Alvarado v. City of Chicago

648 F. Supp. 994, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16568
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 11, 1986
DocketNo. 86 C 3555
StatusPublished

This text of 648 F. Supp. 994 (Alvarado v. City of Chicago) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Alvarado v. City of Chicago, 648 F. Supp. 994, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16568 (N.D. Ill. 1986).

Opinion

[995]*995MEMORANDUM ORDER

BUA, District Judge.

Plaintiff brings this action against multiple defendants. Plaintiff alleges that defendants deprived plaintiff of various constitutional rights. Plaintiff seeks relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Presently before this court is defendants’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule 12(b)(6). For the reasons stated below, defendants’ motion is denied in part and granted in part. The following defendants are dismissed from this action: City of Chicago, Police Board of the City of Chicago, Fred Rice, Jesse Hoskins, Ronald Picur and Cecil Partee. The claims against the remaining two defendants, James Cleary and Robert Curry, are dismissed to the extent they relate to the defendants’ official capacities. However, the claims against the remaining two defendants remain viable to the extent they relate to the defendants’ personal capacities.

FACTS

All well-pleaded facts are taken as true for purposes of this motion.

Plaintiff was a Chicago policeman from May 16,1975 until November 22, 1985. On November 22, 1985, plaintiff conferred with two police officers from the police department’s Internal Affairs Division. These officers were defendants Curry and Cleary. During the conference, these officers threatened plaintiff with criminal prosecution if plaintiff would not resign from his position with the Chicago Police Department. Alternatively, Cleary and Curry threatened to confiscate plaintiff’s police star, revoke plaintiff’s police powers and assign plaintiff to the “radio room” in the event plaintiff refused to resign.

On November 22, 1985, plaintiff involuntarily resigned from the police department while acting under duress.

On December 13, 1985, plaintiff notified the Department of Personnel that he considered his resignation null and void because it was signed under duress. On January 21, 1986, Fred Rice refused to consider the plaintiff as a member of the police department.

DISGUSSION

A. City of Chicago and the Police Board of the City of Chicago

Plaintiff believes that the Complaint states a § 1983 claim against the City of Chicago and the Police Board. The Complaint implicitly alleges that two police officers violated plaintiff’s constitutional rights while implementing an unconstitutional municipal policy. In particular, plaintiff tacitly contends that the single unconstitutional event alleged was sufficient to establish a Monell “policy” allegation. This court disagrees.

Several requirements must be met to state a claim for municipal liability pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. First, the complaint must allege that the plaintiff was deprived of a constitutional right. Second, the plaintiff must plead that the constitutional deprivation was caused by a government official acting in accordance with a municipal policy or custom. Oklahoma City v. Tuttle, 471 U.S. 808, 105 S.Ct. 2417, 85 L.Ed.2d 791 (1985); Monell v. New York City, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). In addition, boilerplate assertions of municipal liability, without sufficient factual allegations to support those assertions, do not state a § 1983 claim against a municipality. Rodgers v. Lincoln Towing Services, Inc., 771 F.2d 194, 202 (7th Cir.1985). Alleging a specific incident of constitutional deprivation and generally alleging that the deprivation resulted from custom or policy are not adequate. In general, the plaintiff must allege a specific pattern or series of incidents that support the general allegation. Hossman v. Blunk, 784 F.2d 793 (7th Cir.1986).

In the instant case, plaintiff fails to sufficiently plead a § 1983 action. Plaintiff does not meet the “policy” requirement of Monell. The Complaint does not maintain that plaintiff’s constitutional rights [996]*996were deprived as the result of city police officers acting pursuant to any policy, custom or practice. Instead, plaintiff claims he was deprived of his rights as a result of the City’s failure to “properly train, supervise, regulate, discipline or to otherwise control their employees and the failure to promulgate proper guidelines for the resignation and/or termination of employees and the continued failure to discipline or reprimand those who use threats of prosecution to force the resignations) of employees.”

The fundamental question before this court is whether plaintiff’s allegation of a single isolated incident of constitutional deprivation is sufficient to state a § 1983 claim against a municipality. The United States Supreme Court recently addressed this issue in Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, — U.S. —, 106 S.Ct. 1292, 89 L.Ed.2d 452 (1986). In Pembaur, the Supreme Court was confronted with the issue of whether, and under what circumstances, a single incident resulting from a direct command by municipal policymakers may satisfy the Monell “policy” requirement. The Pembaur Court held that municipal liability under § 1983 attaches to a single isolated incident when — and only when — a deliberate choice to follow a course of action is made from among various alternatives by the official responsible for establishing final policy with respect to the subject matter in question.

This court finds that plaintiff’s allegation of an isolated incident of constitutional deprivation fails to state a § 1983 claim against either the City of Chicago or the Police Board. This court requires more than a conclusory assertion that improper training and supervising caused unconstitutional conduct in a § 1983 action. This court believes a “policy” generally implies a course of action consciously chosen from among various alternatives. Plaintiff does not claim the present policy toward terminated police officers resulted from a conscious choice to improperly train and supervise active policemen. In addition, the Complaint fails to plead that any policymaker deliberately chose a program intended to improperly train and supervise active police officers. Next, plaintiff does not allege any deliberate supervisory indifferences or that any policymaker was grossly negligent in his actions. In sum, plaintiff failed to plead a “policy” that constitutes a moving force behind the police officers’ subsequent unconstitutional conduct.

For these reasons, defendants City of Chicago and the Police Board’s motion to dismiss is granted.

B. Individual Defendants in their Official Capacities

Plaintiff chose to sue the remaining defendants in both their official and personal capacities. All defendants move to dismiss plaintiff’s claim against them in their official capacities. This court grants defendants’ motion to dismiss for the following reasons.

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Related

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Gomez v. Toledo
446 U.S. 635 (Supreme Court, 1980)
City of Oklahoma v. Tuttle
471 U.S. 808 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati
475 U.S. 469 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Steve Rodgers v. Lincoln Towing Service, Inc.
771 F.2d 194 (Seventh Circuit, 1985)
Alvarez v. City of Chicago
633 F. Supp. 1361 (N.D. Illinois, 1986)

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Bluebook (online)
648 F. Supp. 994, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/alvarado-v-city-of-chicago-ilnd-1986.