Rogge ex rel. Rogge v. City of Richmond

995 F. Supp. 2d 657, 2014 WL 357753, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12043
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 31, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. H-11-4201
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 995 F. Supp. 2d 657 (Rogge ex rel. Rogge v. City of Richmond) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rogge ex rel. Rogge v. City of Richmond, 995 F. Supp. 2d 657, 2014 WL 357753, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12043 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING MAGISTRATE JUDGE’S MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION

SIM LAKE, District Judge.

Having reviewed the Magistrate Judge’s Memorandum and Recommendation and Plaintiffs’ objections thereto, the court is of the opinion that said Memorandum and Recommendation should be adopted by this court.

It is, therefore, ORDERED that the Memorandum and Recommendation is hereby ADOPTED by this court.

The Clerk shall send copies of this Order to the respective parties.

MEMORANDUM AND RECOMMENDATION

NANCY K. JOHNSON, United States Magistrate Judge.

Pending before the court1 are Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (Doc. 28) and Defendants’ Objections and Motion to Exclude, or Alternatively Limit, the Testimony of Plaintiffs’ Expert Witnesses (Doc. 32). The court has considered the motions, the responses, all other relevant filings, and the applicable law. For the reasons set forth below, the court RECOMMENDS that Defendants’ summary judgment motion be GRANTED. Defendants’ motion to exclude is DENIED AS MOOT.

I. Case Background

Plaintiffs filed this civil rights action against Defendants The City of Richmond, Texas, (“City”), Todd Ganey (“Ganey”), and Danell Gaydos (“Gaydos”),2 alleging that Defendants violated Plaintiffs’ son’s constitutional rights and Texas state law while he was detained at Defendant City’s jail.

A. Factual Background

On February 27, 2011, Plaintiffs’ son, Richard Hollas Rogge (“Rogge”), was traveling home from playing golf at Fort Bend Country Club when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident at approximately 5:15 in the evening.3 Rogge did not stop after the collision but continued for approximately one-half mile where he was stopped by an off-duty Defendant City police officer who witnessed the accident and gave chase.4 The husband of the other driver had been following her m a separate vehicle, witnessed the accident, and chased after Rogge as well.5

[660]*660The off-duty officer radioed Defendant City Police Department because the accident and the stop occurred within the limits of Defendant City.6 After making the call, he approached Rogge who remained in his vehicle.7 At that point, the officer smelled alcohol and noticed that Rogge’s eyes were bloodshot.8 The off-duty officer directed Rogge to get out of the vehicle and to stand at its rear with his hands on the back window.9

Defendant Ganey arrived on scene and assumed control of the scene and investigation.10 He consulted the off-duty officer and questioned the husband of the. other driver, who stated that he wished to file charges against Rogge for failing to stop and give information.11

Defendant Ganey then turned his attention to Rogge.12 Rogge answered all of Defendant Ganey’s questions and complied with all of his requests.13 Rogge informed Defendant Ganey that he had been terminated from his job.14 Rogge admitted that he consumed beer while at the golf course.15 He also informed Defendant Ganey that he was prescribed Klonopin in a dosage of .5 milligram four times per day.16 Rogge described Klonopin as a “weak valium,” which had been prescribed for “anti-anxiety,” and stated that he had ingested his last prescribed dose for the day about 2:00 p.m.17 Defendant Ganey conducted the Standardized Field Sobriety Test, after which he took Rogge into custody for suspicion of driving while intoxicated (“DWI”).18 Rogge refused to submit to a breath analysis.19

Defendant Ganey radioed a request to Defendant Gaydos to check Rogge’s DWI criminal history, and she found one prior conviction for DWI, which she reported to Defendant Ganey.20 While completing an inventory slip for Rogge’s vehicle in prepa[661]*661ration for it being towed, Defendant Ganey found an open sixteen-ounce beer can in a brown paper bag, an unopened sixteen-ounce beer can in a brown paper bag, and an open bottle of whiskey.21

At Defendant Ganey’s request, Officer D. Childs (“Officer Childs”) transported Rogge back to Defendant City’s police department, rather than to Fort Bend County Jail.22 During the two-minute journey, Rogge did not say anything.23 Officer Childs noticed that Rogge was unsteady on his feet as he got out of the patrol car.24 After escorting Rogge into the booking area of the police station, the officer checked all of Rogge’s pockets for contraband, removed his baseball hat, removed the handcuffs, and asked Rogge to remove his belt, watch, shoes, and necklace.25 Officer Childs escorted Rogge to a holding cell at approximately 6:18 p.m.26 Rogge was cooperative throughout the process.27

The cell had two benches, one along each of two of the walls, and a partition that partially blocked the view of a toilet and sink area from a window in the cell door.28 The entire cell was visible by camera, which transmitted a live feed to the dispatch center that displayed on a monitor located above Defendant Gaydos, who was answering and dispatching calls.29

Upon his return to the station, Defendant Ganey began reviewing Rogge’s criminal history and determining the appropriate charges.30 He was interrupted when Defendant Gaydos dispatched several disturbance calls.31 Officer Childs was dispatched to one of the calls about 6:20 p.m. and glanced into Rogge’s cell on his way out a few minutes later.32 Defendant Ganey also left the police station to answer another one of the disturbance calls and asked Defendant Gaydos “to keep an eye on” Rogge while Defendant Ganey was gone.33 Before Defendant Ganey returned to the station, Defendant Gaydos dispatched another call to which Defendant Ganey initially was en route but disregarded and returned to the station when other officers responded to the call.34 Throughout the duration of Defendant Ganey’s ab[662]*662sence, Rogge was lying down and sleeping.35

Defendant Ganey immediately returned to his review of Rogge’s criminal history when he arrived back at the station.36 Defendant Ganey decided to charge Rogge with “Driving While Intoxicated 2nd— open container (M-A) and Failure to Stop and Give Information.”37 Defendant Ganey then began working on a probable cause statement for the charges.38 He returned to his patrol unit to review the video and uploaded the video to the police department’s server.39

At 7:31 p.m., Defendant Gaydos answered a call from Rogge’s father, who asked if Rogge was in custody.40

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Related

Rogers v. Hierholzer
W.D. Texas, 2019
Shaidnagle v. Adams County
88 F. Supp. 3d 705 (S.D. Mississippi, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
995 F. Supp. 2d 657, 2014 WL 357753, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12043, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rogge-ex-rel-rogge-v-city-of-richmond-txsd-2014.