City of Fort Wayne v. Slattery

791 N.E.2d 807, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1253, 2003 WL 21659674
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 16, 2003
DocketNo. 02A03-0209-CV-304
StatusPublished

This text of 791 N.E.2d 807 (City of Fort Wayne v. Slattery) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Fort Wayne v. Slattery, 791 N.E.2d 807, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1253, 2003 WL 21659674 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION

MAY, Judge.

The City of Fort Wayne appeals the trial court’s determination that the City’s Board of Public Safety (“the Board”) exceeded its statutory authority when it increased the punishment imposed on a police officer instead of either upholding or reversing the disciplinary decision made by the Chief of Police. The City raises one issue on appeal: whether the trial court erroneously reversed the decision of the Board regarding the discipline of Officer Christine Slattery.

We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Slattery is a Fort Wayne police officer. On January 1, 2001, Slattery was on patrol duty when she heard a dispatch regarding an armed subject barricaded inside a residence with a four-year-old child. She drove past the residence without stopping to assist the two officers who responded to the call. On February 26, 2001, Slattery received a notice from the Chief of Police that he was suspending her for cause for a period of 42.5 working hours. Slattery appealed the Police Chiefs decision to the Board pursuant to Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1(b).1

On June 14, 2001, the Board conducted a hearing regarding her suspension. On July 5, 2001, the Board issued its “Administrative Hearings Findings and Conclusions.” Slattery’s failure to stop and assist, the Board determined, violated a police department rule regarding “backups and assistance.” (App. at 28.) The Board did not include in its appendix the text of the rule. However, the Board took notice in its administrative decision [809]*809of “the duty of every officer to back up his or her fellow officers and ... to respond to all serious dispatches unless relieved of duty by a superior officer.” (Id. at 29.) It sustained the Chiefs recommendation that a violation had occurred, but increased Slattery’s suspension from 42.5 working hours to 85 working hours.

On August 20, 2001, Slattery brought a verified complaint against the City pursuant to Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4(e)2 appealing the Board’s decision. All parties moved for summary judgment. After a hearing, the trial court held that because the Board did not initiate disciplinary proceedings under Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4, but instead received an appeal under Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1, the Board erroneously increased the length of Slattery’s suspension. The trial court reversed the Board’s decision and ordered the City to pay Slattery wages withheld as a result of the Board’s July 5, 2001 decision. However, the court ordered that the original February 26, 2001 “Notice of Suspension” issued by the Chief of Police remain in full force and effect.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Our standard of review of a summary judgment motion is the same standard used in the trial court. Shell Oil Co. v. Lovold Co., 705 N.E.2d 981, 982 (Ind.1998), reh’g denied. Summary judgment is appropriate only where the evidence shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). The party seeking summary judgment has the burden of demonstrating that no question of fact exists as to any material issue and that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Henthorne v. Legacy Healthcare Inc., 764 N.E.2d 751, 756 (Ind.Ct.App.2002). All facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts are construed in favor of the non-moving party. Durham ex rel. Estate of Wade v. U-Haul Int’l, 745 N.E.2d 755, 758 (Ind.2001), reh’g denied. Our review of a summary judgment motion is limited to those materials designated to the trial court. Henthorne, 764 N.E.2d at 756.

Statutory Authority of Safety Board and Police Chief

Disciplinary procedures for firefighters and police officers in second and third class cities and in towns and townships with full-time paid police or fire departments are governed by Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4 and § 36-8-3-4.1. Section 36-8-3-4 outlines the authority of the municipality’s safety board to discipline officers. Section 36-8-3-4.1 deals with a department chiefs authority to discipline officers.

Under Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4, a Board must follow specific substantive and procedural measures before disciplining officers. Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4(c) states in pertinent part: “Before a member of a police or fire department may be suspended in excess of five (5) days without pay, demoted, or dismissed, the safety board shall offer the member an opportunity for a hearing.” Under Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1(b), the Chief of Police may, without a hearing, reprimand a member or to suspend a member for a maximum of five working days3 without pay.

[810]*810The record does not reflect Slattery was offered a hearing before she was suspended. Her notice of suspension came from the Chief of Police and indicated Slattery could appeal the decision to the Board. Consequently, Slattery was suspended under the authority granted the Chief of Police by Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1(b), and was not suspended under the authority granted the Board under Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.

If a chief reprimands a member in writing or suspends a member, the chief “shall, within forty-eight (48) hours, notify the board in writing of the action and the reasons for the actions.” Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1(b). A member thus reprimanded or suspended may appeal the chiefs decision to the Board. The member should “request in writing that the board review the reprimand or suspension and either uphold or reverse the chiefs decision ... [i]f the decision is reversed, the member who was suspended is entitled to any wages withheld as a result of the suspension.” Id. (emphasis supplied).

Pursuant to Ind.Code § 36-8-3-4.1(b), Slattery appealed the Chiefs decision to the Board within forty-eight hours. The Board appropriately chose to conduct a hearing on the matter.

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Related

Durham Ex Rel. Estate of Wade v. U-Haul International
745 N.E.2d 755 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2001)
Shell Oil Co. v. Lovold Co.
705 N.E.2d 981 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1998)
City of Muncie v. Campbell
295 N.E.2d 379 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1973)
Henthorne v. Legacy Healthcare, Inc.
764 N.E.2d 751 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2002)
Jones v. State
457 N.E.2d 231 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1983)
Gingerich v. State
93 N.E.2d 180 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1950)

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Bluebook (online)
791 N.E.2d 807, 2003 Ind. App. LEXIS 1253, 2003 WL 21659674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-fort-wayne-v-slattery-indctapp-2003.