Whitehead v. City of New York

897 F. Supp. 2d 136, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148037, 2012 WL 4858989
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 15, 2012
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 0951(ILG)(VVP)
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 897 F. Supp. 2d 136 (Whitehead v. City of New York) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Whitehead v. City of New York, 897 F. Supp. 2d 136, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148037, 2012 WL 4858989 (E.D.N.Y. 2012).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

I. LEO GLASSER, Senior District Judge.

Plaintiff Christopher Whitehead (“Whitehead” or “plaintiff’), a current employee of the City of New York Police Department (“NYPD”), brings this action against Michael Marino (“Marino”), a current employee of the NYPD, the City of New York, and the NYPD (collectively “defendants”), alleging unconstitutional retaliation in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“§ 1983”) and various state laws.

Currently before the Court is defendants’ motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, defendants’ motion is hereby GRANTED.

I. FACTS & PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The following facts are taken from Whitehead’s complaint and are accepted as true for purposes of this motion. Whitehead is currently a police officer in the NYPD. He has been employed as a police officer since 1998 and has been assigned to the 75th Precinct in the East New York section of Brooklyn since 2000. Complaint dated Feb. 28, 2012 ¶¶ 4, 11-12 (“Compl.”) (Dkt. No. 1). On or about September 2002, Marino, then an Inspector with the NYPD, became the Commanding Officer (“CO”) of the 75th Precinct. Id. ¶ 14. Within months of becoming the CO of the 75th Precinct, Marino instituted an allegedly illegal quota policy that required each officer assigned to the 75th Precinct to issue ten tickets and make one arrest each month or face a low performance evaluation score. Id. ¶ 15.

While Whitehead had previously received competent or highly competent ratings, in his 2003 performance evaluation, the first under Marino’s quota policy, Whitehead received a below competent rating because he did not achieve the required number of tickets and arrests. Id. ¶¶ 13,16. On or about January 2004, Marino called Whitehead into his office for a meeting regarding Whitehead’s failure to satisfy the quota policy. Whitehead explained that he did not have sufficient opportunities to issue tickets or make arrests because he was rarely assigned patrol duty. Marino replied that he would put Whitehead on Level II Performance Monitoring or terminate Whitehead’s employment if he did not comply with the quota policy. Id. ¶ 17.1 Marino placed White[139]*139head on Level II Performance Monitoring shortly thereafter. Id. ¶ 19.

A few months after being placed on performance monitoring, Whitehead was ordered to Police Headquarters where he was told that he would be closely monitored and that if his performance evaluations did not improve within 18 months, then he would be placed on Level III Performance Monitoring, known as dismissal probation. Id. ¶ 20. While on performance monitoring, Whitehead vocalized his opposition to the quota system to Mari-no and several of his supervisors. Id. ¶ 25. Because Whitehead did not satisfy the quota policy, he received below competent ratings for calendar years 2004 and 2005 and remained on Level II Performance Monitoring. Id. ¶¶ 23, 31.

On or about 2005, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association of the City of New York (“PBA”) filed a grievance under its collective bargaining agreement asserting that the quota policy violated New York Labor Law § 215-a2. Id. ¶ 26. In preparation for the arbitration hearing pursuant to the collective bargaining agreement, Whitehead met with the PBA and agreed to testify but, ultimately, was not called as a witness. However, Marino and other supervisors within the 75th Precinct were allegedly aware of Whitehead’s cooperation. Id. ¶ 27. The arbitration hearing was held on June 16, 2005, and the arbitrator determined, in a January 14, 2006 decision, that the quota policy violated Labor Law § 215-a, and permitted officers who felt that they were unfairly penalized under the policy to be reevaluated without reference to the policy. Id. ¶¶28, 33. Whitehead filed a timely appeal of his 2005 evaluation to Inspector David Barrere, then-CO of the 75th Precinct, who denied the appeal without explanation. Whitehead was informed that he could further appeal his evaluation at the borough level; however, Marino had been promoted to Deputy Chief of Brooklyn North in 2005 and handled evaluation appeals. Id. ¶¶ 24, 29, 33, 35. Presumably, Whitehead did not appeal his evaluation at the borough level because he thought it was futile.

On or about April 2005, Whitehead was assigned to the Field Training Unit (“FTU”), which he viewed as a demotion because it was staffed primarily with recent graduates of the police academy. Id. ¶ 32. Whitehead alleges that this demotion was in retaliation for his opposition to the quota policy, and was based on a personal vendetta held against him by Marino. Id. ¶¶ 32, 34. On May 3, 2006, Lieutenant Douglas Satchwell told Whitehead that he would be returned to his previous assignment if he showed “FTU-like activity,” which Whitehead understood to mean a high number of tickets and arrests. Id. ¶ 34. At the end of 2006, Whitehead received an above-competent rating because he satisfied the required quota. Id. ¶ 37.

[140]*140On or about April 2007, despite his recent satisfactory performance review, Whitehead was ordered to Police Headquarters where he was informed that his supervisor recommended that he remain on monitoring for insufficient activity. Id. ¶ 38. Whitehead was then threatened with Level III Performance Monitoring and told to stop and question people without the constitutionally required reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in order to increase his monthly activity report. Id. In or about June 2007, Whitehead was transferred to a midnight cell attendant position and he received a highly competent rating in his 2007 evaluation. Id. ¶¶ 39-40. Whitehead was removed from performance monitoring status on or about November 2007. Id. ¶ 39.

In or about January 2008, Whitehead took the sergeant exam and was ranked 58 out of the 671 applicants who passed the test. Id. ¶ 41. Because Whitehead had received low evaluation scores in the past and was previously on Level II Performance Monitoring, he was required to appear before the Career Advancement Review Board (“CARB”), once in 2008 and again in 2010, before being promoted. Id. at ¶¶ 41^43. During both appearances, Whitehead was asked to assume responsibility for his low evaluations, and in both Whitehead refused because he viewed the low evaluations as “tainted.” Id. ¶ 43. In the first appearance, CARB suggested that Whitehead request a transfer to a patrol duty assignment in order “to get additional activity.” Id. ¶ 43. On or about November 2009, Whitehead met with his CO and was transferred to patrol duty, where he received highly competent evaluations. Id. ¶¶ 44-45. Despite high evaluations and laudatory letters of recommendation, Whitehead was not promoted to sergeant while applicants with lower test scores and departmental convictions for criminal offenses were allegedly promoted. Id. ¶ 46.

On or about December 1, 2010, the 2008 sergeant list was cancelled, precluding Whitehead’s promotion without re-taking the sergeant exam. Id. ¶ 48.3 Whitehead alleges, inter alia,

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Whitehead v. City of New York
953 F. Supp. 2d 367 (E.D. New York, 2012)

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897 F. Supp. 2d 136, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 148037, 2012 WL 4858989, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/whitehead-v-city-of-new-york-nyed-2012.