Wynn v. Schmidt, CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-10190-RGS
| Decision Date | 05 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | CIVIL ACTION NO. 16-10190-RGS |
| Parties | MICHAEL WYNN, Plaintiff, v. HARRISON SCHMIDT, and GREGORY LENNON, in their individual capacities, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts |
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT
This is an action for malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress brought against two Cohasset police officers in their individual capacities. On March 26, 2015, the plaintiff, Michael Wynn, a registered sex offender, was arrested by the defendants, Harrison Schmidt and Gregory Lennon, following a report that a man in Cohasset had attempted to entice a 10 year old girl into his car by offering her a ride. Wynn remained in custody for 21 days until the Commonwealth filed a nolle prosequi and the charges against him were dismissed. Wynn concedes that the police had probable cause for his arrest, and that the arrest warrant was properly issued. Nevertheless, Wynn claims that his constitutional and state law rights were violated because the police allowed the investigation and case to continue after obtaining GPS data from a court-ordered electronic monitor that established that Wynn was elsewhere at the relevant time.
In his Complaint ("Compl."), Wynn has alleged a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 based on malicious prosecution (Count I) and state law claims of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress (Counts II and III, respectively). This matter is presently before the court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment (Docket No. 33), pursuant to which the defendants are seeking the dismissal of all the claims brought against them. The defendants contend that these claims fail both on the merits, and because the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity.
After consideration of the record and the oral argument of counsel, this court recommends to the District Judge to whom this case is assigned that the motion for summary judgment be ALLOWED. Even accepting Wynn's version of events as true, he has failed to establish a violation of his constitutional rights. Moreover, the defendants are entitled to qualified immunity since there is no evidence that the police officers should have known that they were precluded from questioning the veracity of GPS data (assuming that they were not, in fact, entitled to do so). Finally, the undisputed facts establish that Wynn's state law claims of malicious prosecution and intentional infliction of emotional distress fail on the merits.
The plaintiff, Michael Wynn, is a resident of North Attleboro, Massachusetts. DF ¶ 1. At all relevant times, defendant Harrison Schmidt was a Detective for the Cohasset Police Department, and defendant Gregory Lennon was a Detective Lieutenant for the Cohasset Police Department. DF ¶¶ 2-3.
On Thursday, March 26, 2015, Officer James McLean of the Cohasset Police Department took a walk-in report of suspicious activity from a 10 year old girl and her mother. See DF ¶¶ 10-11; Defs. Ex. 10 at 9/59. As Officer McLean wrote in his report, the girl stated that she was walking home from the school bus stop, and that when she was in front of her residence on Hill Street, Defs. Ex. 10 at 9/59. The girl shut the car door, ran home and called her mother, who was on her way home from work. Id. As Officer McLean reported further:
[The girl] described the BMW as an older model with round headlights. The passenger's side headlight lens was broken and there was a scratch on the passenger's door under the door handle. She noticed that the vehicle had Massachusetts license plates, however she was unable to read the registration. She said the interior of the vehicle was clean and that there was a gold iPhone 6 on the passenger's seat. [The girl] described the driver as a white male, middle aged with brown hair and unshaven. He had a slim build and she believed he was tall because his head was almost touching the roof of the vehicle. His voice was normal pitched and he spoke with no accent. He was wearing black clothing and a black watch cap.
Id. Officer McLean suggested that the girl look on-line when she got home to see if she could further identify the vehicle. Id. The girl's mother called back later and said that the girl was sure that the car had a Honda emblem, and that the color of the vehicle was Island Coral. Id.; DF ¶ 19; PR ¶ 19.
The Superintendent of Schools sent an email message to parents regarding the description of the man who had approached the girl. DF ¶ 26. A resident of a nearby street called the police and said that the description of the man and the vehicle was consistent with the man who delivered the Patriot Ledger newspapers in the neighborhood, usually between 2 and 3 p.m. every day. PR ¶ 26; Pl. Ex. 12. The resident also reported that she had spoken to the deliveryman in the past, and that he was "socially off." Pl. Ex. 12. This information was conveyed to Det. Lt. Lennon. Id.
Det. Schmidt coordinated with the Patriot Ledger staff in order to identify the driver. DF ¶ 29. Det. Schmidt learned from the plaintiff's supervisor that Wynn was the only delivery driver for Cohasset at the time, Wynn drove a red Chevrolet compact, possibly an Aveo, Wynn had been working the Cohasset route for six months to one year, and his daily routine began at 11:00 a.m. DF ¶ 30. Det. Schmidt then checked the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry, which appeared to disclose that Wynn was a registered sex offender with convictions for possession of child pornography in Massachusetts, and rape of a child and enticement of a child in Connecticut. DF ¶ 31; PR ¶ 31.2
The police investigation continued. It appeared that Wynn had not registered his place of work, the Town of Cohasset, with the North Attleboro Police Department and Sex Offender Registry Board, as required by law. DF ¶ 33.3 A check of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles records disclosed that Wynn lived in North Attleboro, and that he owned a red 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. DF ¶ 34.
Det. Schmidt then applied to a clerk-magistrate, and obtained a temporary arrest warrant for Wynn. DF ¶¶ 35, 38. The alleged crimes were failure to register as a sex offender and enticing a child under the age of 16. Defs. Ex. 10 at 5/59. Officer McLean's report regarding his conversations with the girl and her mother (described above) was attached as an exhibit to Det. Schmidt's arrest warrant affidavit. Id. at 9/59. However, in his affidavit, Det. Schmidt stated that the man who spoke with the girl had been in a "red car." Id. at 6/59, ¶ 7. There is no reference in the affidavit to the fact that the girl had identified the car as a Honda (or BMW), or that she had identified the color as Island Coral, not red. Id. at 5-7/59. Nevertheless, Wynn concedes that there was probable cause for the arrest warrant to issue. See Pl. Mem. (Docket No. 39) at 1 ().
The warrant was executed on Friday March 27, 2015, and Wynn was arrested at approximately 9:40 p.m. that evening. PF ¶ 11. After being advised of his legal rights, Wynn elected to make a statement. DF ¶¶ 40-41. Wynn admitted to Det. Lt. Lennon and Det.Schmidt that he was sexually attracted to post-pubescent children, but denied that he stopped near or approached a female child in the vicinity of Hill Street on March 26, 2015. DF ¶ 42. He admitted to working for the Patriot Ledger and to delivering newspapers to customers on Hill Street and in the surrounding areas. DF ¶ 43. At the time the arrest warrant was sought and obtained, the officers were not aware that Wynn was wearing a GPS bracelet as a condition of his probation. DF ¶ 44. However, they learned this fact during the course of Wynn's booking and arrest. PF ¶ 12.
On Saturday morning, Det. Lt. Lennon was notified by the North Attleboro Police Department that Wynn had, in fact, properly registered his place of employment in Cohasset, but that the North Attleboro Police Department had mistakenly failed to report this information. DF ¶ 48; PF ¶ 18. As a result, Det. Lt. Lennon understood that there was no longer probable cause to hold Wynn for a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. PF ¶ 19. The only basis to hold him was the charge of enticement of a minor. Id.
Later in the evening of Saturday, March 28, 2015, Det. Harrison and Det. Lt. Lennon met the girl and her father in North Attleboro for the stated purpose of looking at a parked vehicle to see if she could identify it. PF ¶ 20; DF ¶ 49; Defs. Ex. 10 at 22/59. The girl was shown Wynn's red car, which she identified as being the car involved in the incident. Defs. Ex. 10 at 22/59. The girl noted a scratch on the car and a broken portion of the bottom part of the vehicle's grill, which she stated she had observed when the vehicle had approached her. Id. The girl was questioned about the fact that she had reported that a headlight was broken, yet none of the headlights on Wynn's car were, in fact, broken. Id. The girl said that from the angle at which she had observed the car, the round headlight had appeared cracked to her. Id. Thegirl also had reported that the car was clean, while Wynn's car was messy and had a number of items related to delivering newspapers strewn about the car, including a postal bin in the footwell of the front passenger seat. PF ¶ 22. However, the victim was not asked about this discrepancy. Id. She was, however, asked how sure she was about the identification, to which she responded, "I'm sure" that it was the vehicle. Defs. Ex. 10 at 22/59.
Later that evening, the girl was shown a photo array by a Hingham Police Officer. DF ¶ 53. The girl did not identify Wynn. Id.; PR ¶ 53.
At some point thereafter, either on either Saturday, March 28, or...
To continue reading
Request your trial