Wiggins v. Rhode Island

Page 297

326 F.Supp.2d 297

Warnsey WIGGINS, Plaintiff, v. State of RHODE ISLAND, State Police Department, Steven M. Pare, individually and in his official capacity as Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police,¹ Erik Jones, individually and in his official capacity as state trooper employed by the State of Rhode Island, Rhode Island State Police, Todd Catlow, individually and in his official capacity as state trooper employed by the State of Rhode Island, Rhode Island State Police, Defendants.

C.A. No. 02-141S.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

July 22, 2004.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

V. Edward Formisano, Esq., Sinapi Formisano & Coleman, Ltd., Cranston, RI, for Plaintiff.

Brenda D. Baum, Esq., James R. Lee, Esq., Susan E. Urso, Esq., Office of the Attorney General, Providence, RI, for Defendants.

DECISION AND ORDER

SMITH, District Judge.

In this civil rights action, the Court is called upon to travel a path of collateral estoppel, qualified immunity and federal constitutional issues as tangled and circuitous as the roadways of the Phenix section of West Warwick, Rhode Island, where the critical events giving rise to this action occurred. Plaintiff Warnsey Wiggins asserts that two Rhode Island state police officers violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, Article I, § 6 of the Rhode Island Constitution, and assorted theories of Rhode Island common and statutory law. Defendants move for summary judgment on all counts.

The Court heard oral argument on May 4, 2004. For the following reasons, the Court grants summary judgment in part and denies it in part.

I. Facts

Most of the events giving rise to the claims in this case are disputed. The Court will note as to each fact whether it is agreed to or contested.

In the waning hours of February 14, 1999, Plaintiff was observed by Rhode Island State Troopers Erik Jones and Todd Catlow (Officers) driving through a number of stop signs (without stopping) at various intersections in the Phenix section of West Warwick, Rhode Island. There is a dispute about the manner in which Wiggins' car was pulled over, but it is agreed that the Officers followed Wiggins and that Wiggins did eventually pull over and stop his car. The Officers then walked up to Wiggins' car. As they approached, the Officers testified² that they noticed Plaintiff look over his shoulder, reach into the area below the passenger seat, and hurriedly move his hand to his mouth. Wiggins disputes this testimony.

The parties agree that the Officers ordered Wiggins out of his car and he complied. Officer Jones testified that he smelled alcohol emanating from the car and Wiggins' person. Wiggins disputes this. The parties agree that the Officers ordered Wiggins to place his hands on the trunk of his car, after which they frisked him. There are conflicting accounts about the exchange that followed the search. The Officers contend that they asked Wiggins questions about what was in his mouth and only received unintelligible sounds in response. Wiggins contends that he responded by saying "nothing."

At some point during the questioning, the Officers testified that they believed Wiggins was concealing something in his mouth. Wiggins denies that there was anything in his mouth. While the parties agree that Officer Jones asked Wiggins to open his mouth and shone a flashlight inside, the parties disagree about what next transpired. The Defendants claim that Wiggins began to flail his arms about and then lowered his shoulder as if to make a charge at them. They contend that they struggled with him and eventually wrestled him to the ground and subdued him. Wiggins claims that he was choked and bludgeoned for no reason, during which time he urinated on himself. However he got there, it is agreed that Wiggins was handcuffed while he was on the ground, after which the Officers placed him in the back of a police cruiser. The Officers testified that they observed that Wiggins' eyes were watery and bloodshot and that his speech was slurred. Wiggins disputes this, but the parties agree that the Officers asked him whether he had drunk any alcohol and that he estimated that he had drunk 2-3 beers.

At this point, it is agreed that Wiggins was read his Miranda rights and arrested. Wiggins claims that Officer Catlow then stated, "wait one second," and proceeded to search Wiggins' car. The search yielded the car registration and a blue pen with what was later established as cocaine residue on it (about which there is no dispute). Wiggins was transported to the State Police Barracks in Wickford, Rhode Island. It is agreed that Wiggins refused to take a breathalyzer test, that he was given a field sobriety test (which he failed), and that he was strip-searched and placed in a cell.

II. Procedural History

Wiggins was charged with the following: possession of cocaine, resisting arrest, driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to stop at three stop signs, and refusal to take a breathalyzer test.

The charges of failure to stop at three stop signs and refusal to take a breathalyzer were tried before the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal (RITT), which is part of the Rhode Island District Court. At the time of the RITT hearing, Wiggins and his counsel were aware that the traffic citations issued to Wiggins for failure to stop at three stop signs misidentified the names of the streets at those respective locations. For tactical reasons, however, Wiggins' counsel did not make Judge Yashar of the RITT aware of these discrepancies. On May 28, 1999, without the benefit of the evidence of street misidentification, Judge Yashar found that the police had reasonable suspicion to stop Wiggins' car and that the stop was lawful, based on their observations that Wiggins had not stopped at three stop signs. Judge Yashar adjudged Wiggins guilty of both charges and Wiggins appealed the decision to the RITT Appeals Panel.

During the pendency of that appeal, the charges of possession of cocaine, driving under the influence of alcohol, and resisting arrest were prosecuted in Rhode Island Superior Court. Wiggins filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained by the warrantless seizure and search of his person and car. It was at the suppression hearing that Wiggins chose to present the discrepant evidence of misidentified street locations in order to impeach the testimony of the Officers. On October 20, 1999, the Superior Court, Fortunato, J., granted the suppression motion, finding that Officers Jones and Catlow were not credible witnesses and that there was no probable cause or reasonable suspicion to stop Wiggins' car. The State of Rhode Island (State) consequently dismissed the charges of driving under the influence and possession of cocaine. Justice Fortunato subsequently held a bench trial on the charge of resisting arrest and acquitted Wiggins.

On October 22, 1999, armed with the victory of the suppression of evidence in Superior Court, Wiggins filed a motion to vacate the judgment of Judge Yashar with the RITT. The motion to vacate was held in abeyance pending the decision of the RITT Appeals Panel. On May 27, 2000, the RITT Appeals Panel denied Wiggins' appeal of Judge Yashar's initial judgment. Wiggins took an appeal of that decision to the Rhode Island District Court, which was denied on February 8, 2001.

Judge Yashar then entertained the motion to vacate her prior judgment and denied it on April 19, 2001. Wiggins appealed this denial as well, and the RITT Appeals Panel affirmed Judge Yashar's denial. Wiggins appealed to the Rhode Island District Court and the District Court, through Chief Judge DeRobbio, denied the appeal.

Neither decision of the District Court (1) affirming Judge Yashar's initial ruling, or (2) affirming her refusal to vacate was appealed to the Rhode Island Supreme Court, as authorized by R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-41.1-9(h).³

Instead, and with new counsel, Plaintiff brought this civil rights action in Superior Court on January 31, 2002. The Complaint sets out claims for illegal search and seizure in violation of Wiggins' civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and Article I, § 6 of the R.I. Constitution; violation of his civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981; and state tort theories of negligence, assault, battery, false arrest, malicious prosecution, and violation of the right to privacy.

Defendants removed the case to this Court on March 22, 2002.⁴ They now move for summary judgment on 5 grounds: (1) the case against the State and the Officers in their official capacities should be dismissed on the basis of the rule enunciated in Will v. Michigan Dept. of State Police, 491 U.S. 58, 109 S.Ct. 2304, 105 L.Ed.2d 45 (1989); (2) the doctrine of collateral estoppel bars relitigation of the issue of probable cause to stop Wiggins' car; (3) the 42 U.S.C. § 1983 claims against the Officers in their individual capacities should be dismissed on the basis of the doctrine of qualified immunity; (4) Wiggins has not alleged sufficient facts to withstand summary disposition on his claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981; and (5) Plaintiff's state tort claims are defeated by state qualified immunity.

III. Standard of Review

Summary judgment is warranted when "the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). When a motion for summary judgment is directed against a party that bears the burden of proof, the movant bears the "initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). If that showing is...