Opinion ID: 6931492
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Inadequate training

Text: First, plaintiff argues that the municipality was responsible for Quade’s injuries because it failed to train Commander Lennon adequately in the proper response to “barricaded subject situations” and in the proper procedures for arresting suspects in their homes. “[T]he inadequacy of police training may serve as the basis for § 1983 liability only where the failure to train amounts to deliberate indifference to the rights of persons with whom the police come into contact.” City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 388, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 1204, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989). Although “[w]hether a local government entity has displayed a policy of deliberate indifference is generally a question for the jury,” Oviatt v. Pearce, 954 F.2d 1470, 1478 (9th Cir.1992), we conclude that in this case the municipality is entitled to summary judgment. In those cases where we have held that a question of fact existed as to the deliberately indifferent character of a municipality’s failure to train, plaintiffs have alleged a program-wide inadequacy in training. Davis v. Mason County, 927 F.2d 1473, 1483 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 275, 116 L.Ed.2d 227 (1991); Reed v. Hoy, 909 F.2d 324, 331 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1250, 111 S.Ct. 2887, 115 L.Ed.2d 1053 (1991). Here, by contrast, plaintiff argues only that the training of Commander Lennon was inadequate. She has produced no evidence showing that the alleged inadequacy of his training was the result of a “deliberate” or “conscious” choice, which, under Canton, is necessary to establish a municipal policy. 489 U.S. at 389, 109 S.Ct. at 1205; see also Ting v. United States, 927 F.2d 1504, 1512 (9th Cir.1991). Absent such evidence, any shortfall in Lennon’s training can only be classified as negligence on the part of the municipal defendant — a much lower standard of fault than deliberate indifference. The deliberate indifference standard was specifically adopted by the Supreme Court in order to ensure that civil rights claims against municipalities attain a certain level of gravity before those entities are compelled to defend themselves at trial. Canton, 489 U.S. at 391-92, 109 S.Ct. at 1206-07. Much of that assurance would be removed if plaintiffs could proceed to trial against a municipality on the basis of the failure to train a single officer, and without any showing that this failure was the result of a conscious or deliberate choice. By limiting her proof to the adequacy of the training of a single officer, plaintiff has failed to create a genuine issue of fact as to the alleged deliberate indifference of the municipality. Plaintiff also argues that the deposition testimony of Sgt. Stasko reveals that Lennon’s actions were “in accordance with San Francisco Police Department training.” Reply Br. at 22. Possibly this testimony, if further developed, would reveal the type of department-wide inadequacy of training missing from plaintiffs proof. However, Stasko’s deposition was not presented to the district court because it had not yet been taken when the summary judgment motion was heard. Plaintiff does not explain why she could not have taken Stasko’s deposition in a timely fashion. Consequently, we do not consider it. In Hopkins, where “appellants offer[ed] no excuse for not presenting [an] affidavit earlier,” we refused to consider the affidavit, explaining that “[a] defeated litigant cannot set aside a judgment because he failed to present on a motion for summary judgment all the facts known to him that might have been useful to the court.” 958 F.2d at 887 n. 2. Although here the facts revealed by Stasko may not have been known to plaintiff at the relevant time, plaintiffs failure to explain why she could not have learned of those facts sooner is fatal. We follow Hopkins, and do not consider Stasko’s testimony.