Niles v. United States Capitol Police Board

CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedJune 8, 2023
DocketCivil Action No. 2016-1209
StatusPublished

This text of Niles v. United States Capitol Police Board (Niles v. United States Capitol Police Board) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Niles v. United States Capitol Police Board, (D.D.C. 2023).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

LISA NILES,

Plaintiff,

v. Civil Action No. 16-1209 (TSC)

U.S. CAPITOL POLICE,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Plaintiff Lisa Niles, a former police officer with the U.S. Capitol Police (“USCP”), has

sued the USCP, claiming that her termination constituted disability discrimination under the

Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and race and sex discrimination under Title VII of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964. USCP has moved for summary judgment. ECF No. 52. For the

reasons stated below, the court will GRANT Defendant’s Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

In reciting the relevant facts, the court relies mainly on the undisputed material facts set

forth by Defendant, along with Plaintiff’s responses thereto. Pl.’s Resp. to Def.’s Statement of

Undisputed Material Facts, ECF No. 55-1 (“Pl.’s Resp. to SUMF”). At the outset, a word about

the meaning of “undisputed” facts is in order. The party seeking summary judgment bears the

“initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying

those portions of the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,

together with the affidavits, if any, which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue

of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323 (1986) (internal quotation marks

omitted). To dispute a fact, “the non-movant must rely on evidence—i.e., its opposition must

Page 1 of 15 consist of more than mere unsupported allegations or denials and must be supported by

affidavits, declarations, or other competent evidence, setting forth specific facts showing that

there is a genuine issue for trial.” Rochon v. Lynch, 139 F. Supp. 3d 394 (D.D.C. 2015)

(quotation omitted), aff’d, 664 F. App’x 8 (D.C. Cir. 2016). Where Defendant has stated certain

facts and supported them with evidence, therefore, the court treats those facts as undisputed if

Plaintiff’s only response is to deny them without counter evidence or to raise generic protests

against them that are unrelated to the facts’ veracity.

Accordingly, the following facts are undisputed: On May 30, 2014, Amtrak contacted

Defendant to report two incidents in which Plaintiff—who is a Black woman—“boarded an

Amtrak train as a passenger and did not pay her fare.” Pl.’s Resp. to SUMF ¶¶ 68–69.

According to the Amtrak Police Department (APD), the first incident occurred on February 26,

2014 and Plaintiff “not only did not pay for a ticket,” but also “sought to avoid getting

discovered by a conductor by moving to another car or going to the bathroom while the

conductor collected tickets.” Id. ¶ 70. The conductor also said that “he observed Plaintiff

remove a seat check from another passenger’s seat” and then claim that another conductor had

given it to her, which the other conductor denied. Id. ¶ 86. An APD officer’s report states that

when he confronted Plaintiff about her lack of ticket or payment, she “explained that she did not

realize she could not take Amtrak Trains.” Id. ¶ 77. The officer explained to her Amtrak’s

policy that non-Amtrak law enforcement officers “are required to have a ticket to ride.” Id.

¶¶ 77–78.

The second incident occurred on May 17, 2014. An Amtrak conductor said she

encountered Plaintiff on the station platform at Wilmington, Delaware, asked if Plaintiff had a

ticket, and Plaintiff answered that she did. Id. ¶ 82. But when the conductor asked Plaintiff to

Page 2 of 15 show the ticket after she boarded the train, “Plaintiff appeared to search for a ticket but then

stated ‘Well, I don’t actually have a ticket-ticket.’” Id. The conductor, who later told Defendant

that “other conductors had previously had issues with Plaintiff riding Amtrak without paying,”

id. ¶ 84, once again summoned APD officers, id. ¶ 94. An officer stated that she escorted

Plaintiff to the APD office and explained “that this was not the first time she had stopped

Plaintiff,” and that Plaintiff “had committed a crime.” Id. ¶ 96.

Defendant appointed an Investigator in its Office of Professional Responsibility (“OPR”)

to review Amtrak’s complaint against Plaintiff. Id. ¶ 76. The Investigator spoke with the

Amtrak conductors and APD officers involved in the two incidents. Id. ¶¶ 77–78, 80, 85, 93.

The Investigator also interviewed Plaintiff twice, and in both interviews she acknowledged her

obligation to answer all questions truthfully. Id. ¶ 100. During the interviews, Plaintiff denied

that she was stopped by APD on February 26, 2014, or that she had been informed of Amtrak’s

policy requiring non-Amtrak law enforcement officers to purchase tickets. Id. ¶¶ 102, 112–13.

Plaintiff did recall being stopped by APD on May 17, 2014 but denied that she had told a

conductor that she had a ticket before boarding. Id. ¶ 102, 106. Plaintiff claimed that she had

asked a male conductor whether it was “okay for [her] to ride, and he nodded his head . . . as to

mean yes.” Id. ¶ 111. Later, Plaintiff said, she “was told to get off the train by a female

conductor and did not resist” paying for the ticket “because APD asked her to pay.” Id. ¶¶ 109–

110. But she admitted that “she continued to ride the train without paying even after being

stopped on May 17, 2014 and told by APD that from then on she needed to purchase a ticket

before she boarded any Amtrak train.” Def.’s Mot. for Summary Judgment, Ex. 4 at 8, ECF No.

52-6.

Page 3 of 15 Based on his review, the Investigator “sustained”—that is, “found sufficient evidence that

a violation of [Defendant’s] Rules of Conduct occurred,” Pl.’s Resp. to SUMF ¶ 37—charges

against Plaintiff for “Conduct Unbecoming” and “Truthfulness,” id. ¶ 116. The Investigator’s

report was approved by OPR officials and submitted to Disciplinary Review Officer (“DRO”)

Scharon Ball for assignment of a recommended penalty based on “the nature and seriousness of

the offense, the employment history of the employee, any mitigating factors, and penalties issued

in similar cases.” Id. ¶¶ 122, 46.

Ball recommended a penalty of demotion for the Conduct Unbecoming charge, and

termination for the Truthfulness charge. Id. ¶ 123. Specifically, she found that “Plaintiff’s

conduct was extremely serious” because it “was technically a crime,” because Plaintiff had

repeated the conduct even after having been stopped by APD Officers on February 26, because

Plaintiff apparently attempted to mislead Amtrak conductors during both incidents, and because

Plaintiff (as a Sergeant) was a “supervisory law enforcement officer.” Id. ¶ 125. Ball found

“that Plaintiff’s version of events was not credible” given the “multiple witness statements and

police reports” contradicting it. Id. ¶ 126. Ball considered Plaintiff’s otherwise good

employment history, but concluded that it did not warrant a penalty reduction. Id. ¶ 127. Ball

also noted as a potential mitigating factor that some Amtrak conductors apparently allowed

Plaintiff to ride the train without paying, which “could have confused Plaintiff into believing that

an Amtrak policy entitled law enforcement to courtesy rides.” Id. ¶ 128. However, Ball

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green
411 U.S. 792 (Supreme Court, 1973)
Texas Department of Community Affairs v. Burdine
450 U.S. 248 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Brady v. Office of the Sergeant at Arms
520 F.3d 490 (D.C. Circuit, 2008)
Karl Hampton v. Tom Vilsack
685 F.3d 1096 (D.C. Circuit, 2012)
Clarke v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
904 F. Supp. 2d 11 (District of Columbia, 2012)
White v. Tapella
876 F. Supp. 2d 58 (District of Columbia, 2012)
Patricia Brooks v. Susan Grundmann
748 F.3d 1273 (D.C. Circuit, 2014)
Anyaso v. United States Capitol Police
39 F. Supp. 3d 34 (District of Columbia, 2014)
Greg Burley v. National Passenger Rail Corp.
801 F.3d 290 (D.C. Circuit, 2015)
Rochon v. Lynch
139 F. Supp. 3d 394 (District of Columbia, 2015)
Nanko Shipping, USA v. Alcoa, Inc.
850 F.3d 461 (District of Columbia, 2017)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Niles v. United States Capitol Police Board, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/niles-v-united-states-capitol-police-board-dcd-2023.