Opinion ID: 745479
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Application of Law to Plaintiff's Claims

Text: 40 (a) First Demotion: From Police Commissioner to Deputy Chief. Two aspects of the complaint, considered together, demonstrate not only that Spencer and Christopher are entitled to qualified immunity with respect to McEvoy's demotion from Police Commissioner to Deputy Chief, but also that there can be no liability at all for them arising from this demotion. 41 First, the complaint alleges facts demonstrating that the position of Police Commissioner in the City of Yonkers is a policymaking one. The Commissioner is directly appointed by the Mayor, possesses the authority to make substantial changes to every aspect of the police department's administration, and is ultimately responsible for all facets of the department's day-to-day operation. This position is unquestionably one for which appointing authorities may require compatible political affiliation, under the criteria applicable to Elrod cases in this Circuit. As to this position, there is a rational connection between shared ideology and job performance. Boogertman, 984 F.2d at 580 (quotations omitted); see Vezzetti v. Pellegrini, 22 F.3d 483, 486 (2d Cir.1994) (factors for determining whether position is one  'calling for political loyalty'  include: whether the employee (1) is exempt from civil service protection, (2) has some technical competence or expertise, (3) controls others, (4) is authorized to speak in the name of policymakers, (5) is perceived as a policymaker by the public, (6) influences government programs, (7) has contact with elected officials, and (8) is responsive to partisan politics and political leaders) (citation omitted). 42 Second, the complaint alleges that the first demotion was motivated both by McEvoy's speech, see Supplemental Complaint p 24 (alleging that Spencer's decision to replace McEvoy with Christopher was intended both to benefit himself personally and the [Union] by silencing Plaintiff, preventing Plaintiff from pursuing inter alia the PERB petition, and punishing Plaintiff for having advocated reform), and by his political affiliation, see Supplemental Complaint pp 17 & 18 (alleging that although McEvoy was originally Spencer's preferred choice as Commissioner, Spencer agreed to replace McEvoy with Christopher, if elected, in exchange for the Union's political and financial support in the mayoral campaign). Although the speech-based allegations are more prominent, the complaint also alleges that Spencer decided to demote the plaintiff because Spencer's political friends conditioned their support for him on the removal of McEvoy and the appointment of Christopher. 8 While still a candidate for office, Spencer had promised the Union--McEvoy's political enemy--that if it provided him with a public endorsement and financial support during the mayoral campaign, he would replace McEvoy, the appointee of the mayoral candidate competing against Spencer, with the Union's preferred person for Commissioner, defendant Christopher. The Union placed its support behind Spencer, and the new Mayor, immediately following his victory, fulfilled his election promise of removing McEvoy and replacing him with Christopher. 43 Thus, McEvoy himself has alleged that (1) he was a policymaker at the time of the first demotion, and (2) he was demoted both for exercising his speech rights and for his political affiliation or association. As we previously discussed, whether an employer possessed the right to act against a policymaking employee for both permissible Elrod reasons and impermissible Pickering reasons was an open and unsettled question at the time of the first demotion. Spencer and Christopher are therefore entitled at least to qualified immunity with respect to the first demotion. Moreover, because we have concluded that an employer who takes action against a policymaker for both Elrod and Pickering considerations is insulated from all liability, McEvoy's first claim, insofar as it concerns Spencer and Christopher, must be dismissed in its entirety. 44 (b) Second Demotion: From Deputy Chief to Captain. In contrast to its dual allegations concerning the first demotion, McEvoy's complaint as to the second demotion alleges that only one consideration motivated the defendants' decision to demote him from Deputy Chief to Captain: retaliation for his free speech activity in filing the original complaint in the present suit. Such a claim calls for a Pickering free speech analysis and a determination of whether the plaintiff's free speech interest is outweighed by the public employer's efficiency interest. Though that analysis will often require assessment by the fact-finder on a fully developed record, qualified immunity protects Spencer and Christopher in this case because (1) it was objectively reasonable for these defendants to believe that McEvoy's position as Deputy Chief was a policymaking one, and (2) the law was unsettled at the time of the second demotion as to whether a policymaker exception was available in a Pickering case. 45 First, although the record at this stage does not permit an ultimate decision as to whether the Deputy Chief position is a policymaking one, the available record adequately supports the defendants' claim that it was objectively reasonable for them to believe that it was. Under the Yonkers City Charter, the Police Commissioner has the authority to appoint three Deputy Chiefs (referred to as Inspectors in that document) who are placed in charge of, respectively, Investigative Services, Support Services, and Field Services. Yonkers City Charter § C12-1. Although the complaint does not specify which kind of Deputy Chief McEvoy was, he was in charge of a third of the functions of the entire police department. Moreover, under New York law, when the Commissioner is absent, McEvoy, as Deputy Chief, would potentially have authority to speak on behalf of the department, control the overall supervision of the department, discipline members of the department, and control the city jail. See N.Y. Pub. Off. Law § 9 (McKinney 1988). We have recently ruled that the fact that an employee is empowered to act and speak on behalf of a policymaker is of primary importance in determining whether he is a policymaker. See Gordon v. County of Rockland, 110 F.3d 886, 890 (2d Cir.1997). Additionally, we note that at least two other Circuits had concluded by the time of McEvoy's second demotion that the analogous position of Deputy Sheriff is a policymaking one. See Wilbur, 3 F.3d at 218; Terry v. Cook, 866 F.2d 373, 377 (11th Cir.1989). Under such circumstances, it was objectively reasonable for defendants Spencer and Christopher to believe that McEvoy was still a policymaker when he was demoted from Deputy Chief to Captain in April 1996. 9 46 Second, as we have previously discussed, the law was unsettled regarding whether an employee's policymaking status automatically immunized an employer's adverse action even in a pure Pickering case. Although we decide in this opinion that no dispositive policymaker exception exists in the Pickering balancing test, Spencer and Christopher did not violate a clearly established right of McEvoy's when, reasonably believing that he was a policymaker, they demoted him from Deputy Chief to Captain because of speech activities. They are therefore entitled to qualified immunity on this claim.