Ciolino v. Eastman

128 F. Supp. 3d 366, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117780, 2015 WL 5163046
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedSeptember 3, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-13300-ADB
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 128 F. Supp. 3d 366 (Ciolino v. Eastman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ciolino v. Eastman, 128 F. Supp. 3d 366, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117780, 2015 WL 5163046 (D. Mass. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER ON DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BURROUGHS, DISTRICT JUDGE.

I. INTRODUCTION

On the evening of June 30, 2013, while attending the annual St. Peter’s Festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts, Plaintiff Alfonso Ciolino (“Mr. Ciolino”) was arrested by officers of the Essex County Sheriffs Department and the Gloucester Police Department. Mr. Ciolino, along with his wife Cinsia Ciolino (“Mrs. Ciolino”), filed this civil action asserting various federal and state-law claims against the arresting officers, the Sheriff of Essex County, and the City of Gloucester. Plaintiffs allege that the arresting officers used excessive force during Mr. Ciolino’s arrest, in violation of his constitutional rights, and that they conspired to provide false information to the Gloucester Police Department, resulting in criminal charges against Mr. Ciolino. Currently before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment filed by defendants Aaron Eastman, David Earle, and George Gikas, all of whom are officers of the Essex County Sheriffs Department, and Frank Cousins, Jr., Sheriff of Essex County (“Cousins”). For the reasons set forth herein, defendants’ Motion is ALLOWED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Procedural History

Plaintiffs Alfonso and Cinsia Ciolino (“Plaintiffs”) filed their original Complaint on December 31, 2013, naming the City of Gloucester, Gloucester Police Officer Brian Crowley, Essex County Sheriff Frank Cousins, Jr., and an unnamed member of the Essex County Sheriffs Department as defendants [ECF No. 1]. Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on July 31, 2014 [ECF No. 29], which named Essex County Sheriffs Department officers Aaron Eastman, David Earle, and George Gikas as additional defendants. On October 8, 2014, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed defendant Crowley [ECF No. 38], and on November 11, 2014, they voluntarily dismissed the City of Gloucester [ECF No. 45]. In February 2015, the remaining defendants (Sheriff Cousins, and Officers Eastman, Earle, and Gikas) moved for summary judgment on all claims alleged in Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint [ECF No. 58]. Their Motion was accompanied by a Memorandum of Law [ECF No. 59], and a Statement of Material Facts pursuant to Local Rule 56.1 [ECF No. 60].

On April 6, 2015, Plaintiffs filed their Opposition to Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment [ECF No. 66], along with a Counter-Statement of Material Facts pursuant to Local Rule 56.1 [ECF No. 65]. Plaintiff's do not oppose the Motion for Summary Judgment with respect to defendant Cousins, who was not involved in Mr. Ciolino’s arrest. [ECF No. 6, 1] Plaintiffs argue that summary judgment is not warranted as to defendants Eastman, Earle, and Gikas (collectively, “Defendants”), each of whom personally participated in Mr. Ciolino’s arrest.

B. Factual Background

The following facts are undisputed, unless otherwise noted. Additional relevant facts will be discussed as needed in this Memorandum.

On June 30, 2013, the Plaintiffs arrived for dinner at Mrs. Ciolino’s mother’s home at approximately 8pm [Defendants’ Rule 56.1 Statement of Undisputed Material Facts (“Def. Facts”) ¶ 1, ECF No. 60]. [370]*370Each of them drank two beers with dinner, and they subsequently drove to the St. Peter’s Festival in Gloucester [Id. ¶¶ 2-4]. At approximately 11:30pm, Plaintiffs left a nearby café with their friends Vincent and Lillian LoGrasso [Id. ¶¶ 5-6]. Mr. Ciolino and Mr. LoGrasso went to the St. Peter’s Club, where Mr. Ciolino is a member, to use the restroom [Id. ¶ 6; see Deposition of Alfonso Ciolino, ECF No. 60-4 (“A. Ciolino Dep.”) at 1&5-10].1

When Mr. Ciolino and Mr. LoGrasso exited the St. Peter’s Club, law enforcement officers and K-9 dogs from the Essex County Sheriffs Department and the Gloucester Police Department were present in the area surrounding the club [Def. Facts ¶ 10]. Defendant George Gikas, a Sergeant of the Essex County Sheriffs Department (“Sergeant Gikas”), was assigned to K-9 duty the night of June 30th [Id. ¶ 21]. Defendant officers Eastman and Earle, who are also employed by the Essex County Sheriff, were assigned to plainclothes duty [Id. ¶ 26]. All three officers were standing in the area outside the St. Peter’s Club when Mr. Ciolino exited. Upon leaving the club, Mr. Ciolino noticed the law enforcement officers and the K-9 dogs, and he testified during his deposition that they appeared to be “ready to kick everybody out.” [A. Ciolino Dep. at 16:10-11].

The parties disagree about the size of the crowd outside the St. Peter’s Club on the night of June 30th. Although Officer Eastman and Sergeant Gikas testified that there were approximately 200-250 people in the area [see Def. Facts ¶ 8; Deposition of Aaron Eastman, ECF No. 60-6 (“Eastman Dep.”) at 9:23-24; Deposition of George Gikas, ECF No. 60-5 (“Gikas Dep.”) at 12:1], Mr. Ciolino estimated that there were only about 50 people in the crowd [A. Ciolino Dep. at 28:20-22], and Mrs. LoGrasso testified that there were as few as 30 people in the crowd [Deposition of Lillian LoGrasso, ECF No. 65-1 (“L. Lograsso Dep.”) at 25:21-22],

The parties also disagree over whether the crowd, and Mr. Ciolino in particular, was compliant with orders to clear the area. Officer Eastman testified that law enforcement officers were continually giving the crowd orders to disperse, and that some in the crowd refused to move [Eastman Dep. at 9:24-10:2; see also ECF No. 60-8 (Gikas Memo dated 7/1/2013)]. Mr. Ciolino testified that he did not hear any law enforcement officer give orders to disperse [A. Ciolino Dep. at 39:2-7]. Mrs. Ciolino testified that she heard no orders to move along or disperse until after her husband had been arrested [Deposition of Cinsia Ciolino (“C. Ciolino Dep”), ECF No. 65-3, at 18:1-11, 21:18-21], Sergeant Gikas, however, testified that he specifically told Mr. Ciolino to “move along.” [Gikas Dep. at 11:21-12:1].

The parties agree that upon encountering the K-9s and officers outside the club, Mr. Ciolino loudly stated “[l]ook, the dog’s got a muzzle in their mouth. What’s he going to do? The dogs cannot hurt us ... they have muzzles on.” [Def. Facts ¶¶ 16, 20; A. Ciolino Dep., ECF No. 65-2, at 82:1-6]. The parties further agree that Mr. Ciol-ino made a gesture with his arm while saying this [A. Ciolino Dep., ECF No. 60-4, at 76:9-13]. Defendants, however, characterize Mr. Ciolino’s actions as “taunting” the K-9 dogs, waving his hands within two feet of the dogs’ faces [Eastman Dep. at 11:13-14]. Sergeant Gikas testified that Mr. Ciolino was “yelling,” and “lunging” at his dog, “aggravating,” “teasing,” and “taunting” it [Gikas Dep. at 12:3-14]. Officer Eastman also testified that he observed Mr. Ciolino inciting the crowd, by yelling [371]*371to the crowd, turning towards the dogs, and then turning back towards the crowd, with his hands “animated” and “up in the air.” [Eastman Dep. at 14:21-24]. Mr. Cioli-no denies taunting the dogs or inciting the crowd [A. Ciolino Dep. at 82-84], and other witnesses to the events provided affidavits stating that they never saw Mr. Ciolino threaten, lunge at, or make any other sudden movements towards the K-9s or officers [See Affidavit of Peter Giordano, ECF No. 65-5, ¶ 11; Affidavit of Sabrina Giordano, ECF No. 65-6, ¶¶ 10-11]. After Mr. Ciolino made the motion or gesture with his hand, Sergeant Gikas approached Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
128 F. Supp. 3d 366, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117780, 2015 WL 5163046, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ciolino-v-eastman-mad-2015.