Barrera v. City of Mt. Pleasant

476 F.Supp.3d 604

Marc BARRERA, Plaintiff,

v.CITY OF MT. PLEASANT, Isabella County, Cary Murch, Jeff Thompson, Jacob Eggers, Christopher Cluley, Defendants.

Case No. 1:19-cv-11807

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, Northern Division.

Signed August 5, 2020

Gregory W. Wix, Fieger Law Firm, Southfield, MI, for Plaintiff.

Andrew J. Brege, Thomas David Beindit, Johnson Rosati Schultz & Joppich, P.C., Lansing, MI, for Defendants City of Mount Pleasant, Officer Carey Murch, Officer Jeff Thompson.

Allan C. Vander Laan, Bradley C. Yanalunas, Cummings, McClorey, Davis & Acho, P.L.C., Grand Rapids, MI, for Defendants County of Isabella, Officer Jacob Eggers, Officer Christopher Cluley.

ORDER GRANTING MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DISMISSING COMPLAINT

THOMAS L. LUDINGTON, United States District Judge

On June 18, 2019, Plaintiff Marc Valentino Barrera filed a complaint against Defendants the City of Mt. Pleasant, Isabella County, Officer Carey Murch, Officer Jeff Thompson, Correctional Officer Jacob Eggers, and Correctional Officer Christopher Cluley. ECF No. 1 at PageID.3-4. Plaintiff's complaint provides four counts: false arrest/false imprisonment by all Defendants, supervisory liability by the City of Mt. Pleasant and Isabella County, gross negligence by all Defendants, and intentional infliction of emotional distress by Defendants Murch, Thompson, Eggers, and Cluley. Id. at PageID.8-22.

All the Defendants have now filed motions for summary judgment. For the following reasons, the motions will be granted and the complaint dismissed.

I.

A.

On November 20, 2016, Plaintiff Marc Barrera and Edison Pelcher were drinking alcohol at a house in Mt. Pleasant. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1874-1875. They eventually drove to 1409 Granger Street, a house rented by Plaintiff's girlfriend's cousin, Jordan Pelcher. Id. at PageID.1874; ECF No. 32-3 at PageID.1823. At the Granger house, Plaintiff and Pelcher were joined by Joaquin Garcia and Plaintiff's girlfriend, Morgan Guerrero. Id. at PageID.1876. While there, Plaintiff consumed alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine. Id. at PageID.1874.

During this time, Officer Murch of the Mt. Pleasant Police Department ("MPPD") was patrolling the area. ECF No. 32-3 PageID.1813. At approximately 1:00 a.m., Murch passed 1409 Granger and recognized a black Buick. He believed it was the same car that he had previously pulled over twice, resulting in drug-related arrests. Id. at PageID at 1813-1814. The address was familiar to Murch because police had responded to approximately twenty incidents there that year. Id. at PageID.1822-1823. Murch ran the license plate through the Law Enforcement Information Network system ("LEIN") to confirm that it was the same vehicle. Id. at PageID.1814, ECF No. 37 at PageID.2180. The LEIN search confirmed that the vehicle was the same one he had interacted with previously. Murch noted that the registered owner, Robert Sheahan, did not have a valid driver's license. Id. at PageID.1814. Murch parked in a nearby lot where he could observe the vehicle parked in the driveway. Id. at PageID.1815.

Murch saw the vehicle reverse out of the driveway and leave the property. ECF No. 28-2 at PageID.1335. Joaquin Garcia drove the vehicle, Edison Pelcher sat in the passenger seat, and Morgan Guerrero and Plaintiff sat in the backseat. ECF No. 28-3 at PageID.1425. Murch followed the vehicle between a quarter and a half-mile and initiated a traffic stop for speeding. ECF No. 28-4 at PageID.1494-1495.

Murch approached the vehicle and requested Garcia's driver's license. However, Garcia only offered his high school ID. Murch sought identification from the other passengers to find a licensed driver to whom he could release the vehicle. Id. at PageID.1499. Pelcher provided identification, but Plaintiff and Guerrero did not. Id. at PageID.1499-1500. Murch returned to his patrol vehicle with Garcia's high school ID and Pelcher's ID to run their names through LEIN and to request backup. Id. at PageID.1500-1501.

When Officers Thompson and Straus arrived about ten minutes later, Murch placed Garcia under arrest for driving without a license. Id. at PageID.1503-1504, ECF No. 28-9 at PageID.1721. Pelcher was on probation and had a Preliminary Breath Test ("PBT") of 0.27. The officers documented his PBT and released him after they were unable to contact his probation officer. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1598.

Thompson questioned Guerrero about her identity and she initially lied about who she was. Id. at 1597. The officers used the name Pelcher had provided, ran Guerrero's name through the LEIN database, and discovered there were outstanding arrest warrants for her. ECF No. 32-4 at PageID.1822. Thompson testified that it was his belief that Guerrero lied about her identity because of her arrest warrants, not because she wished to protect Plaintiff. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1568. Officers learned through Pelcher that Plaintiff was in fact Guerrero's boyfriend. ECF No. 32-4 at PageID.1838. Thompson testified that "[a]t some point Officer Straus was talking to Pelcher, and during his conversation my understanding is Pelcher told him that Morgan should know who he is, that's her boyfriend Marc." ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1597.

When confronted Guerrero claimed that she had met Plaintiff on Facebook but did not know his Facebook name. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1568. Thompson testified that:

She initially was telling me she didn't know his name and then when confronted with that she said, yeah, that's, that's how I know him by. How do you know him; she met him through Facebook. Okay, what's his name on Facebook; I don't know, that's not my boyfriend.

Id. at PageID.1568. Thompson further testified that there was no indication that Plaintiff had threatened Guerrero to lie about his identity to police. Id. at PageID.1569.

Plaintiff refused to identify himself to Murch and Thompson. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1881. Thompson requested that Plaintiff exit the vehicle and informed Plaintiff that he would conduct a Terry pat-down to check for weapons. ECF No. 35-2 at PageID.1881. Plaintiff consented stating "you can get a pat-down for you and your officer's safety to make sure I don't have any weapons on me but don't go in my pockets". Id. at PageID.1881. Thompson felt a bulge in Plaintiff's pockets. Based on his experience as a narcotics officer, Thompson believed the bulge to be cash and baggies. ECF No. 32-4 at PageID.1842. He removed the items and found approximately 1,000 dollars in cash and eleven plastic baggies. ECF No. 32-4 at PageID.1842. Thompson placed both items back in Plaintiff's pocket. Id. at PageID.1842.

Plaintiff testified in his deposition that when the officers questioned him about the cash, he told them it was "per cap" money. ECF No. 28-2 at PageID.1357. "Per Capita" or "per cap" are monthly funds distributed to tribal members from the profits generated by casinos operated under the National Indiana Gaming Regulatory Act. ECF No. 32 at PageID.1767. Plaintiff claims that he did not tell Thompson that it was his per cap money because he is not a tribal member. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1881. Instead, Plaintiff claims that he only told Thompson that it was per cap money. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1884. However, Thompson believed that Plaintiff claimed the per cap money was his. ECF No. 32-4 at PageID.1845.

Officers believed that Mr. Sheahan, the registered owner of the vehicle, was Native American. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1577. Suspecting that Plaintiff may be Sheahan and that he was in possession of per cap money, officers called tribal officer Dave Feger to the scene. ECF No. 28-4 at PageID.1514. However, after arriving at the scene, Feger confirmed that he was not familiar with Plaintiff. ECF No. 32-3 at PageID.1822.

Officers placed Plaintiff in the back of Straus's patrol car and transported him to Isabella County Jail. Murch testified that at the time, Plaintiff was not under arrest, nor was he placed in handcuffs. Id. at 1524-1525, 1527.

Q. Okay. And you -- at that point in time when Mr. Barrera is being transported to jail is he under arrest?

A. No.

Q. Okay. Why not?

A. Because we don't have all the elements of the crime to arrest him.

ECF No. 32-3 at PageID.1825. Thompson's testimony is similar. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1611. ("Was he arrested for a felony at that time when we took him to the jail, no ...") However, Plaintiff claims that an officer told him that he was under arrest for resisting and obstructing arrest. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1885, 1888.

When officers arrived with Plaintiff, Officers Cluley and Eggers were working. ECF No. 35-2 at PageID.1886; ECF No. 28-7 at PageID.1690. Eggers testified in his deposition that Plaintiff was handcuffed when he entered the jail. Id. at PageID.1717. It was the jail's policy to search every person who entered the jail regardless of their reason for entering the facility. Id. at PageID.1656. During the pat-down, it was policy that the correctional officers would remove the subject's top layer of clothing from their upper body. Id. at PageID.1680.

Cluley conducted the pat-down of Plaintiff while Eggers and the MPPD officers waited in the master control area. ECF No. 28-7 at PageID.1689. Plaintiff's sweater was removed, and his personal belongings were placed in a bucket. ECF No. 32-5 at PageID.1888. During the pat-down, Eggers noted a strong marijuana odor and a plastic rustling sound. ECF No. 28-8 at PageID.1719.

Removing the sweater revealed that Plaintiff had his name tattooed on his arms, which Eggers entered into the Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). ECF 28-7 at PageID.1690. Thompson also ran the name through dispatch and discovered that Plaintiff was a parole absconder and had warrants for his arrest. ECF No. 28-4 at PageID.1535-1536. While Thompson and Eggers checked his name against the databases, Cluley attempted to fingerprint Plaintiff, but Plaintiff refused. ECF No. 28-5 at PageID.1593. Plaintiff and the jail personnel were advised by Thompson that Plaintiff was...