J.V. v. Sanchez

J.V. and M.Q. on behalf of their minor child C.V., Plaintiffs, v. XIOMARA D. SANCHEZ, an Albuquerque Public Schools School Resource Officer, Defendant.

Civ. No.12-0046 MV/CG

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

Dated: March 29, 2013

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on Defendant Xiomara Sanchez's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Grounds of Qualified Immunity [Doc. 33]. The Court, having considered the motion, briefs, relevant law and being otherwise fully informed, finds that Defendant's Motion is well-taken and will be granted.

BACKGROUND

"The facts supported by evidence, [viewed] in the light most favorable to [Plaintiffs]" as the party opposing the summary judgment, are as follows.¹ Cavanaugh v. Woods Cross City, 625 F.3d 661, 662 (10th Cir. 2010). During the relevant time period, Defendant Xiomara Sanchez was on duty as an APS Police Officer. Doc. 33-1, ¶ 3. C.V. was a seven-year-old special education student at Mary Ann Binford Elementary (the "School"). Doc. 33 at 2; Doc. 39 at 3.Maria Martinez, a social worker employed by the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education, was working at the School. She had been C.V.'s social worker for two years. Doc. 39 at 3. C.V. was a student in the classroom of teacher Paula Gutshall and educational assistant Ms. Trujillo. Doc. 33-1, ¶¶ 4-5.

C.V. was eligible for special educational services for being "autistic" and "gifted." Doc. 39 at 3. On November 22, 2010, a Behavior Intervention Plan ("BIP") was created for C.V. because of "persistent and/or severe behavior" that was "interfere[ing] with [his] learning or the learning of others and interventions [were] needed to positively redirect the targeted behavior." Doc. 39-2. Specifically, the BIP notes that it was developed because of "Inappropriate classroom behavior; physical contact; no remorse when safety is a concern (hitting, kicking, biting, pulling, pushing, lying)." Id. The BIP includes a "Crisis Plan," which indicates that "an emergency situation or behavior crisis [will] be handled" as follows: "1.) Severity of physical contact, parent notified; 2.) Crisis Team called." Id. The BIP does not specify who is on the "Crisis Team." Id. The BIP does not address the issue of physical restraint.

At approximately 10:30 a.m. on November 14, 2011, Trujillo told Martinez that C.V. was calling his peers "stupid" and was refusing to do his classwork. Doc. 33-1, ¶ 5; Doc. 41-8. With some encouragement, C.V. agreed to go with Martinez to her office next door. Doc. 33-1, ¶ 6; Doc. 41-8. C.V. then took off his shoes and threw them at Martinez. Doc. 41-8. She picked up his shoes and asked him to put them back on. Id. He refused, and started to crawl all over Martinez's room, grabbing things to throw at her. Id. At that point, Martinez decided to seek help from the School office. Id. The Assistant Principal, Misti Miller, attempted to take charge of C.V., and Martinez proceeded to the office to speak with the School Principal. Id.

The Principal instructed Martinez to call C.V.'s parents to ask them to come to the Schoolto help control C.V. Id. Martinez was unable to reach either C.V.'s mother or father, and left messages. Id. Although she was able to reach C.V.'s grandmother, the grandmother indicated that she lived too far away to come, as she would be unable to arrive at the School before 2:00 p.m. Id. Eventually, Martinez reached C.V.'s father, but he refused to come to the School. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 2 ¶ 8.

Meanwhile, when C.V. saw the Assistant Principal, he took off running. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 1 ¶ 7. Martinez and Miller were concerned that C.V. would run off campus, based on past experiences with C.V. as "a runner." Id. ¶ 8; Doc. 41-8. They found him and brought him back to the office, but he ran away from them several times. Doc. 41-8. While in the office, he took off his shoes and threw them at the Principal. Id. C.V. ran around the inside of the School building, at one point running into the School nurse's office, where he locked himself in a bathroom. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 2 ¶ 8. At another point, he ran into the cafeteria. Id. ¶ 9.

Martinez followed C.V. into the cafeteria and asked if he was hungry. Doc. 41-8. He ran away from her, hid under the tables and started eating food off of the floor. Id. Martinez got him a tray, and he ate a fresh roll and drank some milk. Id. Martinez asked him to put on his shoes and come with her to her room. Id. He agreed, and they walked toward the door. Id.

Sanchez had been dispatched to the School at 12:15 p.m. regarding a report that a child was out of control. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3 ¶ 4. The record does not indicate who called APS and made this report, but the logical inference is that it was someone in the School administration. When she first arrived at the School, Sanchez met with the Principal and Assistant Principal, who informed her that C.V., a student at the School, had been running around the School and causing problems since approximately 10:30 a.m. Id. ¶ 5. They further informed her that C.V.'s parents had been asked to come to the School, but that they had refused. Id. ¶ 6. There is no evidence in the recordthat the Principal, Assistant Principal, or any other School administrator informed Sanchez that C.V. was a special education student, or that he had a BIP in place.

The Principal escorted Sanchez to the cafeteria. Id. ¶ 7. At the same time they were entering the cafeteria, Martinez and C.V. were exiting the cafeteria. Doc. 41-8. When C.V. saw the Principal and Sanchez, he took off running again around the School. Id.

At that point, Sanchez went to the School office to call C.V.'s parents. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3 ¶ 7. She first spoke with C.V.'s father, who refused to come to the School until after 2:30 p.m, as he was at the airport. Id. ¶ 8. He told Sanchez to call C.V.'s mother. Id. Sanchez then called C.V.'s mother. Id. ¶ 9. Sanchez identified herself as "school security," and informed C.V.'s mother that, because C.V.'s behavior was out of control, she needed to come pick him up from School. Doc. 39-1, ¶ 14. C.V.'s mother advised that she would come, but that it would take approximately 30 minutes, as she also needed to pick up her younger son from preschool. Id. ¶ 15. Sanchez asked C.V.'s mother for permission to restrain him. Id. ¶ 16. C.V.'s mother responded, "Yes." Id.

C.V.'s mother did not understand that Sanchez was seeking permission to handcuff C.V. Id. Rather, she thought that a trained member of C.V.'s behavioral intervention team would hug or hold him with his or her body to calm him down. Id. There is no evidence in the record that C.V.'s mother asked Sanchez to explain what she meant by "restrain."

After approximately 15 minutes of chasing C.V., School staff, including Martinez, coaxed C.V. into Room 127. Doc. 41-8. Sanchez met them in Room 127. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3 ¶ 13. C.V ran around the room, touching everything. Doc. 41-8. He started pulling on a computer; Martinez went to move him away. Id. C.V. then started kicking, swinging his arms and trying to hit anybody and anything. Id. He kicked and knocked over the trash can and chairs, and crawledunder a glass desk. Id. There he pulled electrical plugs out of the wall, and turned the power strip on and off repeatedly. Id. He lay on his back and kicked Martinez with his legs and swung his arms as if trying to hit anyone. Id. He crawled over and hit another School employee, Gina Herbert, with a three-prong plug. Id.

Sanchez was blocking the door so as to prevent C.V. from running out of the room. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3 ¶ 13. C.V. went toward her, pushing at her to move away from the door. Doc. 41-8. Sanchez told him to stop. Id. C.V. then started to kick and hit her. Id. Sanchez warned him that if he did not stop, she would place him in handcuffs. Id.; Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3 ¶ 20. C.V. sat on the floor and continued kicking. Doc. 41-8. He then found a rubber band and stretched it toward Sanchez's face. Id. Sanchez warned him not to shoot the rubber band at her. Id. C.V. tried, unsuccessfully, three times to hit her with the rubber band; the fourth time he hit her. Id. Sanchez again warned that if he did not stop, she would put him in handcuffs. Id. C.V. continued to shoot the rubber bands at Sanchez and kick her. Id.; Doc. 33, Ex. 3 ¶ 21. At 1:04 p.m., approximately 15 minutes after she first began observing C.V.'s behavior, Sanchez escorted C.V. to a chair, and handcuffed him to the chair. Doc. 41-8; Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3, ¶ 30. Specifically, she put one of his arms over the chair back, and placed the other behind his back through the opening between the seat and the chair back. Doc. 41-6. Sanchez double locked the handcuffs to prevent them from tightening. Doc. 33-1, Ex. 3. ¶ 23. She ensured that there was a thumb-width of space, or approximately one-inch, between the handcuffs and C.V.'s wrist. Id.

C.V. pleaded with Sanchez, "take them off, take them off." Doc. 41-8. Sanchez told him that she would take them off when he calmed down and stopped kicking. Id. C.V. stood up in the chair several times, dragging the chair with him, pulling, tugging and twisting. Id.; Doc. 33, Ex. 3 ¶ 25.

Officer Villonez arrived. Doc. 41-8. He saw C.V. struggling and kicking, and, in a commanding tone, yelled at him to stop. Id. C.V. stopped struggling, stared at Villonez, sat down, and started crying. Id. Within minutes after C.V. sat down, at 1:22 p.m, C.V.'s mother entered the room. Id.; Doc. 33, Ex. 3 ¶ 27.

C.V.'s mother demanded that Sanchez remove the handcuffs. Doc. 39-1, ¶ 22. She took out her cell phone and started taking photographs. Id. Sanchez removed the handcuffs. Id. At that point, C.V. had been in the handcuffs for approximately 15 minutes. Doc. 33, Ex. 3 ¶ 29. There were welts and scratches on C.V.'s wrists where the handcuffs had cut into him as he struggled, and his face and eyes made apparent that he had been crying. Doc. 39-1, ¶ 20.

C.V.'s mother asked whether anyone at the School had told Sanchez...