Blume v. Meneley

Page 1189

283 F.Supp.2d 1189

Phillip BLUME and Daniel Jaramillo, Plaintiffs, v. David MENELEY and Shawnee County, Kansas, Defendants.

Civil Action No. 00-2559-CM.

United States District Court, D. Kansas.

September 25, 2003.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Elizabeth R. Herbert, Pedro L. Irigonegaray, Robert V. Eye, Irigonegaray & Associates, Topeka, KS, Fred L. Slough, Slough, Connealy, Irwin & Madden, Kansas City, MO, for Plaintiffs.

Alan L. Rupe, S. Douglas MacKay, Husch & Eppenberger, LLC-Wichita, Wichita, KS, David P. Mudrick, K. Gary Sebelius, Kevin James Grauberger, Thomas E. Wright, Wright, Henson, Somers, Clark & Baker LLP, Topeka, KS, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

MURGUIA, District Judge.

Pending before the court are defendants' Motions for Summary Judgment (Docs. 91 and 93). Plaintiffs are employees of the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department ("Sheriff's Department"). Defendant David Meneley is the former Sheriff of Shawnee County. Defendant Shawnee County Board of Commissioners ("Board") oversees the Shawnee County government, including the Sheriff's Department. Plaintiffs filed this case on December 14, 2000, alleging that defendants violated plaintiffs' rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and the First Amendment when defendants made defamatory remarks about plaintiffs and denied plaintiffs promotions. Plaintiffs allege that defendants took these actions in retaliation after plaintiffs made allegations to outside law enforcement agencies regarding internal corruption. Both defendant Meneley and defendant Board ask this court to grant summary judgment in defendants' favor. For the reasons stated below, both Motions for Summary Judgment are denied in part and granted in part.

• Facts¹

Plaintiff Dan Jaramillo has worked for the Sheriff's Department since August 1980. In 1986, plaintiff Jaramillo was assigned to the Narcotics Unit. Plaintiff Jaramillo was promoted to Detective in the Narcotics Unit in 1989. From May 1994 through December 1995, plaintiff Jaramillo was assigned to the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force (Task Force).

Plaintiff Phillip Blume joined the Sheriff's Department in 1989. In August 1990, plaintiff Blume was assigned to the Narcotics Unit, where he served until he was reassigned in April 1996. From about June 1994 through December 1995, plaintiff Blume was also assigned to the Task Force.

Plaintiffs state that, in July 1995, during a meeting regarding their work on the Task Force, defendant Meneley asked plaintiffs if they had dealt with any problems of missing drug evidence. When plaintiffs replied they had not, defendant Meneley explained to plaintiffs that Deputy Timothy Oblander had developed a drug addiction while working in the Narcotics Unit and that defendant Meneley believed Oblander was responsible for stealing drug evidence from the drug locker.

Plaintiffs allege that defendant Meneley stated Oblander was undergoing drug addiction treatment and rehabilitation. Defendant Meneley allegedly told plaintiffs that Oblander had been stealing the drugs and replacing them with other substances. Plaintiff Jaramillo then asked how the office would handle those cases in which drug evidence had been altered. Defendant Meneley claimed there was no problem with those cases and that the prosecutor would continue to pursue them as usual. He also cautioned plaintiffs against disclosing the information concerning Oblander and the drug theft and told plaintiffs that, if the information was leaked, he would know plaintiffs had leaked it.

Plaintiffs did not disclose the information revealed by defendant Meneley until FBI Agent Ron Elder approached plaintiff Jaramillo in December 1995. Agent Elder asked plaintiff Jaramillo if he had any information regarding drugs missing from the Sheriff's Department. At that time, plaintiff Jaramillo told Agent Elder what defendant Meneley had disclosed to him in July 1995.

In January 1996, plaintiff Jaramillo told Shawnee County Assistant District Attorney Tony Rues about Oblander's drug theft and use, as well as defendant Meneley's knowledge of Oblander's activities. On February 23, 1996, the Topeka Capital Journal published a story concerning a Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) investigation into the missing drugs. After the story was published, defendant Meneley asked two officers, Major Pierce and Captain Lovelace, to question certain employees, including plaintiffs, to determine who leaked the information to the Capital Journal.

Plaintiffs denied leaking the information, but plaintiff Jaramillo proceeded to tell the two officers about defendant Meneley's disclosures regarding Oblander's theft and use of the drugs. Captain Lovelace was apparently unaware of defendant Meneley's knowledge of Oblander's actions, as Captain Lovelace had previously conducted an internal investigation into the missing drug evidence but had run out of leads during his investigation.

Plaintiffs also told Lovelace and Pierce that they had already gone to the prosecutor's office with defendant Meneley's disclosures. After Lovelace and Pierce told defendant Meneley the details of their conversation with plaintiffs, Major Pierce allegedly warned plaintiff Jaramillo to be cautious of defendant Meneley's anger toward plaintiffs.

On March 26, 1996, defendant Meneley told a KBI investigator that plaintiffs had lied about the missing drugs and defendant Meneley's knowledge of Oblander's activities. On the same date, and on dates thereafter, plaintiffs continued to assist the KBI in its investigation.

Plaintiffs claim that they had good relationships with defendant Meneley prior to Meneley's July 1995 disclosure. Plaintiffs state that defendant Meneley highly recommended each of them for the Task Force. Plaintiffs also state that, prior to August 1995, both plaintiffs consistently received good evaluations, and defendant Meneley had never criticized their work ethic or results. However, defendant Meneley decided to remove Blume and Jaramillo from the Task Force as of January 1996. Plaintiffs also state that, in the late fall of 1995 through February 1996, defendant Meneley began to criticize the way plaintiffs pursued their narcotics cases and threatened to fire plaintiffs or transfer them out of the Narcotics Unit.

On March 13, 1996, defendant Meneley announced in a command staff meeting that plaintiffs were being removed from the Narcotics Unit and transferred to the Patrol Division effective April 1, 1996.

On December 7, 1998, plaintiff Jaramillo interviewed for the position of Special Services Sergeant. On the same day, the KBI released its report detailing the investigation into the missing drug evidence. Among those who received that report were defendant Meneley and a defense attorney named William Rork. Rork purchased two copies of the report-one for him, and one for defendant Meneley-and told the Topeka Capital Journal that he was reviewing the report for defendant Meneley. During plaintiff Jaramillo's interview, defendant Meneley received a telephone call from Rork. When defendant Meneley returned from taking Rork's call, his questions to Jaramillo began to focus on the reason for his transfer from the Narcotics Unit.²

On December 10, 1998, the Topeka Capital Journal published a story in which defendant Meneley referred to plaintiffs as liars. This quote was reprinted in subsequent editions of the Topeka Capital Journal as well.

The promotion panel determined that none of the candidates for the Special Services Sergeant position were qualified and sought out a new slate of candidates. The panel finally chose Officer "B."³ Officer B and plaintiff Jaramillo had each taken the sergeant's exam. In order to be considered for the promotion, plaintiff Jaramillo had to finish in the top three on this exam. The Civil Service Commission administered the exam, which consisted of objective testing and subjective interviews.

Plaintiff Jaramillo had achieved a higher score than Officer B on the sergeant's exam. There is some disagreement between the parties regarding whether plaintiff Jaramillo or Officer B were objectively more qualified for the position. There is also disagreement regarding whether plaintiff Jaramillo had been disciplined or criticized in the past for his work in the Narcotics Unit. However, the record is clear that Officer B had been the center of a domestic disturbance at his home in 1996, and some fellow officers felt he was hard to trust and had a bad temper. Some of the testimony of fellow officers also indicates that defendant Meneley did not discipline Officer B for this domestic disturbance, nor did he require Officer B to seek a psychological evaluation.

Captain Dan Bryant served on the promotions panel for plaintiff Jaramillo's interview. Bryant stated that defendant Meneley had the ultimate decision on promotions. He also stated that he felt plaintiff Jaramillo was a more qualified candidate for the position than Officer B, but that defendant Meneley applied pressure on the promotions panel and made it clear that plaintiffs were not to be promoted because of the animosity between plaintiffs and defendant Meneley.⁴

Plaintiff Blume interviewed for a promotion to Detective in February 1999. Blume had consistently received positive reviews, although there is disagreement between the parties regarding his performance as a School Resources Officer. Plaintiff Blume was passed over for the promotion, which was given to Officer "A." Officer A had worked for the Sheriff's Department for only two years and had already been reprimanded while working at the jail. In June 1998, Officer A had received poor evaluations, indicating his inclination to complain about his assignments, his loss of composure when dealing with the public, his unwillingness to do certain tasks, his condescending attitude toward his superiors, and his need for supervision. His evaluations in January 1999, just before his promotion, were equally poor. However, in spite of these...