Trethewey v. DeKalb County

662 F. Supp. 246, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5581
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 25, 1987
DocketCiv. No. C86-1208
StatusPublished

This text of 662 F. Supp. 246 (Trethewey v. DeKalb County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trethewey v. DeKalb County, 662 F. Supp. 246, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5581 (N.D. Ga. 1987).

Opinion

ORDER

ORINDA D. EVANS, District Judge.

This § 1983 action is before the court on Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

Plaintiffs’ § 1983 claim arises out of the June 5, 1985 fatal shooting of Gwendolyn Grimmette by her estranged ex-husband, Joel Grimmette. Joel Grimmette had a history of inflicting serious physical abuse on Gwendolyn Grimmette both during the marriage and after their divorce in 1983. In March, 1984, he was tried for the attempted murder of Gwendolyn Grimmette and for criminal trespass. He was convicted of criminal trespass and sentenced to serve twelve months in prison. While in prison, he wrote to his son and threatened to kill Gwendolyn. After his release from prison in March, 1985, he resumed making abusive phone calls to his ex-wife in which he threatened to kill her.

On June 1, 1985, Gwendolyn Grimmette discovered that a corrosive chemical had been poured over the car of her friend, Johnny Thompson, which was parked in front of her house. She called the DeKalb County Police and Officer Renaud investigated the matter. She also informed Re-naud about her ex-husband’s phone calls and he suggested that she swear out a warrant for his arrest. Officer Renaud circulated information about the incident and made periodic surveillance of Gwendolyn Grimmette’s apartment complex during his shifts from June 1 to June 4. On June 3, a DeKalb County District Attorney’s office investigator installed recording equipment on Gwendolyn Grimmette’s telephone to monitor the calls made by Joel Grim-mette. On June 3 and 4, police patrols and surveillance near Gwendolyn Grimmette’s home were increased. On the night of June 4, A1 Frazier from the District Attorney’s office told Lieutenant Garrett of the DeKalb Police that there was sufficient evidence from the recorded phone calls to arrest Joel Grimmette for making terroristic threats. Sometime after midnight, Lieutenant Garrett dispatched an officer, Officer Manikowski, to Gwendolyn Grim-mette’s apartment to make an incident report. Officer Manikowski ascertained that an arrest warrant had been issued for Grimmette. He patrolled the apartment complex several times during the night until his shift expired at 4:00 a.m.

[248]*248Lieutenant Garrett, patrolled the apartment complex between 4:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on June 5 looking for Joel Grimmette. Also between midnight and 7:00 a.m., Sergeant Yancey, Detectives Thacker, Buis and Davis attempted to execute the arrest warrant by going to Joel Grimmette’s parent’s house and to another relative’s house but could not locate him. Sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. on June 5, Joel Grimmette entered Gwendolyn Grim-mette’s apartment, assaulted her, chased her into the street and fatally shot her.

Plaintiffs are Natasha Trethewey and Joel Grimmette, III, Gwendolyn Grim-mette’s children, and also the estate of Gwendolyn Grimmette. They have filed this action against: DeKalb County; F.D. Hand, Director of the DeKalb County Department of Public Safety; R.T. Burgess, Sr., Chief of the DeKalb County Bureau of Police Services; and five John Doe employees of DeKalb County. Plaintiffs allege that DeKalb County and DeKalb County officials had created a special relationship with Gwendolyn Grimmette whereby they are liable for failing to provide adequate police protection. Plaintiffs allege that Gwendolyn Grimmette relied to her detriment on the assurances of the DeKalb County Police that they would protect her and that she need not leave her apartment and stay with friends. Plaintiffs allege that a constitutional right to police protection was thereby established. Moreover, they allege that a custom or policy existed whereby domestic abuse cases receive less serious attention than other cases.

Defendants have moved for summary judgment on the grounds that no constitutional right to police protection exists in the absence of a special relationship between the police and the victim and that no such relationship exists in this instance. Defendants also contend that there is no custom or policy of treating domestic abuse in any manner different from other cases. Finally, Defendants argue that under Parratt v. Taylor, 451 U.S. 527, 101 S.Ct. 1908, 68 L.Ed.2d 420 (1981), Plaintiffs have no § 1983 action since adequate state law remedies exist.

The initial inquiry is whether a constitutional right to police protection exists as, if there is no such right, Plaintiffs have no cause of action. In Martinez v. California, 444 U.S. 277, 100 S.Ct. 553, 62 L.Ed.2d 481 (1980), the Supreme Court recognized that government officials are not liable under § 1983 for the failure to provide police protection unless some special relationship with the victim exists. Government officials may be held liable for the deprivation of due process arising from the failure to protect private citizens when a special relationship exists between the victim and the criminal or the victim and the officials. Wright v. City of Ozark, 715 F.2d 1513, 1515 (11th Cir.1983). In Wright, the plaintiff, a rape victim, brought a § 1983 action based on the defendant’s alleged suppression of information regarding prior rapes in order to protect business activity. The action was dismissed as no special relationship was found to exist. Similarly, a constitutional right to police protection may exist when there has been “some showing that the victim, as distinguished from the public at large, faced a special danger.” Jones v. Phyfer, 761 F.2d 642, 644-45 (11th Cir.1985).

The question whether the requisite special relationship or special danger existed here so as to give rise to a constitutional duty to protect is a fact-intensive one. The parties dispute whether or not the DeKalb County police promised to protect Gwendolyn Grimmette and made assurances which caused her to remain in her home the night of June 4 and early morning of June 5, 1985. Plaintiffs have submitted affidavits of friends of Gwendolyn Grimmette, Jim and Sherry Masaschi, her boyfriend, Johnny Thompson, and her daughter, Natasha Trethewey, stating that the DeKalb County police knew of the terroristic threats, assured Gwendolyn Grimmette that she would be protected, and that Gwendolyn Grimmette relied on these statements. Defendants argue that these affidavits are inadmissible hearsay. These statements do not fall squarely within any applicable exception to the hearsay rule. They do not constitute dying declarations. Although Plaintiffs argue that the statements estab[249]*249lish Gwendolyn Grimmette’s state of mind in terms of reasonably relying on police protection, there is no independent evidence to indicate that the police made such promises. Arguably, the statements might be construed as present sense impressions under Rule 803(1) of the Federal Rules of Evidence. However, given the court’s analysis of Monell v. New York Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), it is unnecessary to determine the issue whether a special relationship existed giving rise to a constitutional right to police protection.

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Related

Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Servs.
436 U.S. 658 (Supreme Court, 1978)
Martinez v. California
444 U.S. 277 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Parratt v. Taylor
451 U.S. 527 (Supreme Court, 1981)
Kentucky v. Graham
473 U.S. 159 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Leeanne Wright v. The City of Ozark
715 F.2d 1513 (Eleventh Circuit, 1983)
Zelma Jones v. George M. Phyfer
761 F.2d 642 (Eleventh Circuit, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
662 F. Supp. 246, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5581, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trethewey-v-dekalb-county-gand-1987.