Seymour v. City of Des Moines

519 F.3d 790, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6138, 2008 WL 763014
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedMarch 25, 2008
Docket06-3842
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 519 F.3d 790 (Seymour v. City of Des Moines) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seymour v. City of Des Moines, 519 F.3d 790, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6138, 2008 WL 763014 (8th Cir. 2008).

Opinions

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Kenneth and Rachel Seymour appeal from the district court’s1 order granting summary judgment to the City of Des Moines, Iowa (“the City”), and Des Moines police officers Detective Brian Danner and Sergeant Barry Arnold (collectively “the defendants”). We affirm.

I.

A. The Events of March 20, 2002

On March 20, 2002, the Seymours (whom we shall refer to by their first names) were the parents of three sons: three-year-old Joshua, eighteen-month-old Joseph, and four-month-old Nathaniel. At about 6:30 that evening, Rachel left the home to do some shopping, taking Joshua with her while Kenneth remained at home with Joseph and Nathaniel. Sometime during the evening, Nathaniel became fussy. Kenneth tried to calm him by holding him and placing him in a child swing. Nathaniel remained fussy. Believing that the child might be hungry, Kenneth tried twice to reach his wife on her cell phone, but was unsuccessful. Nathaniel eventually calmed down, and Kenneth placed him on the chair upon which Nathaniel typically slept during the day. Kenneth was later able to reach his wife and suggested that she come home.

After Rachel returned home, she and Kenneth prepared Joseph and Joshua for bed. When Rachel checked on Nathaniel, she discovered that he was not breathing. Kenneth called 911, and emergency medical personnel came to the home shortly thereafter. Members of the Des Moines Police Department, including Officer Richard Ramsey (a patrol supervisor) and Officer Lorena Bland, arrived around the same time as the ambulance. Rachel accompanied Nathaniel in the ambulance to the hospital. Kenneth remained home with Joshua and Joseph, intending to join his wife at the hospital once someone arrived to watch the children.

Officer Ramsey called Sergeant Arnold, who was the head of the department’s child abuse investigative team, and apprised him of the following facts: that the child had been fussy; that the father had twice tried unsuccessfully to reach the mother on her cell phone; that the child eventually fell asleep; that when the mother later returned the father’s call the father told her that it was time for the child to be fed; and that when the mother got home and checked on the infant, he was not breathing. Arnold was also told that the mother had already left for the hospital and that the father had stayed home to care for their two other children. Arnold told Ramsey, “Well, just have him [Kenneth] wait there, and we will be out there very quickly.”

Arnold then called Detective Brian Danner, the on-call officer in the crimes against children unit, and told Danner to meet him at the Seymour residence. Arnold next called Detective James Keller of [794]*794the child abuse unit and directed him to go to the hospital. Arnold testified that he thought that Kenneth wanted to stay with the children and that, assuming neighbors or family came to the home to watch the children, he (Arnold) would quickly arrive at the Seymour residence, take Kenneth to the hospital, and conduct a short interview. Arnold also called the Child Protective Services supervisor and apprised him of the situation. Arnold testified that he made the call as a matter of professional courtesy and that he was not reporting child abuse, which would have required Child Protective Services to respond.

Kenneth’s father arrived at the residence shortly after the ambulance had departed. At some point, other individuals arrived as well. Kenneth told the officers' on the scene that he wanted to leave for the hospital, but was informed that he had to stay where he was until the detectives arrived. Relatives asked whether Kenneth could leave and were told that he was required to remain.

Shortly before Arnold arrived at the Seymours’ home, Keller called him from the hospital and told him that Kenneth’s presence was requested at the hospital. He also told Arnold that Nathaniel was not going to survive and that the doctors would stop performing CPR once Kenneth arrived. Arnold called Detective Danner, who by this time had arrived at the Seymour home, and told him that he would be there very shortly and that he and Danner would need to drive Kenneth to the hospital as soon as they were able to do so.

Danner arrived approximately twenty minutes after Kenneth’s father. Danner was inside the residence for a short while and then went outside with Kenneth. Arnold arrived while Danner and Kenneth were outside. Upon arriving at the Seymour residence, Arnold briefly discussed with Kenneth which of Kenneth’s relatives would stay behind with the children. Arnold and Danner then drove Kenneth to the hospital, with Danner questioning Kenneth during the trip. Once they arrived at the hospital, it appears that Arnold, who had been driving, began asking most of the questions. Some of the questions concerned the possibility that Kenneth may have accidentally dropped Nathaniel or that Kenneth, frustrated by Nathaniel’s fussiness, may have shaken him. Kenneth told the officers that nothing out of the ordinary had happened while he was watching Nathaniel, whereupon Arnold concluded the questioning and permitted Kenneth to leave the vehicle. Nathaniel died shortly after Kenneth arrived at the hospital. The parties agree that Nathaniel’s death was not the result of any criminal behavior by Kenneth. The most likely cause of death was Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).2

B. Training, Policies, and Procedures

Because Arnold was the officer in charge of the investigation, it is his training and experience, rather than Danner’s, that we will discuss. In addition to his other training, Arnold had attended classes on child fatality investigations and a week-long course on investigating the physical and sexual abuse of children offered by Fox Valley Technical College (Fox Valley) and sponsored by the United States Department of Justice.3 The Des Moines Police Department does not offer formal internal training on child abuse in[795]*795vestigations, relying instead on the training offered in courses such as those offered by Fox Valley. The department’s procedures are derived from the Fox Valley course as well as from the Fox Valley training manual. Arnold testified that although the procedures they use are adopted from the Fox Valley training, the Fox Valley training manual does not establish City policies.

Arnold testified that “[the child abuse unit’s] initial response is to treat all child death as a possible homicide until [their] investigation proves otherwise,” and explained that in child death investigations evidence of physical trauma sometimes fails to appear until the autopsy. The department’s standard practice in child death cases is to interview the individuals who were caring for the child before the medical emergency occurred. Standard procedure also calls for detaining and separating those persons present at the scene. Arnold noted, however, that “nobody is considered a suspect.” He also testified that it would not always be necessary to detain those persons at the scene. Questioning generally serves a two-fold purpose: that of obtaining medically useful information and acquiring information about possible crimes. Both Arnold and Danner testified that not all investigations call for the same procedures.

C. Testimony Regarding Kenneth’s Detention

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
519 F.3d 790, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6138, 2008 WL 763014, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seymour-v-city-of-des-moines-ca8-2008.