Palmer v. Griffith et al
Filing
14
MEMORANDUM. Signed by Judge James K. Bredar on 10/16/2015. (c/m 10/16/15)(krs, Deputy Clerk)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
KENNETH DANIEL PALMER, #224480
Plaintiff,
v.
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POLICE OFFICER ROBERT GRIFFITH
POLICE OFFICER ANDREW SECKENS
Defendants.
*
*
CIVIL ACTION NO. JKB-15-1586
*
*****
MEMORANDUM
I. Background
On June 1, 2015, plaintiff Kenneth Daniel Palmer (“Palmer”) filed a Fourth Amendment
complaint against Baltimore County Police Officers Griffith and Seckens pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983, seeking compensatory and punitive damages. Palmer claimed that the officers falsely
charged, arrested, and imprisoned him on theft and assault offenses in July of 2012. ECF No. 1.
On September 9, 2015, counsel for defendants filed an unopposed1 motion to dismiss, or in
the alternative, for summary judgment, construed as a motion for summary judgment. ECF Nos. 12
& 17. The motion may be determined on the pleadings and shall be granted without oral hearing.
See Local Rule 105.6 (D. Md. 2014).
II. Standard of Review
Summary judgment is proper when the moving party demonstrates through “particular parts
of materials in the record, including depositions, documents, electronically stored information,
affidavits or declarations, stipulations ..., admissions, interrogatory answers, or other materials,” that
“there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter
1
The record shows that on September 11, 2015, Palmer was served with notice of the
dispositive motion filing pursuant to the requirements of Roseboro v. Garrison, 528 F.2d 309 (4th Cir. 1975).
of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), (c)(1)(A); see Baldwin v. City of Greensboro, 714 F.3d 828, 833-34
(4th Cir. 2013). If the party seeking summary judgment demonstrates that there is no evidence to
support the nonmoving party's case, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to identify evidence
that shows that a genuine dispute exists as to material facts. See Celotex v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317
(1986). The existence of only a “scintilla of evidence” is not enough to defeat a motion for summary
judgment. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 251 (1986).
The “judge's function” in reviewing a motion for summary judgment is not “to weigh the
evidence and determine the truth of the matter but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for
trial.” Id. at 249. If “the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict” for the nonmoving party, there is a dispute of material fact that precludes summary judgment. Id. at 248.
Therefore, on those issues on which the nonmoving party has the burden of proof, it is his or her
responsibility to confront the summary judgment motion with an affidavit or other similar evidence
showing that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 256.
III. Discussion
Facts
Palmer states that on July 20, 2012, Police Officers Robert Griffith and Andrew Seckens
falsely charged, arrested, and imprisoned him for theft under $1,000.00 and second-degree assault
which purportedly occurred at a Walmart Store in Baltimore County. He claims that the police
reports acknowledge that he had “never been in the Walmart store on that day” and that only a “Ms.
Jackson…had perpetrated the alleged theft crime alone,” but she was released from police custody.
ECF No. 1. Palmer further alleges that the assault charge detailed in the report was false as he did
ECF No. 13. No opposition or response was filed.
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not push a security officer at the Walmart store as alleged. He contends that on January 25, 2013,
the charges were nolle prossed. ECF No. 1. Palmer additionally claims that the charges were
maliciously filed to cause a violation of probation. Id.
In their unopposed summary judgment motion, defendants affirm that on July 20, 2012,
Officer Seckens was dispatched to the Walmart Store for report of a theft and assault. Crystal
McClurkin, a loss prevention officer for the store, advised Seckens that she had observed a black
female, subsequently identified as Arnette Yolanda Jackson, placing several items of store
merchandise in her purse. Jackson was observed walking past several working cash registers and
exiting the store without paying for the items in her purse. When McClurkin attempted to stop Ms.
Jackson outside the store, Jackson began to yell and scream and cause a scene. McClurkin stated
that she had retrieved some of the stolen merchandise from Jackson when Palmer, identified by his
Maryland State Identification card, drove up, exited the vehicle, began to yell at McClurkin, pushed
her away from Jackson, and forcefully removed the stolen store merchandise McClurkin had
retrieved from Jackson. ECF No. 12-2. Both Palmer and Jackson “jumped” into the vehicle and
sped off in an unknown direction.
Officer Seckens obtained descriptions of Jackson, Palmer, and the vehicle from McClurkin.
He additionally recovered a notepad dropped by Jackson during her encounter with McClurkin
officer, which had the addresses of the Walmart and Food Lion stores located in the surrounding
communities. The notepad also contained a list of items which Seckens deemed to be “commonly
stolen by frequent shoplifters that can be quickly sold for profit.” Seckens requested that a “BOLO”
(“be on the lookout”) advisory be issued for the suspects and vehicle. Id.; see also ECF No. 12-5,
Seckens Aff.
3
Officer Griffith monitored the lookout for the suspects and vehicle. While patrolling a Food
Lion grocery store in a surrounding area, Griffith observed the identified vehicle, stopped it, and
identified Palmer and Jackson as the respective driver and passenger. Griffith requested that Seckens
respond to the location. ECF No. 12-2: ECF No. 12-6, Griffith Aff.
Seckens and McClurkin responded to the location and McClurkin positively identified
Jackson as the person she had observed stealing the store merchandise. She further identified Palmer
as the person who assaulted her and took the recovered stolen merchandise from her. Seckens placed
Jackson and Palmer under arrest. Seckens observed multiple soap bottles of different brands and an
Exacto knife in the vehicle. Id.; see also ECF No. 12-5, Seckens Aff. The soap bottles and knife
were identified by McClurkin as merchandise stolen from the Walmart. The total amount of stolen
merchandise recovered by Officer Seckens from the vehicle was $238.72. Id.
Palmer was charged with driving without a required license, theft, and second-degree assault.
ECF No. 12-3; ECF No. 12-5. Jackson gave a statement admitting to the theft of the Walmart
merchandise. She was processed and released due to “serious health issues,” but was subsequently
charged by criminal complaint with theft. ECF No. 12-5, Seckens Aff.
On January 25, 2013, the State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore County entered a nolle
prosequi to all charges filed against Palmer. On May 27, 2014, the States’ Attorney’s Office for
Baltimore County entered a nolle prosequi to the theft charge leveled against Jackson. Id.
Legal Analysis
“[T]he Fourth Amendment right to be arrested only on probable cause is clearly established
...” Smith v. Reddy, 101 F.3d 351, 356 (4th Cir. 1996). As a general rule, in cases involving a
seizure of a person, the standard of “reasonableness” typically is satisfied by a showing that the
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police had probable cause to conclude that the individual seized was involved in criminal activity.
Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 213–14 (1979). This standard of probable cause constitutes
“the minimum justification necessary to make the kind of intrusion involved in an arrest ‘reasonable’
under the Fourth Amendment.” Id. at 208. “[A]n official seizure of the person must be supported by
probable cause, even if no formal arrest is made.” Michigan v. Summers, 452 U.S. 692, 696 (1981)
(citing Dunaway, 442 U.S. at 212–13). Probable cause is determined at the time of arrest. See
Pritchett v. Alford, 973 F.2d 30, 312 (4th Cir.1992) (stating that inquiry should be made based on the
information possessed by the officer at the time of the arrest). The government bears the burden of
demonstrating that a warrantless seizure is reasonable. See Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740, 749–
50 (1984); Vale v. Louisiana, 399 U.S. 30, 35 (1970); United States v. Jeffers, 342 U.S. 48, 51
(1951).
Probable cause is evaluated by the totality of the circumstances, and it is a “practical,
nontechnical conception.” Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 230–31 (1983); Brinegar v. United States,
338 U.S. 160, 175–76 (1949). Moreover, it is “a fluid concept - turning on the assessment of
probabilities in particular factual contexts - not readily, or even usefully, reduced to a neat set of
legal rules.” Illinois, 462 U.S. at 232.2
2
In analyzing the reasonableness of a seizure that is not supported by probable cause, courts are
required to evaluate “the law enforcement interest and the nature of the ‘articulable facts' supporting the
detention.” See Summers, 452 U.S. at 702. This analysis entails a balancing test because, under the Fourth
Amendment, “reasonableness ‘depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual's right to
personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’” United States v. Stanfield, 109 F.3d 976,
979 (4th Cir. 1997) (quoting Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 109 (1977)) (other citations omitted).
Thus, to determine whether Palmer’s seizure and continued detention were reasonable, “we [must] balance[ ]
the intrusion on [Palmer’s] Fourth Amendment interests against [the] promotion of legitimate governmental
interests.” Maryland v. Buie, 494 U.S. 325, 331 (1990) (citations omitted); see also United States v. Legg, 18
F.3d 240, 245 (4th Cir. 1994) (citing Buie ).
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In the particular factual context presented in this case, there is no material factual dispute as
to whether probable cause existed for arrest to preclude the granting of summary judgment on
Palmer’s false arrest claim under the Fourth Amendment. The Court concludes that defendants’
reliance on facts known at the time of the arrest provided them probable cause to support Palmer’s
arrest and charges. Palmer’s legal conclusion that the charges were nullified does not support his
Fourth Amendment claim as a nolle prosequi does not automatically provide evidence of lack of
probable cause.3 See Fisher v. Matthews, 792 F. Supp. 2d 745, 776 ( M.D. Pa. 2011) (simply
because charges filed against Plaintiff were nolle prossed and withdrawn when plaintiff's case was
before the county court, does not necessarily show that defendants lacked probable cause to arrest
and to issue the criminal complaint against plaintiff). Palmer has failed to show that the charges
were filed without probable cause.4
IV. CONCLUSION
Defendants’ motion, treated as a motion for summary judgment, shall be granted. A separate
Order shall be entered reflecting the ruling entered in this decision.
Date: October 16, 2015
/s/
James K. Bredar
United States District Judge
3
The state court docket shows that Palmer’s charges were nolle prossed on January 25, 2013.
See State v. Palmer, Case No. 03K12005536 (Circuit Court for Baltimore County).
4
In light of this court’s finding regarding Palmer’s constitutional claims against defendants, it
need not address their qualified immunity argument.
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