Arnold v. City of Philadelphia

151 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169928, 2015 WL 9304547
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 21, 2015
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 14-2598
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 151 F. Supp. 3d 568 (Arnold v. City of Philadelphia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Arnold v. City of Philadelphia, 151 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169928, 2015 WL 9304547 (E.D. Pa. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

WENDY BEETLESTONE, District Judge.

The case arises out of an encounter in 2011 between Plaintiff Crystal Arnold (nee Snider) and Philadelphia police officers in which Arnold was taken into custody and later released, and after which Plaintiff was abducted and raped by an unknown third party. Plaintiff brings this action against Police Officer Joseph Guinan (“Guinan”) and Police Officer Nicole Eng-gasser1 (“Enggasser”) (collectively, “the officers”), alleging claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for state-created danger, which violated her Fourteenth Amendment rights, and state law claims for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress (“IIED”). Plaintiff also sues the-City of Philadelphia (“the City”), asserting a claim under Monell v. City of N. Y. Dept. of Social Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978). Before the Court is defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to each of Arnold’s claims. For the reasons .discussed herein, summary judgment is granted in part and denied in part.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

On the evening of August 19, 2011, Plaintiff Crystal Arnold left work at the end of her shift and went to a bar to celebrate a co-worker’s birthday. See Joint Appendix' (“JA”) 29; Defendants’ Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“Def. Facts”)’ ¶ 1; Plaintiffs Statement of Disputed Material Facts (“PL Facts”) ¶ 1. An hour later, Arnold and a friend proceeded to a second bar, where they stayed until it closed around 2:00 a.m. JA 31. Arnold testified at her deposition that she did not recall how many alcoholic drinks she consumed over the course of the evening, but estimated that it was probably more than five. Id.-, Def. Facts ¶2; PI. Facts ¶2. That same evening, Philadelphia Police Officers Enggasser and Guinan were on patrol out of the 24th police district headquarters. JA 121, 203.

When Arnold arrived home, she dropped her clutch purse on the ground. JA 31-33; Def. Facts ¶5; PI. Facts ¶ 5. Two teenagers on bicycles rode up to her, grabbed the purse containing Arnold’s debit card, identification, cell phone, keys, and money, and fled across the street where about twenty people were gathered. Id. Arnold followed the teens' into the street and yelled toward the house that she wanted her things back; she then began arguing with a woman. JA 31; Def. Facts ¶ 6; PL Facts ff 6. When Arnold continued to demand the return of [573]*573her belongings, another woman exited the house and struck her. JA 31. When she tried to defend herself, Arnold was kicked and hit repeatedly by several individuals. JA 31, 35, 623-24, 626; Def. Facts ¶8; PL Facts ¶ 8. - ••'*

■ Defendants responded to a radio call of a person screaming at Arnold’s location and arrived on scene at approximately 2:50 a.m. JA 35, 623; Def. Facts ¶¶ 9-10; PL Facts ¶¶ 9-10. Officer Enggasser observed that Arnold appeared to have been' in a fight and that her face was'bleeding. JA 205, 209; Def. Facts ¶ 11; PL Facts ¶ 11. When defendants ordered her to disperse, Arnold cursed at the officers and threw one of her .shoes at the police vehicle. JA 31, 205-07, 212. Arnold’s belligerence, use of profanity, and failure to follow simple commands led Officers Enggasser , and Guinan to conclude that Arnold was highly intoxicated. JA 144,209. When Arnold spat on the ground in the officers’ direction, they arrested her, placed her in handcuffs, and secured her inside the patrol vehicle. JA 213-15; Def. Facts ¶ 14; Pl. Facts ¶ 14. Neither Officer Enggasser nor Officer GuL nan offered Arnold medical assistance while she was in custody. JA 220-21. Defendants later issued Arnold a citation for public intoxication. JA 224, 623-25.

Here, the parties’ narratives diverge: Arnold maintains that she was “made to get out” of the police vehicle on Kensing-ton Avenue; Defendants assert that she was taken to the police station and released after being informed that there were pay phones available. JA 31,135, 205, 219-20; Def. Facts ¶¶17, 20; PL Facts ¶¶ 17, 20.2 Philadelphia Police Department Directive #128 states that, before an intoxicated person may be released from custody, a friend , ór relative must be contacted to accept responsibility for escorting her home; if next of kin is unavailable, the individual should be “housed in the respective district/division of arrest” until she has regained full control of her faculties. JA 629-30; Def. Facts ¶ 19; PL Facts ¶ 19. Sergeant Alfred Corson (“Corson”), the officers’ supervisor at the time, testified at his deposition that it is improper police procedure to release an intoxicated person without first contacting a family member. JA 304-05. Sergeant Rafael Ali (“Ali”), a corporal in the 24th district at the time of Arnold’s arrest, testified that if a person in custody is injured, officers must take that individual to a hospital for treatment and fill out a separate form.- JA 357-58. It is uncontested that Arnold ended up alone, shoeless, without her purse, wallet, or phone, while intoxicated, over a mile away from her.home. JA 32, 144, 219-20;.Def. Facts ,¶¶ 5,: 16,18,21; Pl. Facts ¶¶ 5,16,18, 21.

Nonetheless, Officer Enggasser was unconcerned that Arnold departed without assistance. JA 221, 226. At her deposition, Officer Enggasser testified to the following:

Q: Have you had situations where you have become aware in the years you’ve been a police officer that people who are intoxicated, that they can end up sustaining various .types of injury on. .the streets, have you seen that happen? ,
A: Yeah, I’ve seen that happen. (JA 226)
Q: .. Back- at the time when you let " [Arnold] had go [sic] and you saw her walk off into the darkness, you didn’t know where* she was going to go; right?
[574]*574A: She was an adult. (JA 221)

Officer Guinan testified similarly at his deposition:

Q: And others who seé you in an intoxicated condition, who are bad guys, you become more vulnerable, don’t ' you, if "you’re intoxicated; right?
A: You could. (JA 147) ■
Q: Did you think about that time this could create a risk to [Arnold], this is a risky situation for her, did that thought cross your mind, when you watched her walk away that night?
A: Not really. (JA 146)

The officers further testified that they was aware of Philadelphia Police directives that mandate all adult females charged with intoxication be transported to the Police Detention Unit (“PDU”), and that all prisoners in the PDU with injuries must receive medical treatment. JA 145-46, 233-35. Both officers conceded that they failed to comply with such directives. Id.

After her release from custody, Arnold “blacked out” and found herself walking on Kensington Avenue. JA 31-32; Def Facts ¶ 22; PI. Facts ¶ 22. Arnold “blacked out” again a short time later and awoke in a strange home, bent over a couch, with an unfamiliar man. JA 32. When she grew alarmed and began to scream, the man took Arnold to his vehicle where she “blacked out” for a third time. JA 32, 39. Arnold later awoke in an outdoor, gravel area where she was raped by the unknown man. JA 32; Def. Facts 1L25; PI. Facts ¶ 25.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
151 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 169928, 2015 WL 9304547, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/arnold-v-city-of-philadelphia-paed-2015.