Opinion ID: 2994304
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Failure to prove custom or policy of

Text: Village. The Village was the only defendant. Vela alleged that it committed the acts of sexual harassment, retaliation, and disparate treatment complained of in accordance with its custom and practice. It could be held liable for acts of police department personnel, violating Vela’s constitutional rights, only when execution of [the Village’s] policy or custom, whether made by its lawmakers or by those whose edicts or acts may fairly be said to represent official policy, inflicts the injury. . . . Monell v. New York City Dept. of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 694 (1978). Assuming that the allegation that the acts complained of were done in accordance with the Village’s custom and practice was a sufficient claim of a policy or custom of sexual harassment and other discrimination against female police officers, Vela failed to produce evidence that such a policy or custom existed. The caselaw has identified three instances in which a municipality can be said to have violated the civil rights of a person because of its policy: (1) an express policy that, when enforced, causes a constitutional deprivation; (2) a widespread practice that, although not authorized by written law or express municipal policy, is so permanent and well settled as to constitute a custom or usage with the force of law; or (3) an allegation that the constitutional injury was caused by a person with final policymaking authority. Baxter v. Vigo County Sch. Corp., 26 F.3d 728, 734-35 (7th Cir. 1994) (citations and quotation marks omitted). Vela does not argue that there was an express policy of sexual harassment or other discrimination against female officers. In fact the Village had adopted an employee manual which prohibited sexual harassment and threatened disciplinary action if it occurred. Vela did advance two theories to support the custom or policy contention: (1) the chief of police and the city manager had final policymaking authority and the chief brushed aside her complaints of harassment by her supervisor and others; (2) the Village failed to provide adequate relevant training. One may question whether the rejection of complaints as to sexual harassment or other discrimination would establish a deliberate adoption of a policy permitting the practices. But in any event, plaintiff has not demonstrated that Illinois law grants final policy making authority to either of these officers nor any delegation of such authority by the Village board. Authority to make municipal policy may be granted directly by a legislative enactment or may be delegated by an official who possesses such authority, and of course, whether an official had final policymaking authority is a question of state law. Pembaur v. Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 483 (1986). The choice to follow a course of action must be deliberate in order to establish a policy. Id. Plaintiff fails to establish a policy under her first theory. Plaintiff’s failure-to-train theory is that liability for constitutional violations by police officers attaches to the municipality when the violations result from lack of training. See Spell v. McDaniel, 824 F.2d 1380, 1389 (4th Cir. 1987) and Patzner v. Burkett, 779 F.2d 1363, 1367 (8th Cir. 1985). As evidentiary support she cites to portions of several depositions. In them, City Manager Dieterich testified that there had not been village-wide instruction on sexual harassment and that he believed some of the supervisors might have taken courses at Village expense but that he didn’t know for sure. Chief Crafton testified that he had had training in sexual harassment prior to 1993 and an eight hour update, which he had attended with one of the sergeants, in 1995 or 1996. Sergeant Sanders testified that during the last five years there had been no training of sergeants with respect to sexual harassment that he was aware of. In a portion of a deposition in a companion case, but contained in this record, Sergeant Schwertfeger, the principal offender according to Vela, testified that sexual harassment had been covered in a course he took at Northwestern University. We conclude that the testimony just described would not support a finding that the alleged sexual harassment resulted from a lack of training. Plaintiff would have the burden of proof on that point. The judgment appealed from is affirmed. /1 There is support for one of her allegations. Vela’s supervisor admitted in his deposition that he had made one of the offensive remarks about her, but testified that he didn’t intend it to get back to her. /2 Language in Sickinger, 951 F.Supp at 158, suggests that if a charging party leaves out an intended claim because of being misled by an EEOC representative, she would be entitled to tolling of the period of limitations and could file a charge containing the omitted claim later than otherwise required. See Early v. Bankers Life and Cas. Co., 959 F.2d 75, 81 (7th Cir. 1992). We would not agree, however, that a claim orally communicated to the agency, but omitted through the latter’s fault could, simply on that account, be treated as if properly filed.