Rebolledo v. Eden

12 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43142, 2014 WL 1323695
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedMarch 31, 2014
DocketCase No. 1:12-CV-910-SEB-MJD
StatusPublished

This text of 12 F. Supp. 3d 1125 (Rebolledo v. Eden) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rebolledo v. Eden, 12 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43142, 2014 WL 1323695 (S.D. Ind. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

SARAH EVANS BARKER, District Judge.

This cause is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment [Docket No. 40] filed by Defendants Terry Eden and Thomas Koppel on June 21, 2013, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. For the reasons detailed in this entry, Defendants’ motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

Factual Background

In December 2009, Plaintiff Jack Rebol-ledo was an officer with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), a member of the Indiana National Guard, and an owner of nine firearms, some of which were issued by the IMPD. On Saturday, December 4, 2009, Rebolledo was stationed in South Bend, Indiana, for National Guard drills when he received a “disturbing phone call” from his girlfriend, Shelly Korous, who was at their home in Indianapolis. (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF p. 15.) Ms. Korous had recently suffered a miscarriage and sadly also been diagnosed with cancer. (Korous Aff., Dkt. 44-4 at ¶ 5.) According to Rebolledo, Ms. Korous was “distraught,” saying “she saw no reason to live, she just wanted to die.” (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF pp. ISIS.) Concerned for her safety, and unable to reach her family, Rebolledo phoned his friend and fellow IMPD officer Norine Cooper to ask her to visit the home and check on Ms. Korous. (Id. at ECF pp. 16-17.)

What exactly Rebolledo told Officer Cooper remains in dispute. Officer Cooper testified that Rebolledo told her that Ms. Korous “was threatening suicide and had said, T have your gun and I’m going to end it all.’” (Cooper Aff., Dkt. 41-4 at ¶ 5.) Defendant Terry Eden, a Lieutenant with the IMPD, testified that Sgt. Rhonda Reynolds relayed to him that Korous had told Rebolledo “that she was sitting on her bed holding a gun to her head.” (Eden Dep., Dkt. 41-2 at ECF pp. 2-3.)1 Rebol-ledo maintains that he told Officer Cooper that Ms. Korous “was having a hard time with some medical problems, she was very distraught, I was concerned for her safety and welfare.” (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF pp. 16-17.) He adds that he “may have said that she threatened to get my gun. Shelly said something about getting my gun.” (Id. at ECF p. 19.)2 Ms. Ko-[1129]*1129rous maintains that she was never in possession of a gun on December 4 and never told Rebolledo or anyone else that was holding a gun to her head. (Korous Aff., Dkt. 44-4 at ¶ 6.)

After phoning Officer Cooper, Rebolledo spoke by phone with Sgt. David Wisneski. (Wisneski Aff., Dkt. 41-7 at ¶ 5; Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF pp. 17-18.) Sgt. Wisneski had learned of Ms. Korous’s condition, and Rebolledo expressed concern about leaving her home alone with access to his firearms — particularly because the lock on his gun safe was not operational. (Wisneski Aff., Dkt. 41-7 at ¶ 5; Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF pp. 17-18.) Re-bolledo requested that Sgt. Wisneski go to the house, collect all his firearms, and keep them safe until Rebolledo returned to Indianapolis the following day. (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF pp. 17-18; Wisne-ski Aff., Dkt. 41-7 at ¶¶ 6-7.) Sgt. Wisne-ski did as Rebolledo asked: He visited the home, collected Rebolledo’s seven personal firearms, placed them in the trunk of his patrol car, and agreed to return them to Rebolledo on December 5. (Wisneski Aff., Dkt. 41-7 at ¶¶ 6-9,12-13.)

December 4 was not the first time police had been summoned to the Rebolledo-Korous residence. On March 28, 2010, Officer Cooper and other IMPD officers previously visited the home to investigate after Ms. Korous had discharged one of Rebolledo’s firearms inside the house. (Cooper Aff., Dkt. 41-4 at ECF p. 5.) According to Officer Cooper, Ms. Korous discharged the weapon in the course of a domestic dispute. (Id. at ECF ¶ 7.) Ms. Korous maintains that she discharged the weapon accidentally while trying to unload it and denies that this took place during a domestic dispute. (Korous Aff., Dkt. 44-4 at ¶¶ 3 — 4.)

After observing Ms. Korous’s mental condition on December 4, and remembering that she had discharged a gun in the home some nine months prior, Officer Cooper placed Ms. Korous “under an immediate detention hold and personally transported her to Community Hospital East.” (Cooper Aff., Dkt. 41-4 at ¶¶ 8 — 9.) Ms. Korous met with a variety of mental health practitioners and was discharged after only a brief stay. (Korous Aff., Dkt. 44 — 4 at ¶¶ 10-11.)

Rebolledo returned home from his National Guard drill at approximately 7:00 P.M. on December 5, while Ms. Korous was still at work. (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF p. 20.) In an attempt to terminate his relationship with Ms. Ko-rous, Rebolledo undertook to change the locks on the exterior doors and began to place her personal effects in the yard. (Id.) When Ms. Korous returned home from her shift around 7:30, the couple became engaged in a loud, verbal argument lasting approximately ten to fifteen minutes. (Id. at ECF pp. 21-22; Korous Aff., Dkt. 44-4 at ¶¶ 13-15.) The couple’s four children were home at that time and could hear the argument. (Rebolledo Dep., Dkt. 44-1 at ECF p. 22.) Someone (either Ms. Korous or Rebolledo’s children) notified Rebolledo’s ex-wife who was the mother of his children of the argument, and she phoned the IMPD. (See O’Connor Aff., Dkt. 41-5 at ¶ 8, ECF pp. 5-6.)

When IMPD Officer Michael O’Connor arrived at the Rebolledo-Korous home shortly after 8:00 P.M., “there was no active disturbance evident.” (Police Report, Dkt. 41-5 at 6.) According to O’Connor, both parties denied that there had been [1130]*1130any physical violence, and “there were no visible signs of any injury to either party.” (Id.) Lt. Eden, who had been notified of the incident, set out to go to the residence but resumed his patrol after receiving O’Connor’s all clear assessment by radio. (Eden Dep., Dkt. 44-5 at ECF pp. 11-12, Dkt. 44-6 at ECF p. 1.) Lt. Eden was informed that, to de-escalate the situation, Rebolledo had agreed to leave the home and stay with relatives in Chicago, but he wished to take a shotgun with him. (Eden Dep., Dkt. 44-6 at ECF p. 1.) Lt. Eden approved this plan pending confirmation from Chicago police that Rebolledo would not be violating local law by taking a shotgun with him into the city. (Id. at ECF pp. 1-2.)

Meanwhile, Sgt. Wisneski who had begun his shift was driving toward the Re-bolledo residence to return Rebolledo’s firearms, as he had agreed to do the night before. (Wisneski Dep., Dkt. No. 41-7 at ¶¶ 14-15.) After learning via his in-car computer that officers were present at the Rebolledo-Korous home, he decided to consult with Defendant Koppel, an IMPD Commander, about the advisability of returning Rebolledo’s firearms. (Id.) Cmdr. Koppel instructed Sgt. Wisneski to speak with Lt. Eden, whom Koppel assumed had been or would be on the scene, before releasing any weapons to Rebolledo. (Koppel Dep., Dkt. 44-9 at ECF pp. 11-12.) Sgt. Wisneski relayed these instructions to Lt. Eden, and Lt. Eden consulted with Cmdr. Koppel before proceeding to the residence. (Id. at ECF p. 12; Eden Dep., Dkt. 44-6 at ECF pp. 5-7.)

The events that occurred when Lt. Eden arrived on the scene are in substantial dispute. According to Lt. Eden, he first spoke with Rebolledo, who showed him text messages Ms.

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

Related

Schneckloth v. Bustamonte
412 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1973)
United States v. Matlock
415 U.S. 164 (Supreme Court, 1974)
Payton v. New York
445 U.S. 573 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Harlow v. Fitzgerald
457 U.S. 800 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc.
477 U.S. 242 (Supreme Court, 1986)
Florida v. Jimeno
500 U.S. 248 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Groh v. Ramirez
540 U.S. 551 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Brigham City v. Stuart
547 U.S. 398 (Supreme Court, 2006)
Sandra L. Waldridge v. American Hoechst Corp.
24 F.3d 918 (Seventh Circuit, 1994)
Ronald C. Denius v. Wayne Dunlap and Gary Sadler 1
209 F.3d 944 (Seventh Circuit, 2000)
Kathleen Ziliak v. Astrazeneca Lp and Astrazeneca Ab
324 F.3d 518 (Seventh Circuit, 2003)
Kendall Tucker v. Fulton County, Il
682 F.3d 654 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
Chelios v. Heavener
520 F.3d 678 (Seventh Circuit, 2008)
Jewett v. Anders
521 F.3d 818 (Seventh Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Timothy Richards
741 F.3d 843 (Seventh Circuit, 2014)
Jason Findlay v. Jon Lendermon
722 F.3d 895 (Seventh Circuit, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
12 F. Supp. 3d 1125, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43142, 2014 WL 1323695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rebolledo-v-eden-insd-2014.