Estate of Smith v. Town of West Hartford

186 F.Supp.2d 146

ESTATE OF Todd A. SMITH, et al. v. TOWN OF WEST HARTFORD, et al.

No. 3:00CV2299(AHN).

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

February 15, 2002.

James S. Brewer, Erin I. O'Neil-Baker, West Hartford, CT, Otto P. Witt, Bloomfield, CT, for Defendants.

Carl R. Ficks, Jr., Brian P. Leaming, Halloran & Sage, Hartford, CT, Patrick G. Alair, Corporation Counsel's Office, West Hartford, CT, Richard R. Brown, Robert T. Rimmer, Brown, Paindiris & Scott, Hartsford, CT, for Defendants.

RULING ON DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS TO DISMISS

NEVAS, District Judge.

This action arises from the tragic and untimely death of Todd A. Smith ("Smith"), a West Hartford police officer who committed suicide on December 3, 1998 with his service revolver. The plaintiffs are Smith's Estate and Smith's wife, Jane Crowley-Smith ("Crowley-Smith"), both in her personal capacity and on behalf of Smith's surviving children, Jessica and Ryan Smith (the "minor plaintiffs").¹ The defendants are the Town of West Hartford ("the Town") and several of its employees, namely — Chief of Police Strillacci ("Chief Strillacci"), Lieutenant Jack Casey ("Lieutenant Casey"), Lieutenant Lori Coppinger ("Lieutenant Coppinger"), Sergeant Christopher St. Jacques ("Sergeant St. Jacques") and Officer Paula Senyk ("Officer Senyk") (collectively, "the individual defendants.").

The plaintiffs bring this action seeking money damages and other relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, claiming that the Town and its employees failed to take appropriate action to prevent Smith's death. This failure to properly intervene, the plaintiffs claim, violated Smith's rights to substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment and was in retaliation for Smith's participation in union activities protected by the First Amendment. The plaintiffs also assert several causes of action under state law, including: negligence; wrongful death; loss of spousal consortium; loss of parental consortium; and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Currently pending are the Town's Motion to Dismiss [doc. # 16] and the individual defendants' Motion to Dismiss [doc. # 18]. For the following reasons, both motions are GRANTED.²

BACKGROUND

The following facts, taken from the plaintiffs' complaint, are assumed to be true for the purposes of the defendants' motions to dismiss. See, e.g., Leeds v. Meltz, 85 F.3d 51, 53 (2d Cir.1996).

On December 3, 1998, the decedent, Smith, a police officer with the Town of West Hartford, committed suicide by placing a service-issued firearm to his head and pulling the trigger. Compl., ¶ 7.

The complaint alleges that, prior to Smith's death, he was placed in the West Hartford Police Department's Employee Assistance Program ("EAP") in order to address his declining mental and emotional state. Compl. ¶ 8. The plaintiffs allege that the EAP was defective because the defendants did not refer Smith to a professional, but simply had him consult with his peers. Compl. ¶ 9. The plaintiffs further allege that Officer Senyk, while acting as Smith's EAP counselor, initiated an inappropriate sexual relationship with Smith which led to marital problems for him. Compl. ¶ 37(a).

The plaintiffs claim that the defendants knew or should have known that Smith was suffering from severe depression for the following reasons:

(1) During the six weeks prior to Smith's suicide, Smith had lost thirty-five pounds;

(2) During the six weeks prior to Smith's suicide, he repeatedly called in sick for work, arrived late for work, or left work early;

(3) Prior to this period, Smith's attendance record was impeccable;

(4) Smith's erratic and emotional behavior at home led his wife to phone Lieutenant Coppinger and state that Smith had told her that he was going to attach one end of a vacuum cleaner hose to the tailpipe of his vehicle and stick the other end of the vacuum hose inside the window of the vehicle and use it to asphyxiate himself;

(5) Coppinger failed to notify her superiors that Smith was contemplating suicide;

(6) Lieutenant Casey and Sergeant St. Jacques had noticed a change in Smith's behavior, spoke together about him, and spoke to Smith on several occasions regarding his emotional state and whether he needed assistance;

(7) The defendants' concerns were serious enough that they questioned Smith directly whether he was contemplating suicide;

(8) The defendants failed to refer Smith to a professional counselor although they asked him whether he was suicidal; and

(9) The defendants issued warnings to Smith regarding his performance.

Compl. ¶¶ 12(a)-(I).

The plaintiffs allege that Chief Strillacci, Lt. Coppinger, Lt. Casey and Sgt. St. Jacques all had the authority, both inherently as administrators for the West Hartford Police Department and as expressly authorized by the collective bargaining agreement, to order Smith to see a counselor, remove his firearm, assign him to desk duty, or take any other action necessary to ensure that Smith would not be a danger to himself. Compl. ¶ 13.

The plaintiffs allege that, despite Smith's protestations to the contrary, the defendants knew that he suffered from serious emotional and mental problems, that these problems had manifested themselves at least once in a physical heart condition that required hospitalization, and that Smith claimed to be seeking counseling outside the department. Compl. ¶ 18.

The plaintiffs allege that the defendants were on notice of Smith's mental and emotional state because his condition was of such severity that they expressly questioned Smith whether he was contemplating suicide. Compl. ¶ 19. The plaintiffs maintain that Smith required the services of a counselor, a reassignment of duties and/or removal of his firearm in order to protect Smith from himself. Compl. ¶ 20.

The plaintiffs allege that the defendants' conduct caused Smith's emotional and mental distress to continue unabated. Compl. ¶ 17. They allege that the defendants knew, or should have known, of the severity of Smith's mental and emotional state, and should have prevented Smith from performing duties that required the use of his firearm and/or increased his stress. Compl. ¶ 25. The plaintiffs maintain that the defendants' actions promoted an increasingly difficult working environment for Smith and were willful, intentional and done in spite of their actual knowledge or in reckless disregard of Smith's rights. Compl. ¶¶ 22, 26.

The plaintiffs claim that, due to the defendants' conduct, Smith ultimately drove himself to a secluded area of West Hartford and used his firearm to commit suicide with a single gunshot wound to his head. Compl. ¶ 21.

The plaintiffs assert seven causes of action. In the first count of the complaint, the Estate alleges a § 1983 claim against the individual defendants claiming that their actions violated two of Smith's constitutional rights. First, the Estate alleges that the defendants' failure to properly intervene violated Smith's substantive due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Compl. ¶ 14. Second, the Estate alleges a First Amendment retaliation claim. Specifically, the Estate claims that, at the time of his death, Smith was union president and had been active in union activities. Compl. ¶ 10. The Estate maintains that the defendants' failure to follow proper procedure in light of Smith's mental and emotional state was in retaliation for his position as union president and for Smith's seeking redress through the collective bargaining agreement on behalf of his fellow officers. Compl. ¶ 15. The Estate maintains that the acts of the defendants constituted a denial of Smith's First Amendment rights to free speech and association and to seek redress from the government without retaliation. Compl. ¶ 16.

In the second count, the Estate advances a constitutional claim against West Hartford alleging that the Town: (1) failed or refused to promulgate and enforce appropriate guidelines, regulations, policies, practices or procedures regarding personnel actions; (2) failed or refused to adequately supervise Smith's supervisors in the performance of their duties and conduct towards employees; and/or (3) failed or refused to take appropriate investigatory, supervisory and/or disciplinary action against the police supervisors with regard to the conduct alleged in the complaint. Compl. ¶ 30.

In count three, the plaintiffs allege negligence against all the defendants. The plaintiffs claim that the defendants breached a duty when they failed to refer Smith to a professional counselor; failed to confiscate his firearm; failed to assign him to desk duty; and failed to adequately address the suicide warning that Crowley-Smith relayed. The plaintiffs also claim that the defendants were negligent because Officer Senyk initiated an inappropriate relationship with Smith while acting as his EAP counselor which, in turn, led to marital problems for Smith and worsened his personal situation. Compl. ¶ 37.³

In the fourth count, the Estate advances a wrongful death claim against all the defendants. The Estate claims that the defendants were careless or negligent because they failed to address the suicide warning reported by Crowley-Smith; failed to refer Smith to a professional counselor; failed to remove Smith's firearm from his possession; and failed to assign him to desk duty. Compl. ¶ 41.

In the final three counts of the complaint, the plaintiffs assert claims for loss of consortium and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Specifically, count five sets forth a claim for loss of spousal consortium by Crowley-Smith; count six asserts a claim for loss of parental consortium by the minor plaintiffs Jessica and Ryan Smith; and count seven advances a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress by Crowley-Smith.⁴

STANDARD

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) should be granted only if "it is clear that no relief...