Brian Arthur Hill v. Patrick Scott

349 F.3d 1068
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedNovember 14, 2003
Docket02-3220
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 349 F.3d 1068 (Brian Arthur Hill v. Patrick Scott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Brian Arthur Hill v. Patrick Scott, 349 F.3d 1068 (8th Cir. 2003).

Opinions

BYE, Circuit Judge.

Brian Arthur Hill filed this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claiming three officers of the St. Paul Police Department violated his Constitutional rights and state tort law when they arrested and detained him. The district court granted summary judgment for defendants on the grounds the defendants are protected from the federal claims by qualified immunity, Hill failed to establish his tort claims, and defendants were protected from the state claims by state official immunity. Hill appeals, arguing he proffered sufficient evidence to show the officers violated his clearly established rights. We affirm.

I

Pursuant to the proper standard of review, described below, the following are undisputed facts. Brian Arthur Hill was arrested just inside the doorway of his home by Officers Catherine Pavlak and Mark Pierce of the St. Paul Police Department. Pavlak and Pierce arrested Hill because Officer Patrick Scott told them there was a warrant for Hill’s arrest. Officer Scott had a previous history with Hill. In 1995, Hill sued Scott and other officers for wrongful arrest and excessive force, and defendants settled on the eve of trial. The events at issue in this action occurred less than one year after the settlement.

The events leading up to the arrest began when St. Paul Parking Enforcement Officer Michael Rasmussen attempted to take possession of a disabled parking permit issued to Hill’s father. The Hills had reported one of their two permits stolen and Rasmussen believed the permit hanging in Hill’s sister’s car was the one reported stolen. Hill disputes the permit was the one reported stolen and claims Rasmussen had no right to take it back. Hill objected strongly to giving the permit to Rasmussen, who felt threatened and called for police back-up. Officers Scott, Pavlak and Pierce responded to the scene.

Officer Scott did not participate in the actual arrest of Hill — such task being performed by Officers Pavlak and Pierce. But Scott’s actions leading to the arrest are at issue, and are as follows. When the three officers arrived, Scott recognized Hill and asked a dispatcher to conduct a warrant check on him. Specifically, Scott asked the dispatcher for information on first name “Brian” last name “Hill,” a black male in his late 20s, with a possible address of 1081 Hague and possibly a suspended license. The dispatcher replied there was an outstanding misdemeanor traffic warrant on a Brian Walter Hill, born August 19, 1972, who was 5'11" and 175 pounds with green eyes, on the charge of driving with no proof of insurance. The dispatcher did not confirm or deny any [1071]*1071other information. Scott believed the warrant was for appellant Hill and told Officers Pavlak and Pierce there was an arrest warrant out for Hill. Hill vehemently denied having a warrant. The officers tried to arrest Hill on the warrant but he resisted and retreated into his house. Officers Pavlak and Pierce followed him inside and one grabbed an arm. Hill and his sister fought with the officers. The officers sprayed Hill and his sister with mace and arrested both for obstructing legal process.

After Hill’s arrest, Pavlak and Pierce transported Hill to a hospital for treatment for the mace exposure. Meanwhile, Scott called the dispatcher with more specific information about Hill, namely, his birth date of April 24,1970. The dispatcher responded the Brian Hill with that birth date was Brian Arthur Hill, not Brian Walter Hill, and there were no outstanding warrants for Brian Arthur Hill. That information was communicated to Officers Pav-lak and Pierce who had custody of Hill at the hospital. Pavlak and Pierce declined Hill’s request to be released and booked him on a charge of obstructing legal process for the scuffle at the Hill residence. Hill was ultimately released without being charged for that or any other offense arising from these events.

Hill filed an eleven-count complaint against five individual defendants and the City of St. Paul. Those were winnowed down to the following four claims: (1) Officer Scott violated 42 U.S.C. § 1988 by failing to verify the information received from the dispatcher; (2) Officers Pavlak and Pierce violated § 1983 by failing to release Hill when they learned there was no warrant for him; (3) Scott, Pavlak and Pierce committed state law torts of false arrest and Scott intentionally inflicted emotional distress on Hill; and (4) the City is also charged for being vicariously liable for state-law torts. The defendants moved for summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity and the district court granted the motion. Hill appeals.

II

Appellate review of a grant of summary judgment is made de novo, applying the same standard as the district court. The question is whether, when all evidence and reasonable inferences are drawn in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the record shows the existence of any material fact. Graves v. Arkansas Dept. of Fin. & Admin., 229 F.3d 721, 723 (8th Cir.2000). Summary judgment will only be granted if the evidence shows “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). The district court granted summary judgment on the basis of qualified immunity.

Qualified immunity is available to government officials who prove their conduct did “not violate clearly established statutory or Constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known.” Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800, 818, 102 S.Ct. 2727, 73 L.Ed.2d 396 (1982). To avoid summary judgment based on qualified immunity, Hill had to proffer sufficient evidence to find a violation of a Constitutional right, show the alleged right was clearly established at the time of the alleged violation, and raise a genuine issue of material fact about whether reasonable officers would have known their conduct would have violated this clearly established right. Smithson v. Aldrich, 235 F.3d 1058, 1061 (8th Cir.2000). If an officer alleges conduct by an arrestee giving rise to probable cause and those facts are undisputed, the officer is entitled to qualified immunity. Arnott v. Mataya, 995 F.2d 121, 123-24 (8th Cir.1993). If, however, the arrestee challenges the officer’s description of the facts and presents a factual account that [1072]*1072would not permit a reasonable officer to make an arrest, then there is a material factual dispute precluding summary judgment. Id. at 124.

A. Officer Scott’s Acts Before the Arrest

The Fourth Amendment right of citizens not to be arrested without probable cause is clearly established. See Habiger v. Fargo, 80 F.3d 289, 295 (8th Cir.1996). To prevail on this claim, Hill must (1) show Scott had no probable cause to arrest him, and (2) raise a genuine issue of material fact about whether reasonable officers would have known Scott’s conduct would have violated the Fourth Amendment. Smithson v. Aldrich, 235 F.3d at 1061.

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