Id. The Court must consider relevant factors, such as the time frame in which the speech occurred, the audiences to which the speech was directed, the continuity of the speech, and the degree to which the different aspects of the speech created a cumulative impact on the government employer. 57 at 2). Give today! 65 at 3). IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendants' Motion and Memorandum in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment, (Doc. Plaintiff repeatedly stated during her deposition that she had not spoken negatively about Defendant Scifres, and that she rarely initiated conversations about the police chief vacancy or the applicants for the position. Bass v. Richards, 308 F.3d 1081, 1089 (10th Cir. (Doc. The Department subsequently conducted an internal investigation, and transferred Plaintiff into a police radio dispatcher position pending the outcome of the investigation. Some people are upset at the way iPhones charge. Defendants argue that Plaintiff's speech did not touch on matters of public concern because her letter was simply a discussion of her preference for her next boss. She disclosed that she had been admonished by Commander Brown for "talking negatively about Chief Deputy Jody Scifres for Chief," and was instructed to cease talking about the Police Chief position while at work. One of those now-former officers, Courtney Brown, blamed her termination on the international . 52-1 at 3-5). His last day was Nov. 26. The nonmovant must go beyond the allegations and denials of his pleadings and provide admissible evidence, which the Court views in the light most favorable to her. She also discussed her support of Dane Kyser for Chief of Police. 4. Moreno was booked into the Chaves County Detention Center on a . The city is just beginning the process of paying an outside vendor $77,000 to conduct a top to bottom review of the police department. 52-5 at 7:14-19; Doc. Plaintiff does not allege that any of her speech was calculated to disclose wrongdoing, misconduct, governmental inefficiency, or malfeasance by Defendant Scifres, Commander Brown, or any City of Roswell official. fechar. Plaintiff was unable to identify any other instances of her speech that she contends were protected by the First Amendment and resulted in retaliation against her. While, the first three steps in the Garcetti/Pickering analysis are questions of law for the Court to decide, id., they may turn on resolution of a factual dispute by the jury. (Doc. 57 at 14). She believed that if Defendant Scifres were to be hired as Chief of Police, more officers would quit and the community would suffer. 60). According to an incident report WXIA-TV obtained, officer Lorne Alston was on patrol when he spotted what he believed to be a stolen vehicle with four people inside. at 2. In lieu of termination, Plaintiff tendered her resignation from the Roswell Police Department on February 16, 2012. 57 at 2, 3; Doc. Tim Gannon, the Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, police chief, resigned on Tuesday, just one day after he said he had no plans to give in to calls for him to step down. Defendants argued in their Motion that claims against Defendant Kintigh in his personal capacity should be dismissed because Plaintiff has not made any factual allegations that he was personally involved in any adverse employment decision alleged in this case. ROSWELL, Ga. Roswell's top cop has been put on administrative leave and has been told he has to resign, city officials confirmed to Channel 2's Mike Petchenik Thursday. 58-3 at 2:8-18). Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1205 (quotation omitted). 65 at 3). She claims that, with regard to the vacant Police Chief position, she only spoke out in support of fellow officer Dan Kyser's candidacy. (Doc. Chief Conroy already had the cogs and the wheels turning, and just needed a council and mayor to get behind him.. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Dist. For the first time in more than 20 years, the Roswell Police Department is fully staffed. 57 at 2, 4; Doc. In her letter, Plaintiff shared her experience of being reprimanded for discussing the Police Chief vacancy while on duty. Id. She was able to specifically identify several officers that she spoke with, but was not able to recall any specific dates that these conversations occurred. Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203, 1. 60-9 at 2-19), are impermissible hearsay in contravention of Fed. (Doc. 65 at 3). 5, 149 F.3d 1228, 1233 (10th Cir. Roswells mayor and city administrator recently refused to do interviews with 11Alive Chief Investigator Brendan Keefe, after he uncovered multiple cases where police command staff knew or approved of verbal counseling, only to take more serious action after 11Alive requested records from those incidents. Chief Tim Gannon and Officer Kim Potter have. Plaintiff initially brought claims against Defendant Kintigh in his individual and official capacities. Plaintiff has maintained throughout that she never intended to speak negatively about Defendant Scifres. She stated that she "was concerned if [Scifres became police chief because] our morale at the department was at the all time low." 1983, alleging that she was wrongfully transferred, demoted, and eventually forced to resign from her position with the Roswell Police Department, in retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right to freedom of speech. 57 at 2). Id. In February, 2012, Plaintiff was recommended for termination, but chose to resign from the Department instead. On December 17, 2010, Plaintiff delivered a number of letters from police officers to Roswell Mayor Del Jurney and Defendant Fry. See Hom, 81 F.3d at 969. 57); and Defendants' Reply in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Reply"), filed July 14, 2014. 65 at 3). Roswell police say Moreno was with the department for a year and a half he resigned from the department once the investigation began. On Jan. 2, body camera footage showed officers leaving a 13-year-old boy in a squad car on a cold night and taunting him. Officer . 52 at 13-14). In the fall of 2010, the Roswell Police Department had an interim Chief of Police and interim Deputy Chief of Police because the officers holding those positions had recently resigned. 52-1 at 37:12-22). The Court need not reach the other prongs of the Garcetti/Pickering test, and finds that Defendants are entitled to summary judgment on all of Plaintiff's claims as a matter of law. . (Doc. 1984). Plaintiff testified that she could only vaguely recall "things that were said" about morale, staffing, and shift hours, but could not recount any specific statements that she made or anyone that she spoke to, other than her fellow officers and the police union. (Doc. 3. (Doc. July 3: The Toronto chapter of Black Lives Matter stages a protest as honoured guests of Pride Toronto, demanding more funding to people of colour events at pride, and removal of police floats in future parades. A copy of the article was not provided to the Court, and therefore its substance is unknown. Kimberling City Police Chief Craig Alexander resigned on Aug. 23. The department has 160 sworn officer positions, all of which are filled. In Connick, the plaintiff's speech consisted of her opposition to her transfer to another division of her public agency, employee morale, and her lack of confidence in supervisors. 1K views, 27 likes, 1 loves, 2 comments, 18 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Brendan Keefe Journalist: Roswell's police chief has resigned amid multiple invetsigations by The 11Alive Investigators.. 52 at 4; Doc. The Tenth Circuit found that, because the Wulf plaintiff's speech was directed to a public official seeking a formal investigation of a police chief's alleged misconduct, a finding of public concern was strongly supported by the evidence. 52-1 at 4:6-10) ("They had already brought up the discussion of the new Chief of Police and then I brought up who I was supporting."). 57 at 4; Doc. ROSWELL - The Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office will respond to all emergency calls in the village for now. at 1203. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO. See Pickering v. Bd. She also maintains that all of her statements concerning Defendant Scifres' character, competence and fitness for duty are matters of public concern and protected speech. (Doc. 52); Plaintiff's Response to Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment ("Response"), filed June 23, 2014, (Doc. (Doc. 57 at 2). 52 at 4; Doc. Conaway v. Smith, 853 F.2d 789, 796 (10th Cir. (Doc. Kim Potter, a 26-year police. The sergeant in that case named department Supervisor of The Year -- was demoted and served a 30-day suspension following the 11Alive reports. In the January 5, 2011 complaint, Plaintiff stated that she was reporting harassment under "City Rules and Regulations 1001.0." That prompted him to make hiring and retaining officers a priority. Commander Brown advised Plaintiff not to discuss the Police Chief position or the Police Chief candidates while on duty, as it had become a distraction at work. 52 at 10; Doc. 65 at 3). If. 52 at 12; Doc. The police officer who shot and killed Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on Sunday has resigned from her position amid widespread protests. She further argues that she has presented enough facts to demonstrate the existence of a genuine issue of material fact as to whether her speech was a substantial or motivating factor in the decisions to transfer her from her detective position, demote her, and eventually force her to resign. 1988) (internal quotations and alterations omitted). Bradford's . The move by the Roswell City Council to hire a consultant comes after former members of the police department were involved in a handful of controversial incidents in the past year. The Court looks to content, form, and context of the speech, and considers the motivation of the speaker, in determining whether it was on a matter of public or personal concern. (Doc. No. 57 at 2). In Hom, the plaintiff claimed that he was fired from the Utah Department of Public Safety for filing grievances against his supervisors for failing to honor his employment contract and compensate him fully for his work. (Doc. In her letter, Plaintiff also alerted the Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry to her reprimand by Commander Brown, and alleged that her fellow officers feared retaliation if they voiced any opinion regarding the Police Chief position. 52 at 5; Doc. The determination of whether the unitary approach is appropriate is fact sensitive, and depends on the interrelatedness of the different aspects of the speech. 57 at 4; Doc. If the employee establishes the speech was a substantial or motivating factor, then "the employer may demonstrate that it would have taken the same action against the employee even in the absence of the protected speech." 52 at 5; Doc. She went off-duty in February. The speech asserted in Plaintiff's letter is more akin to the speech in McEvoy, than that in Wulf. The subject matter of, and intended audiences for, Plaintiff's varied instances speech are too disparate to be considered as a unitary whole for purposes of the Garcetti/Pickering analysis. A movant who does not bear the burden of persuasion at trial, such as Defendants, need not negate the nonmovant's claim. P. 56(a). Brooklyn Center Police Chief Tim Gannon stepped down Tuesday, the city's mayor announced. You want to go somewhere where you dont have limitations.. Id. Id. The evidence in the record strongly suggests that Plaintiff's personal interest as an employee of the Roswell Police Department predominated her interest as a member of the general public. See Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1206 (holding that a public school teacher's speech regarding the school's staffing levels, a school administrator's lack of support, trust, and feedback, and criticisms of the school board were not matters of public concern) (quotation omitted). 1988). 52 at 14). Per the contract, the consulting services will not exceed the amount of $77,750, The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported. Officers would not respond to their calls. But its not just pay, its leadership, according to the citys public safety liaison Lee Hills. 3, 891 F.2d 1485, 1492 (10th Cir. (Doc. She reasons that a police officer's opinion as to who would be the best Chief of Police is important to the public, because the public has a "dire need to know who is leading their police department." (Doc. (Doc. (Doc. The Tenth Circuit has observed that political speech involves advocacy of a particular candidate for public office, while emphasizing that courts place the greatest value upon political speech in the electoral process. 52 at 5; Doc. In former police chief Josh Gibson's resignation letter, which was also shared in a public Facebook post on Wednesday evening, the Kenly officer of 21 years said he could no longer continue with . The mere existence of some evidence in support of the nonmoving party, however, will not be sufficient for denial of a motion for summary judgment; there must be enough evidence to enable a jury to reasonably find for the nonmoving party on that issue. On January 8, 2011, Plaintiff was involved in a domestic dispute with her husband, which resulted in Plaintiff's placement on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of an internal investigation into Plaintiff's commission of domestic violence. 801. (Doc. Id. 65 at 3). She described her discussions with other officers as "personal conversations," and asserted that she had been singled out by Commander Brown despite many other officers regularly discussing the Chief of Police position while at work. 52 at 9; Doc. (Doc. at 466. Defendants move for summary judgment on the basis that Plaintiff's speech was not protected by the First Amendment because Plaintiff has failed to demonstrate that any of her speech touched on a matter of public concern. Koch v. Hutchinson, 847 F.2d 1436, 1445 (10th Cir. (Doc. 52 at 3-4; Doc. 57 at 2). As a government employee, a "citizen by necessity must accept certain limitations on his or her freedom." 58-3 at 14:18-24). U.S. Daunte Wright. (Doc. Id. 1996). This speech is entirely about internal departmental affairs and workplace frustration, and therefore only on matters of personal interest to Plaintiff. 65 at 5). Lighton, 209 F.3d at 1224. McEvoy, 882 F.2d at 465. Plaintiff does not allege that she intended to make her letter to Mayor Jurney or Defendant Fry public. Id. The Court has reviewed all of the exhibits attached to the Response, and cannot find any corresponding documents to support Plaintiff's contention, and therefore, does not consider this to be an undisputed fact. Before coming to Roswell, Grant had more than 30 years of law enforcement experience with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations. Letter to Mayor Jurney and Defendant Fry: December 17, 2010. Plaintiff's statements consisted of her subjective belief about her under-performing fellow officers, and speculation about what would happen if Defendant Scifres became Police Chief. Both the police chief and the officer who killed 20-year-old Daunte Wright resigned Tuesday, as protesters gathered for a third night in this Minneapolis suburb. Connick, 461 U.S. at 147-48. Plaintiff also discussed her concerns about her fellow officers' under-performance in their duties, and the effect it had on the Roswell community. Id at 1. Here's why. Plaintiff was concerned about who the next Chief of Police would be because she believed that the morale of the Department was low, which impacted the officers' ability to serve the community. Therefore, the Court will consider each instance of speech independently. When an employee speaks upon matters of personal interest, that speech is unprotected. In a Sept. 17 memo to the citys attorney, police chief and human resources director, City Administrator Gary Palmer wrote that out of CPSM and another finalist, CPSM was best qualified but also the least expensive.. Again, the Court considers the content, form, and context of Plaintiff's speech, as well as her stated motivation for making the speech, in conducting its analysis. Leverington v. City of Colo. Springs, 643 F.3d 719, 727 (10th Cir. Following a pre-determination hearing that took place on January 31, 2011, Defendant Fry transferred Plaintiff from her position as Defendant in the Criminal Investigations Division to the Consolidated Dispatch Center. (Doc. (Doc. Id. And we can only do this with your help. at 15. Speech may involve a public concern when the speaker intends to "'bring to light actual or potential wrongdoing or breach of public trust'" by a public officer, or to disclose "evidence of corruption, impropriety, or other malfeasance" within a governmental entity. 65 at 3). Therefore, Plaintiff contends, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment should be denied. Roswell Municipal Court Special Projects 100-Day Plan 2021-2025 Citywide Strategic Plan 2040 Comprehensive Plan American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Bond Referendum Chattahoochee River Pedestrian Bridge Project East Alley Pathway Improvement Project East-West Connectivity Improvements Grimes Bridge Road Project Historic Gateway Project 57 at 2). Wilson v. City of Littleton, Colo., 732 F.2d 765, 768 (10th Cir. (Doc. She has also repeatedly insisted that she was always a participant in these conversations, and never initiated them. Deciding whether Plaintiff's letter was on a matter of public concern, in consideration of the content, form, and context of the speech alone, is a close call in this case. THE HONORABLE CARMEN E. GARZA UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE. The Roswell Police Department was going through "some tough times," because both the Chief of Police and the Deputy Chief of Police had recently resigned from their positions. June 22: Toronto Police chief Mark Saunders issues an official statement of regrets for the Operation Soap raids of 1981. (Doc. (Doc. Id. The chiefs resignation follows a year-long investigation of the police department by The 11Alive Investigators. My daughter was in an accident last night. The morale is down." Chad Cole, assistant superintendent for finance and operations at Roswell Independent School District, has been named by Roswell Mayor Timothy Jennings as his choice as the new city manager. 58-3 at 113:18-115:4). 57 at 11-12). Id. Community Calendar From How Do You Atlanta. (Doc. Not every criticism directed at a public official will "plant the seed of a constitutional case." Generally, the subject matter of the speech at issue, as described by Plaintiff, consists of vague recollections touching on officer morale, understaffing, shift hours, the quality of other officers' work, and her subjective belief about what would happen if Defendant Scifres were to be hired as Police Chief. Therefore, Defendants conclude, the speech was of a purely personal nature, and is not protected speech. She stated her belief that Defendant Scifres had been the one who told Commander Brown to reprimand her in December, 2010 for discussing the Police Chief vacancy while on duty. Brammer-Hoelter, 492 F.3d at 1203. Grant's resignation comes amid multiple new police incidents under investigation by The 11Alive Investigators. (quotation omitted). Id. Id. She testified at her deposition that: "Officers didn't want to do anything. Therefore, Plaintiff's speech was not protected, and Defendants are entitled to summary judgment. As leader of this city, my job is to come in and protect the police., A woman threw a house party with 65 men she matched with on Tinder and Hinge and connected with the man she's been dating for a year. 58-3 at 3:6-10). Lancaster v. Indep. Therefore, Defendant Fry was the final authority on the selection of the next Roswell Police Chief. Id. The Court finds that, like the grievances involved in Hom, the speech in this case involved only matters of internal departmental affairs and workplace frustration, and therefore were only on matters of personal interest. 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