Wheeler v. City of Macon

52 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9188, 1999 WL 412809
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 16, 1999
DocketNo. Civ.A. 5:96-CV-434
StatusPublished

This text of 52 F. Supp. 2d 1372 (Wheeler v. City of Macon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wheeler v. City of Macon, 52 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9188, 1999 WL 412809 (M.D. Ga. 1999).

Opinion

ORDER

LAWSON, District Judge.

I. Procedural History

Plaintiffs filed suit against Defendants City of Macon and its Mayors David Carter and James Marshall, against its Chief of Police, James Avera, and police officers Captain Henry Gibson and Detective Carolyn Glover. She seeks relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming her rights were violated under the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution because she was falsely imprisoned and because she was subject to unreasonable search and seizure. She also alleges various supplemental state law claims of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress, as well as certain claims on behalf of her six minor children. All parties in the case have moved for summary judgment.

II. Facts1

On November 21, 1995, Defendant Detective Carolyn Glover (“Glover”) obtained an arrest warrant for Dewayne Wheeler (“Dewayne”) for the offense of statutory rape. At the time, Dewayne was the husband of Plaintiff Belinda Wheeler (“Ms.Wheeler”). Ms. Wheeler was a police officer with the Macon Police Department. Glover was the detective assigned to the case involving Dewayne and had conducted the investigation into the rape allegations.

The victim, Debra McCrary, had informed Glover that she and Dewayne had been having a sexual relationship since she was thirteen, which resulted in McCrary having a baby. The victim’s grandmother, Betty McCrary, told Glover that Ms. Wheeler knew about the relationship and the baby but was reluctant to report her husband because it would hurt her reputation with the Macon Police Department. Ms. Wheeler testified that she had been told by several people of the relationship, that Dewayne denied it, and that she did not believe the allegations.

After obtaining the warrant for Dewayne’s arrest, Glover proceeded that same day to Ms. Wheeler’s home in Lizel-la, where Dewayne was living at the time. When Glover arrived she was informed by one of Ms. Wheeler’s children that Dewayne had gone with Ms. Wheeler to the National Guard Armory, where she was on duty that evening. Glover arrived at the Armory at approximately 7:15 p.m. Dewayne was not there, but Glover spoke with Ms. Wheeler about the situation, showing her the warrant. According to Ms. Wheeler, she was then ordered to convince her husband to turn himself in to the police department. Ms. Wheeler asked Glover how she could be reached, and Glover told her to call her secretary, who would be available at the Detective Bureau until midnight. Glover was under the impression Ms. Wheeler would contact [1375]*1375her that evening after she had contacted her husband.

Ms. Wheeler testified that Dewayne had been at the Armory earlier in the evening, but she did not tell Glover. She also testified that she knew statutory rape was a serious felony, knew the child involved in the allegation and knew Dewayne was on probation for another felony.

Ms. Wheeler then left the Armory and drove to Dewayne’s brother’s home, where she thought Dewayne might be. When she arrived and found they were not there, she paged Dewayne’s brother. Dewayne called her back at approximately 9:15 p.m. and then arrived at the house at approximately 9:30 p.m. After some conversation about the warrant, Dewayne agreed to turn himself in. He asked if he could go home and change clothes; she agreed, and they drove to their home in Lizella, arriving at approximately 10:00 p.m. After Dewayne made phone calls to relatives, they proceeded back to Macon. Dewayne asked her to take him by his brother’s house. After they arrived there, Dewayne informed her that he was not going to turn himself in to the police. Unable to persuade him otherwise, Ms. Wheeler drove back home and later telephoned Dewayne. They talked until after midnight. Ms. Wheeler then went to sleep. She never contacted Glover or anyone else at the Police Department to inform them of what happened that evening.

The next morning Ms. Wheeler awoke at approximately 6:00 a.m. and readied her children for school. She still made no attempt to contact Glover or anyone else at the Police Department; she did, however, attempt to contact Dewayne at his brother’s house. After getting her children off to school, she drove to the Macon Police Department Team II office with her son Larry. She then proceeded to the Bibb Law Enforcement Center (“LEC”) and took a prisoner over to Magistrate Court to have a warrant signed.

After returning the prisoner to the LEC, Ms. Wheeler went back to the Team II office, picked up her son, and went to a car lot to help him pick out a car. She was there for approximately 45 minutes to one hour, during which time she attempted to call Dewayne. She never attempted to call the Police Department during this time.

At approximately 11:00 a.m., Ms. Wheeler attempted to contact Glover and eventually spoke with her on the telephone. Upon questioning by Glover, she said she did not know of Dewayne’s whereabouts and offered no explanation of what had occurred the previous evening. Glover ordered her to the Police Department for an explanation of the situation. Once there, she was questioned about Dewayne’s whereabouts, at which point she gave an accounting of what had occurred the night before. After Glover and Gibson both questioned her they reported to Deputy Chief Willie May, who then reported to Avera.

May testified that he gave Avera a “brief overview of what had taken place,” including the fact that there had been no communication from Ms. Wheeler since the previous evening when she had been made aware of the warrant and was given some obligation to get her husband to turn himself in. Regarding his understanding of the conversation with May on November 21, Avera stated:

The deputy chief said that Ms. Wheeler had made a request to bring her husband in and that request had been granted by the investigating officer. The investigating officer gave a specific time that she was going to bring her husband in. Chief May then said that time had passed and that she did not show and that he had information from a witness at the National Guard Armory that Ms. Wheeler was with her husband. They had made contact with her and she said that she hadn’t seen him. And the deputy chief said that was not the truth.

(Avera Dep. at 27.)

Upon receiving the report, Avera told May he wanted Ms. Wheeler arrested. May suggested that they first conduct an internal investigation, but Avera refused. [1376]*1376He then instructed May to go to his office and wait, that he would get back in touch with him. He explained that he was not clear in his mind as to the ramifications of Ms. Wheeler’s conduct as he understood it to be. He then spoke to District Attorney Charles Weston and was advised by Weston that “it was apparent to him that there had been a violation, and he gave me two code sections, one a felony, and one a misdemeanor.” (Avera Dep. at 30.) Later in the day, Avera called May and gave him two criminal statutes under which Ms. Wheeler could be charged and ordered her arrested.2

According to May, Avera stated that he interpreted the situation in his own mind as a “hindering the apprehension” violation. Avera concluded the conversation by ordering May to give a media interview explaining the arrest.

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Bluebook (online)
52 F. Supp. 2d 1372, 1999 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9188, 1999 WL 412809, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wheeler-v-city-of-macon-gamd-1999.