Chapple-Dantzler v City of New York 2024 NY Slip Op 34143(U) November 25, 2024 Supreme Court, New York County Docket Number: Index No. 150204/2023 Judge: J. Machelle Sweeting Cases posted with a "30000" identifier, i.e., 2013 NY Slip Op 30001(U), are republished from various New York State and local government sources, including the New York State Unified Court System's eCourts Service. This opinion is uncorrected and not selected for official publication. INDEX NO. 150204/2023 NYSCEF DOC. NO. 48 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 11/26/2024
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK NEW YORK COUNTY PRESENT: HON. J. MACHELLE SWEETING PART 62 Justice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X INDEX NO. 150204/2023 SARITA CHAPPLE-DANTZLER MOTION DATE 05/16/2023 Plaintiff, MOTION SEQ. NO. 002 -v- THE CITY OF NEW YORK, DECISION + ORDER ON MOTION Defendant. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------X
The following e-filed documents, listed by NYSCEF document number (Motion 002) 1, 2, 3, 15, 16, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 were read on this motion to/for DISMISS .
Defendant the City of New York moves to dismiss plaintiff’s first amended complaint
(NYSCEF Doc. No. 32) in its entirety. Plaintiff opposes the motion and, based on what she
contends is newly discovered evidence, plaintiff cross-moves for renewal of the court’s February
23, 2023, decision and for leave to further amend the complaint to reflect the new information.
When this lawsuit was commenced, plaintiff, who is “of Black/African descent” (id., ¶ 4),
had worked for the City’s Department of Corrections (“DOC”) for 14 years. The complaint alleges
that in August 2021 an OATH hearing had been commenced against her in which it was alleged
that plaintiff used excessive force against inmates on seven occasions - six times due to her use of
oleoresin capsicum spray (commonly referred to as “pepper spray”) - and one time due to her use
of physical force against an inmate. The hearing was held in 2021 on August 3 and 5, October 22,
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December 1,1 2, and 10, and it concluded on January 7, 2022. Plaintiff contends that prior to the
2021 OATH hearing, there had never been any disciplinary actions against her.
The OATH officer issued her conclusions and recommendations on September 22, 2022
(NYSCEF Doc. No. 36). Specifically, the hearing officer found:
“The Department established that [plaintiff] used excessive and unnecessary force in her deployment of chemical agents in six incidents . . . . The Department established that [plaintiff] used prohibited, high impact force against inmate Harris when she used institutional keys to strike him in the head in retaliation for biting her and that she did so while the inmate was rear-cuffed and being brought to his feet by other officers. The Department established that [plaintiff] filed false and misleading use of force reports for [four of the] incidents . . . . (id., *37).”
The report also stated that plaintiff had a prior disciplinary history – specifically, for
conduct unbecoming an officer in 2013, and for use of force in July 2016 (id.). Based on these
conclusions, the OATH officer recommended that plaintiff be terminated (id., *37-39). DOC sent
a letter to plaintiff, dated January 3, 2023, which terminated plaintiff. In a subsequent
communication, dated January 6, 2023, DOC stated that the termination was effective on January
13, 2023 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 26).
In the instant action, plaintiff challenges the decision to fire her on the ground that, except
for the incident in which she struck an inmate, none of the incidents concerning plaintiff’s use of
pepper spray resulted in injuries and, under New York and Federal law, “there can be no claim
that the underlying force used was excessive” (id., ¶ 22). Plaintiff further contends that her use
of force was permissible under New York State Correction Law (“Correction Law”) Section 137
(5), which states that correction officers may use physical force: “in self-defense, or to suppress a
revolt or insurrection. When any inmate, or group of inmates, shall offer violence to any person,
or do or attempt to do any injury to property, or attempt to escape, or resist or disobey any lawful
1 The record indicates that neither plaintiff nor her counsel appeared on December 1, 2021, and attempts to reach them were unsuccessful. The hearing proceeded without them on that date (see NYSCEF Doc. No. 36, *2-3). 150204/2023 CHAPPLE-DANTZLER, SARITA vs. THE CITY OF NEW YORK Page 2 of 11 Motion No. 002
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direction and that when an inmate or group thereof injures or attempts to injure another person,
attempts to escape, injures or attempts to injure property.” Plaintiff contends that under the above
circumstances, officers may “use all suitable means to defend themselves, to maintain order, to
enforce observation of discipline, to secure the persons of the offenders and to prevent any such
attempt or escape” (Correction Law § 137 [5]).
Plaintiff contends that she complied with these directives, as the use of pepper spray is a
level C use of force and “is the least amount of force that can be used” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 32, ¶
25).
The complaint provides DOC’s uniform workforce demographics. In defendant’s 2018
workforce report, which is the last one available to plaintiff, 41% of the uniformed correction
officers were women; 58% were Black; 24% were Hispanic; 5% were Asian; and 0.9% were
Alaskan or Native American (NYSCEF Doc. No. 32, ¶ 29). Further, 60% of supervising officers,
including captains and above, were female; 73% were Black; 5% were Asian; and 0.5% were
Alaskan or Native American (id., ¶ 30). The complaint goes on to cite statistics showing that
wardens, including deputy wardens in command, were majority female and majority Black (id., ¶¶
31-25). The complaint suggests that because DOC employees are predominantly women and
minorities, the decision to fire people for using pepper spray is part of a plan to reduce staffing,
which disproportionately affects these protected groups.
Based on the above, plaintiff asserts four causes of action: first, that defendants owe
plaintiff compensatory damages for emotional distress under New York City Administrative Code
(“Administrative Code”) § 8-120 (a) (8) due to their alleged discrimination based on her race and
gender; second, that defendants violated the equal protection provision of the State Constitution,
which prohibits race- and gender-based discrimination; third, that defendants violated Section 296
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of the State Human Rights Law (“SHRL”) when they disciplined her “for the baseless low-level
uses of force . . . as a pretext for deprivation of [her] right to due process . . . causing Plaintiff
severe emotional distress” (NYSCEF Doc. No. 32, ¶ 55) and fourth, that defendants brought a
baseless disciplinary proceeding against plaintiff in violation of Section 8-107 of the City Human
Rights Law (“CHRL”). Plaintiff e-filed the summons and complaint on January 6, 2023 (NYSCEF
Doc. Nos. 1, 2) and filed the amended complaint on January 18, 2023 (NYSCEF Doc. No. 3).
On the same date that plaintiff filed the amended complaint, she filed an order to show
seeking a stay of her termination to allow her to take maternity bedrest due to her high-risk
pregnancy (NYSCEF Doc. No. 16). At oral argument on February 23, 2023, in regard to Motion
Sequence No. 001, this court noted that “there could have been an appeal of [the OATH] decision
or there could’ve been [an] Article 78 that was filed, and I don’t have any record here that either
of those two areas of recourse were explored” (Chapple-Dantzler v City, Index No. 150204/2023,
Oral Arg Tr, Sweeting, J., Feb. 23, 2023 [Chapple-Dantzler Tr] at 6, lines 17-20). Additionally,
the court stated that, as plaintiff already was terminated and she did not make other challenges to
the OATH or DOC decisions, it could not “stay or enjoin . . . the agency from doing that which
was already done” (id. at 6, lines 22-23). Accordingly, the court denied the order to show cause
(NYSCEF Doc. No. 22).
As stated, plaintiff’s opposition includes a cross-motion to renew her application for
injunctive relief, which this court denied in its earlier decision (NYSCEF Doc. No. 22), and to
amend the first amended complaint. The court addresses the cross-motion first.
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As a preliminary matter, that branch of plaintiff’s cross-motion seeking to renew the
application for injunctive relief is denied, as this court cannot stay or enjoin defendant from firing
plaintiff, as it has already been done and the applicable time period in which to challenge this
determination has already expired (see Chapple-Dantzler Tr at 6 lines 22-23).
After careful consideration of all of the evidence and the record in this case, this court also
denies that branch of plaintiff’s cross-motion that seeks to amend the first amended complaint.
When plaintiff committed the violations that resulted in her termination, the use of force directive
that went into effect on September 27, 2017 applied. Pursuant to the directive, “use of force” is
defined as “any instance where Staff use their hands or other parts of their body, objects,
instruments, chemical agents, electronic devices, firearms, or any other physical method to
restrain, subdue, or compel an Inmate to act or stop acting in a particular way” (NYSCEF Doc.
No. 33, ¶ III § A [emphasis supplied]). The use of pepper spray was considered a Class C Use of
Force if there was no injury other than easily-treated contamination (id., ¶ IV § I). According to
plaintiff, rather than use the applicable guidelines, the OATH officer applied “Command
Discipline Policy, Directive 4257R-B, effective October 27, 2022, that mandates that all “high
impact” use of force are to be Memorandum of Complaints to be heard at OATH” (NYSCEF Doc.
No. 34 [Proposed Second Amended Complaint], ¶ 84).
Plaintiff argues that the retroactive application of the 2022 standard is unconstitutionally
vague and violates her right to due process. However, as defendant points out, the OATH officer
expressly applied the 2017 guidelines (see NYSCEF Doc. No. 36, *4-7). Plaintiff’s claim that she
was denied due process is also belied by the fact that she was represented by counsel at the hearing
and that she had the right to challenge the OATH order and/or the decision to terminate her.
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Plaintiff also seeks to amend on the grounds that the guidelines themselves are
unconstitutional because DOC is required to evaluate use of force allegations under the Fourth
Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, the cases and statute plaintiff relies on
are inapposite. For instance, in Kingsley v Hendrickson (576 US 389, 397 [2015]) the United
States Supreme Court held that the deliberate use of force is prohibited when a reasonable officer
would not have considered the force excessive under the circumstances.2 Here, the OATH officer
determined that plaintiff’s conduct was unreasonable, and that plaintiff did not issue the mandated
warning before she used the pepper spray. Hudson v McMillian (503 US 1, 10 [1992]), which
evaluates a plaintiff’s Eighth Amendment challenges, militates against plaintiff’s argument
because it states that the use of force against a prisoner need not result in a serious injury where
there is an unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain. Two State cases that plaintiff cites, People
ex rel. Burse v Schiraldi (74 Misc 3d 927 [Sup Ct, NY County 2021] [involving pretrial detention])
and People ex rel. Squirrel v Langley (68 Misc 3d 498 [Sup Ct, Putnam County 2020] [involving
variety of detention statuses]), also deal with challenges to the conditions of confinement under
the Eighth Amendment’s bar against cruel and unusual punishment. These cases also are
distinguishable because none of them evaluate decisions to terminate a corrections officer.
Next, the court considers defendant’s motion to dismiss. Defendant first argue that the
complaint does not raise an inference of discriminatory treatment based on race and/or gender. It
cites Harrington v City of New York (157 AD3d 582, 585 [1st Dept 2018]), which states that “[a]
plaintiff states a claim of invidious discrimination under the State and City HRLs by alleging (1)
that he/she is a member of a protected class, (2) that he/she was qualified for the position, (3) that
he/she was subjected to an adverse employment action (under State HRL) or he/she was treated
2 The court described this as an objective standard – that is, a court should not consider the individual officer’s state of mind, but instead should use the “reasonable officer” standard (Kingsley, 576 US at 396-397). 150204/2023 CHAPPLE-DANTZLER, SARITA vs. THE CITY OF NEW YORK Page 6 of 11 Motion No. 002
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differently or worse than other employees (under City HRL), and (4) that the adverse or different
treatment occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination” (see
NYSCEF Doc. No. 27 [defendant’s mem in support], *4-6).3 Defendant notes that an amendment
to the SHRL in June 2019 requires that the provisions be construed liberally even where the
language parallels that of the federal civil rights laws (id., *5, citing Exec Law § 300; Golston-
Green v City of New York, 184 AD3d 24, 35 n 1 [2d Dept 2020]).4
Despite the liberal standards applicable to the City and State laws, defendant stresses that
these are not mere civility codes but ones that require plaintiff to raise an inference that she was
treated less well than those who do not share her protected status (see NYSCEF Doc. No. 27, *6,
citing Williams v New York City Hous. Auth., 61 AD3d 62, 79 [1st Dept 2009] [involving summary
judgment motion]). Further, defendant notes that a conclusory allegation of discrimination will not
suffice, and reliance on statistics alone is similarly unavailing to state a claim.
According to defendant, although plaintiff shows an adverse employment action – that is,
her termination – she does not assert any details to support her claim of race or sex discrimination.
Further, defendant notes that plaintiff does not provide examples of any similarly situated
employees who received adverse treatment or differently situated employees who received more
favorable treatment. Therefore, it contends, she has not met the required elements to support her
claims.
3 Under the CHRL, rather than show an adverse action, the plaintiff simply must show that the action was disadvantageous (Harrington, 157 AD3d at 585). 4 Defendant adds that the amendment only applies prospectively, to claims that accrue after its effective date of October 11, 2019, but that the distinction is not critical as plaintiff has not stated a prima facie case even under the more liberal standards of the CHRL. 150204/2023 CHAPPLE-DANTZLER, SARITA vs. THE CITY OF NEW YORK Page 7 of 11 Motion No. 002
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In addition, defendant states that the complaint does not show a causal connection between
the fact that plaintiff belongs to a protected class and to any alleged discrimination and that the
complaint also fails to connect the statistics it cites to discrimination of any kind. Instead,
defendant’s argue, the statistics militate in defendant’s favor, as they show that there are numerous
Black and female employees in DOC, especially in higher ranking positions. Defendant also argues
that the OATH report, which is an exhibit to the complaint, demonstrates the lack of a
discriminatory motive or discriminatory animus because the report specifically refers to plaintiff’s
use of excessive force and her alleged false reports, which were sufficient, non-discriminatory
grounds, for plaintiff’s termination.
Defendant also argues that plaintiff has not satisfied the requirements for showing that
the policies in question, though facially neutral, had a disproportionate impact on women or
people of color. It notes that courts scrutinize hiring standards when they “‘adversely affect[]
equal employment opportunity for a protected class of persons,’” even if the criteria are facially
neutral (NYSCEF Doc. No. 27 [Mem in Support], quoting Matter of Sontag v Bronstein, 33
NY2d 197, 201 [1973]). As defendant correctly argues, statistics alone are insufficient to show
disparate impact. Here, plaintiff has not shown that the employment criteria in question has had
a disproportionate impact on women or people of color.
Finally, defendant argues that plaintiff appears to assert a cause of action against defendant
under the State Constitution’s equal protection clause (NYSCEF Doc. No. 27, citing NY CONST
Art I, § 11). Defendant acknowledges that plaintiffs can sue the City under the equal protection
clause (NYSCEF Doc. No. 27, *11, citing Brown v State of New York, 89 NY2d 172, 188 [1996]),
but emphasizes that this right exists only if the plaintiff cannot obtain full satisfaction through
other means (NYSCEF Doc. No. 27, *11-12). Here, defendant states that plaintiff has a remedy
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under the State and City Human Rights Laws. Accordingly, defendants state that the constitutional
claim is barred.
In opposition, plaintiff succinctly states that a large percentage of correction officers are
minorities and/or females. Therefore, although facially neutral on its face, implementation of the
use of force policy has a greater impact on minorities and females. Plaintiff argues that the policy
is unconstitutionally vague and that the OATH officer applied the updated policy retroactively.
Finally, plaintiff argues that her disparate impact claim is viable under the State’s Constitution
because plaintiff is only one member of the protected class.
This court has considered all of the parties’ arguments, and, after such consideration, finds
that plaintiff has not pled a viable claim under the SHRL or the CHRL and that the complaint does
not allege that defendant made its decision “under circumstances that give rise to an inference of
discrimination” (Thomas v Mintz, 182 AD3d 490, 490 [1st Dept 2020]). It does not allege that
similarly situated males or white correction officers were treated more favorably than plaintiff (id.;
see Lively v Wafra Inv. Advisory Group, Inc., 211 AD3d 432, 433 [1st Dept 2022] [action against
private employer]); and it does not “allege that any of [her] colleagues or supervisors made any
explicitly or implicitly invidious comments about her race” or gender (Etienne v MTA N.Y. City
Tr. Auth., 223 AD3d 612, 613 [1st Dept 2024] [noting that even a stray comment, without more,
would be insufficient]). The statement that defendant terminated plaintiff due to her race and
gender constitutes a legal conclusion that, without accompanying factual allegations, is an
insufficient basis for plaintiff’s claims (see Matter of Martinez v City of New York, 206 AD3d 532,
533 [1st Dept 2022] [under CHRL]). As plaintiff has not alleged viable claims under these laws,
her first cause of action for damages fails.
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As mentioned above, during the oral argument for Motion Sequence No. 001, the court
noted that plaintiff neither appealed the OATH decision nor commenced an Article 78 proceeding
challenging her termination. (Chapple-Dantzler Tr at 6 lines 17-20). Nonetheless, she implicitly
challenges here termination here. The cases relied on by plaintiff are distinguishable for one or
more of the following reasons: 1) they do not involve the number of incidents at issue here, 2) they
do not involve the falsification of reports, 3) they do not involve the additional allegation that the
plaintiff or petitioner used physical force against an inmate, and 4) they involve use of force claims
against police officers effectuating an arrest.
With regard to plaintiff’s claim under the New York State Constitution, the right to assert
tort claims under the state’s Constitution is narrowly drawn (see Martinez v City of Schenectady,
97 NY2d 78, 83 [2001]). An individual does not have a private right of action to recover
damages under the Constitution if the alleged wrongs can be redressed by other means (Berrior v
City of New York, 212 AD3d 569, 569-570 [1st Dept 2023]). Here, plaintiff’s allegations are
encompassed by her other causes of action. Further, as this court has stated, plaintiff could have
filed an appeal or Article 78 challenge to the decision she now questions (Kashelkar v State, 30
AD3d 163, 164 [1st Dept 2006]).
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For all of the reasons set forth herein, it is hereby:
ORDERED that plaintiff’s cross-motion is DENIED; and it is further
ORDERED that defendant, The City of New York’s motion is GRANTED; and it is
further
ORDERED that this action is dismissed.
11/25/2024 $SIG$ DATE J. MACHELLE SWEETING, J.S.C. CHECK ONE: X CASE DISPOSED NON-FINAL DISPOSITION
□ GRANTED DENIED GRANTED IN PART X OTHER
APPLICATION: SETTLE ORDER SUBMIT ORDER
□ CHECK IF APPROPRIATE: INCLUDES TRANSFER/REASSIGN FIDUCIARY APPOINTMENT REFERENCE
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