YOUNG v. INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT

District Court, S.D. Indiana·Decided June 6, 2023·No. 1:22-cv-00301·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA INDIANAPOLIS DIVISION

PATRICIA YOUNG, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Case No. 1:22-cv-00301-TWP-MJD ) INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE ) DEPARTMENT, ) DAVID KUCHTA-DRANE, Police Officer, ) ) Defendants. )

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

This matter is before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment filed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 by Defendants Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department ("IMPD") and officer David Kuchta-Drane ("Detective Kuchta-Drane") (collectively, the "Defendants") (Dkt. 24). Following an involuntary mental health commitment, pro se Plaintiff Patricia Young ("Ms. Young") initiated this action asserting claims against the Defendants for: disability discrimination pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), criminal confinement, obstruction of justice, fraud, and defamation of character. Id. Defendants argue that summary judgment is appropriate because, among other things, IMPD is an improper party to this suit, Detective Kuchta-Drane is shielded by qualified immunity or law enforcement immunity, and Ms. Young's claims are not plausible on its face (Dkt. 26). For the reasons set forth below, summary judgment is granted in the Defendants' favor. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND As noted above, despite being notified of her right to respond to the summary judgment motion, no response has been filed, and the deadline for doing so has long passed. By not responding to the motion for summary judgment, Ms. Yong has conceded the Defendants' version of the facts. Brasic v. Heinemanns Inc., 121 F.3d 281, 286 (7th Cir. 1997). A. Undisputed Factual Background

On January 17, 2020, Ms. Young visited IMPD's Mobile Crisis Assistant Team and met with Detective Kuchta-Drane and Mark Graeser ("Mr. Graeser")—a clinical therapist and social worker—employed by Eskenazi Hospital (Dkt. 25-1 at 3; Dkt. 25-2 at 2). Detective Kuchta-Drane works in IMPD's Behavioral Health Unit and Mobile Crisis Assistance Team ("MCAT") (Dkt. 25- 1 at 2). The MCAT "is a collaboration between IMPD and Eskenazi Hospital's Mental Health Center ("Eskenazi") that allows specially trained law enforcement officers and mental health counselors to collaborate in interactions with individuals experiencing mental health crises." Id. Ms. Young reported that she was "hearing the voice of a person named Sulton who had raped and sexually harassed her for years." (Dkt. 25-1 at 12.) Both Detective Kuchta-Drane and Mr. Graeser believed Ms. Young "was exhibiting persistent delusions which were consistent with mental illness, was either dangerous or gravely disabled, and was in immediate need of

hospitalization and treatment." (Dkt. 25-1 at 3; Dkt. 25-2 at 3). Ms. Young consented to being transported to Eskenazi to be evaluated and Detective Kuchta-Drane placed her on immediate detention.1 (Dkt. 25-1 at 3). Soon after, Detective Kuchta-Drane "submitted a written statement containing the basis for [his] conclusions to Eskenazi hospital as required by Indiana Code § 12- 26-4-2." Id. Once at Eskenazi, a doctor prepared and filed a 'Physician's Emergency Statement'

1 Indiana's immediate detention statute provides that "[a] law enforcement officer, having reasonable grounds to believe that an individual has a mental illness, is dangerous, and is in immediate need of hospitalization and treatment, may ... apprehend and transport the individual to the nearest appropriate facility." See Ind. Code § 12–26–4–1. Once at an appropriate facility, Indiana Code § 12–26–5–1 provides for detention for "not more than seventy-two (72) hours" of an individual who "may be mentally ill and either dangerous or gravely disabled." Ind. Code § 12–26–5– 1(a)–(b). and an 'Application for Emergency Detention of Mentally Ill Person' with the Marion Superior Court requesting that Ms. Young be hospitalized (Dkt. 25-3 at 4-9). Almost two years later, on January 13, 2022, Ms. Young filed a state court complaint2 against IMPD and Detective Kuchta-Drane alleging several claims against the Defendants,

including that they criminally confined her for six (6) days at Eskenazi and seeking sixty (60) million dollars in restitution (Dkt. 1-3). The Defendants then removed the action to this Court, and filed their Motion for Summary Judgment. As required by this courts Local Rules, Defendants provided Ms. Young with Notice that she must file and serve a copy of her response to the motion for summary judgment by January 5, 2023. (Dkt. 24). When no response was filed by that deadline, the Court also provided notice and gave Ms. Young through February 3, 2023 to respond; and warned that if no response was filed by that date, the Court would proceed with issuing a ruling on the unopposed motion. (Dkt. 29). To-date, no response has been filed. responded. II. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD The purpose of summary judgment is to "pierce the pleadings and to assess the proof in

order to see whether there is a genuine need for trial." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587 (1986). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 provides that summary judgment is appropriate if "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Hemsworth v. Quotesmith.com, Inc., 476 F.3d 487, 489–90 (7th Cir. 2007). In ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court reviews "the record in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw[s] all reasonable inferences in that party's favor." The court views the facts in the light most

2 See Cause No. 49D04-2201-CT-001304 and styled Patricia Young v. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department North District. favorable to the non-moving party and all reasonable inferences are drawn in the non-movant's favor. Barbera v. Pearson Education, Inc., 906 F.3d 621, 628 (7th Cir. 2018). An unopposed summary judgment motion does not change the summary judgment standard, and the court still conducts "more than just a cursory review of the filings" and scrutinizes

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YOUNG v. INDIANAPOLIS METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, (S.D. Ind. 2023).

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