc. 25, ¶ 40).

In 2010, Chief Harper interrogated Mr. White again about Mr. White's knowledge of and dealings with local reporters. (Doc. 25, ¶ 41). During the interrogation, Mr. White stated that he supported reporting Captain Harrison's actions. (Doc. 25, ¶ 45).

Lieutenant Johnson attended the interrogation.² (Doc. 25, ¶ 42).

Soon after this meeting, the police department retaliated against Mr. White by removing him from his supervisory position in the police department's honor guard. (Doc. 25, ¶ 49). Mr. White was removed from his supervisory position even though Chief Harper stated Mr. White had performed satisfactorily. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 50–51). In January 2011, Mr. White was transferred from the investigations division and assigned to the day shift as a patrol sergeant, a demotion that left him under Captain Harrison's supervision. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 53–55).

Mr. White's ex-wife visited the Athens Police Department to lodge a complaint against Mr. White in April 2011.³ (Doc. 25, ¶ 58). She accused Mr. White of using his status as a police officer against her during their recent divorce proceedings, an accusation he denies. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 58–60). Lieutenant Harris, Chief Harper, Captain Harrison, and Lieutenant Johnson questioned Mr. White's ex-wife and initially focused, not on the complaint, but on Mr. White's possible involvement in reporting the Harrison corruption scandal. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 61–65).

Following the meeting with Mr. White's ex-wife, the defendants devised a plan to retaliate against Mr. White under the guise of routine discipline. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 66–67). The defendants initiated an investigation into Mr. White's alleged misconduct. Mr. White became aware of the investigation in June 2011 during a custody proceeding. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 68–69). When Mr. White and his counsel confronted Chief Harper about the investigation, Chief Harper told Mr. White about the complaint filed by White's ex-wife and informed him that “the office thought little of the potential offense” and that the “allegations were deemed to have little merit.” (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 70–72). Chief Harper assured Mr. White that it was very common for spouses involved in divorces or custody disputes to file complaints for officer misconduct like the one filed by Mr. White's ex-wife, which alleged that Mr. White “r[an] a license plate of an unknown vehicle for non-law-enforcement purposes.” (Doc. 25, ¶ 73).

On July 28, 2011, an agent of the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center (ACJIC) told Mr. White that he was under investigation. (Doc. 25, ¶ 74). Mr. White contacted a district attorney the following day to ask if he had broken the law, and district attorney Brian Jones replied that Mr. White likely had not broken the law and that the investigation against him “was obviously a ‘witch hunt’ based on [Mr. White's] knowledge of the Harrison corruption scandal.” (Doc. 25, ¶ 76).

During the summer of 2011, Mr. White visited Lieutenant Harris's office to ask about the status of a National Crime Information Center (NCIC) investigation into Mr. White's offense. (Doc. 25, ¶ 77). While Lieutenant Harris told Mr. White that he wanted to hear White's side of the story, he also informed him that only Chief Harper and Mr. Marks, who had recently been elected mayor, were allowed to speak with White about the matter. (Doc. 25, ¶¶ 78–79). Lieutenant Harris was surprised to hear that Chief Harper had previously discussed the investigation with Mr. White dismissively. (Doc. 25, ¶ 81). Mr. White told Lieutenant Harris that no one at the police department had asked White for information and implied that the investigation had been motivated by White's involvement in bringing Captain...