Oxford v. Madison County Sheriff's Office

705 F. App'x 474

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: December 11, 2017
• Docket: 17-1342
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Patsy and James T. Oxford sued Madison County, Arkansas, 1 and Madison County Sheriffs Deputy Andy Mitchell for allegedly not doing enough to prevent the death of James R. Oxford—Patsy’s husband and James T.’s father—in an automobile accident. We agree with the district court 2 that even if the Oxfords’ allegations are true, they do not describe a constitutional violation that would support liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1988. See Simes v. Ark. Judicial Discipline & Disability Comm’n, 734 F.3d 830, 834 (8th Cir. 2013) (de novo review). The police do not have an enforceable constitutional duty to protect anyone, including people whose affairs they have become involved with, unless they are in' custody (or some similar “special relationship” with the state) or the state affirmatively put them in danger. See Gregory v. City of Rogers, 974 F.2d 1006, 1009-10 (8th Cir. 1992) (en banc). Neither circumstance was present here. As for the county, there can be no municipal liability on the Oxfords’ theory without an underlying constitutional violation. See McCoy v. City of Monticello, 411 F.3d 920, 922 (8th Cir. 2005).

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

1 . The Oxfords did not name the county as a defendant but sued county employees in their official capacities. See Baker v. Chisom, 501 F.3d 920, 925 (8th Cir. 2007).

2 . The Honorable P.K. Holmes, III, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.