Martin v. Forest Cnty.

677 F.Supp.3d 853

Ky D. MARTIN, Plaintiff, v. FOREST COUNTY, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 21-C-1481

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin

Signed June 16, 2023

James D. Miller, Dempsey Law Firm LLP, Wausau, WI, for Plaintiff.

Jonathan E. Sacks, Ronald S. Stadler, Stadler Sacks LLC, Richfield, WI, Andrew P. Smith, Kopka Pinkus Dolin PC, Rhinelander, WI, for Defendants.

DECISION AND ORDER

William C. Griesbach, United States District Judge

This action arises out of the November 8, 2018, traffic stop and search of Plaintiff Ky Martin in Langlade County, Wisconsin, which led to a state charge of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Martin brought this 42 U.S.C. § 1983 action against Defendants Forest County, Langlade County, Darrell Wilson, Thomas Robinson, Tony Crum, Travis Krueger, and Kevin Ison, asserting that Defendants violated his Fourth Amendment rights to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and failed to intervene to prevent the violation of his rights. Martin additionally claims that the individual defendants acted in accordance with county policies and practices during the encounter and that the policies proximately caused the constitutional violations. He also asserts state law statutory claims against Defendants. The court has jurisdiction over Martin's § 1983 claims under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and supplemental jurisdiction over the state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. This matter comes before the court on Defendants' motion for summary judgment. The court held oral argument on the motion on June 7, 2023. For the following reasons, the motion will be granted and the case dismissed.

BACKGROUND

Martin is an adult resident of Racine, Wisconsin. Defs.' Proposed Findings of Fact (DPFOF) ¶ 1, Dkt. No. 17. At all times relevant, Darrell Wilson, Thomas Robinson, and Tony Crum were employed by the Langlade County Sheriff's Office as law enforcement officers. Id. ¶ 4. Travis Krueger and Kevin Ison were employed by the Forest County Sheriff's Office as law enforcement officers. Id. ¶ 5.

On November 8, 2018, Sergeant Crum received an anonymous tip stating that a black Mercedes vehicle being driven by Ky Martin would be traveling to Mole Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin State Highway 55 and that it would be transporting heroin and crack cocaine. Id. ¶ 9. Sergeant Crum and Sergeant Robinson contacted Langlade County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Dan Bauknecht to relay the tip. Id. ¶ 10. Lieutenant Bauknecht provided Sergeant Ison and Deputy Wilson with the information and directed them toward Wisconsin State Highway 55. Id. ¶ 11. Sergeant Ison spoke with Deputy Krueger about the tip, and Deputy Krueger was directed to drive toward the junction of Langlade County Highway K and Wisconsin State Highway 55. Id. ¶ 12.

At approximately 10:11 a.m., Deputy Krueger drove northbound on Langlade County Highway T near the junction of Wisconsin State Highway 55. Id. ¶ 13. There, he observed a black Mercedes vehicle traveling north on Wisconsin State Highway 55. Id. Deputy Krueger saw that the Mercedes did not have a front license plate, and he believed that the vehicle had excessively tinted windows. Id. ¶ 14.¹ Martin contends that his vehicle had the manufacturer's standard window tint. Pl.'s Proposed Findings of Fact (PPFOF) ¶ 2, Dkt. No. 31. In any event, Deputy Krueger began following the Mercedes and, upon conveying the license plate number to dispatch, learned that the vehicle was registered to Ky Martin. Deputy Krueger continued following the Mercedes and saw it drive on the yellow painted centerlines and weave in the lane of travel. DPFOF ¶ 15. Deputy Krueger initiated a traffic stop, and the Mercedes pulled to the side of the road. Id. ¶ 16; Krueger Aff., Ex. B. at 4:45.

Deputy Krueger made contact with the driver of the Mercedes, Ky Martin. DPFOF ¶ 17; Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 5:05. Deputy Krueger advised that he initiated the traffic stop because Martin's vehicle was weaving in the lane of travel, touched the centerline several times, and had excessive window tint. Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 5:08-18. Martin responded that he purchased the car with the windows already tinted. Id. at 5:18-25. He provided his driver's license, registration, and information regarding insurance for the vehicle. Id. at 5:40-55. Martin also apologized, stating that he was trying to pay attention to the GPS. Id. at 5:58-6:00. Deputy Krueger asked Martin where he was going, and Martin responded that he was going to a basketball tournament in Antigo to watch his little brother play but that he was currently on his way to the casino in Mole Lake. Id. at 6:00-24. Deputy Krueger asked Martin if he had an insurance card for the vehicle, and Martin provided a receipt showing that he paid his insurance for the next six months. Id. at 6:25-7:04. Deputy Krueger took the documentation to his squad car for review. Id. at 7:05. Based on the tip about the black Mercedes carrying narcotics, Deputy Krueger contacted dispatch and requested that the Forest County Sheriff's Office K-9 unit respond to the scene of the traffic stop. Id. at 7:25-54; DPFOF ¶ 18. Deputy Krueger then returned to Martin's vehicle and asked if Martin had any documentation showing that the insurance was for the Mercedes. Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 8:47-9:13. He explained that the receipt Martin provided only contained a policy number and did not include the VIN number. Id. at 9:14. Martin provided additional documentation regarding his insurance, and Deputy Krueger returned to his squad car to review that information. Id. at 9:15-50. Deputy Krueger was in the process of issuing written warnings to Martin for excessive window tint and driving left of center when Sergeant Ison arrived at the scene, followed shortly by Deputy Wilson with the K-9 unit. DPFOF ¶ 19; Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 10:00-12:30.

Deputy Wilson made contact with Martin and directed that Martin exit the Mercedes and move to the front of Deputy Krueger's squad car for officer safety. DPFOF ¶ 21; Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 12:45. After Martin exited the vehicle and stood at the front of the squad car, Deputy Wilson performed an initial pat search of Martin's outer clothing, lasting approximately eight seconds, to search for weapons. DPFOF ¶ 22; Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 13:18-26. Then Deputy Wilson returned to his squad car and took K-9 Officer Leroy, a dual-trained narcotics and patrol dog, to perform a perimeter search of the Mercedes. DPFOF ¶ 23. As Deputy Wilson conducted the perimeter search, Deputy Krueger advised Martin that he was going to issue him a written warning for the left of center violation and asked for Martin's phone number. Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 14:07-25. Then Deputy Krueger returned to his squad car. Id.

In the meantime, K-9 Leroy indicated the presence of the odor of narcotics on the driver's side door seam. DPFOF ¶ 24. Deputy Wilson returned K-9 Leroy to the squad car and advised Deputy Krueger that K-9 Leroy indicated on the vehicle. Id. ¶ 25; Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 15:15-55. Deputy Wilson then advised Martin that he was being detained and placed him in handcuffs. DPFOF ¶ 26; see also Krueger Aff., Ex. B at 15:55.

Deputy Wilson acknowledged that he had already patted Martin down for weapons but asked Martin if he had anything illegal on him. DPFOF ¶ 28; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 4:33-43. Martin responded that he did not. Id. Martin was wearing sweatpants with knee-length athletic shorts and underwear. DPFOF ¶ 29. Deputy Wilson performed a second, more thorough pat-down search of Martin and felt a hard object near Martin's groin area. Id. ¶ 27; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 4:44-5:34. Deputy Wilson asked twice what the object was, and Martin stated that it was his testicles. Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 5:35-45. Deputy Wilson explained that, since Martin had shorts on, he was going to have Martin lower his sweatpants. Id. at 5:46-54. Deputy Wilson lowered Martin's sweatpants to his ankles (Martin's shorts and underwear remained in place), conducted a further search, and again felt a hard object in Martin's groin area. Id. at 5:55-6:04; DPFOF ¶ 30. Deputy Wilson and Sergeant Ison continued to ask what the object was and explained that the search was necessary. Martin repeatedly stated that the object was his testicles. Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 6:05-6:59. Deputy Wilson stated that the concealed object was not consistent with human anatomy. Id. at 7:00-03. The officers advised that they were searching Martin before placing him in a squad car for their safety and his. Id. at 7:30-40.

Deputy Wilson moved Martin to a location between two open doors of Deputy Krueger's squad car for privacy and attempted to remove the concealed object from Martin's clothing. See id. at 8:18-9:47; DPFOF ¶ 33. Martin again stated that the object Deputy Wilson felt was his testicles. Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 9:49-53. The officers discussed the importance of removing the contraband for Martin's safety. They indicated the object could be a weapon or something he could ingest. Id. at 9:54-10:12. After Deputy Wilson was unsuccessful in removing the concealed object, Sergeant Crum suggested laying Martin on the ground to attempt to obtain the object. Id. at 10:13-11:27; DPFOF ¶ 34.

Martin was moved to the front of Deputy Krueger's squad car and assisted to the ground on the side of the road. DPFOF ¶ 35; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 11:28-11:47. Once Martin was face down on the ground, Deputy Wilson attempted to remove the object. DPFOF ¶ 36; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 11:48-12:00. Deputy Wilson tore the leg of Martin's underwear underneath his shorts. DPFOF ¶ 41; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 12:01-16. Then Deputy Wilson removed the concealed object from Martin's underwear—a black sock containing hard objects. DPFOF ¶ 42; Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 12:17-35. An officer removed Martin's shoes and sweatpants to spread Martin's legs further apart. Wilson Aff., Ex. C at 12:36-48. Deputy Wilson searched once more for contraband and indicated that he did not feel...