Opinion ID: 464799
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Evidence and Verdict Against the Officers

Text: 7 The case was tried to the jury in two parts: the first focusing on the allegations against the Officers and the second focusing on the allegations against the City defendants. At the first phase of trial, two substantially differing versions of the events were presented.
8 According to Fiacco's testimony at trial, she had ended a night of heavy drinking by falling asleep on the front lawn of a home in Rensselaer. She was awakened by Meyer and Harrington, who had placed her in handcuffs and who proceeded, without any verbal or physical provocation on her part, to arrest her for disorderly conduct. Fiacco was placed in a police car and taken to the Rensselaer police station. As she attempted to exit the police car upon their arrival, Meyer poked her and she fell to the ground. Meyer then kicked her in the thighs and arm and, gripping the handcuffs, dragged her along the ground. Meyer subsequently lost his grip on the handcuffs, and Fiacco attempted to run away in order to avoid being hurt further, but she was shoved from behind and fell face down on the ground. Meyer then called Fiacco a little bitch, added that she was just like the rest of the Fiaccos, kicked her in the back and legs, and punched her, after which she was pulled, picked up, and taken into the police station. Harrington was present during the above treatment of Fiacco by Meyer and did nothing to prevent or terminate it. After she was taken into the police station, Fiacco was booked on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, and attempting to escape, and was locked in a cell. Fiacco testified that once she was inside the police station, she made no attempt to flee and never assaulted any police officials. 9 Fiacco testified that while at the police station she complained that the handcuffs were too tight and were hurting her hands, but that nothing was done to loosen them. She complained as well of pain in her legs, arms, and chin, but no medical attention was given her. She also noticed that her blouse was open and her breast exposed. She remained in that condition until she was taken to the Rensselaer County Jail. 10 Phyllis Collins, a correctional officer at the county jail testified that after Fiacco's arrival at that jail she fixed Fiacco's blouse so that it covered her. She noticed that there were scratches and bruises on Fiacco's face and arms. Collins was present when Fiacco's handcuffs were removed, and she testified that there was difficulty in removing them because they were embedded in Fiacco's wrists, and that Fiacco's hands were blue. Fiacco testified that after her handcuffs were removed, her hands were numb and she could not move the middle finger of her left hand. 11 Fiacco was eventually taken to a hospital emergency room where her elbows were cleaned, x-rays taken, and her left arm placed in a brace from the wrist down. Surgery was eventually performed to repair the tendon in Fiacco's finger. The doctor who performed the surgery testified that events such as those described above could have been the cause of Fiacco's injury.
12 Meyer and Harrington offered a different account of the events surrounding Fiacco's arrest. Meyer testified that upon receiving a radio dispatch that a woman was lying unconscious in front of a certain address, he proceeded to the site, found Fiacco there, and tried to revive her. Both officers testified that when Harrington arrived at the scene a few seconds later he radioed for an ambulance, but that either before or as it arrived, Fiacco regained consciousness, began to berate the Officers, kicked Meyer in the shoulder, and slapped Harrington in the face. Fiacco refused to get into the ambulance, and Harrington and Meyer arrested her for disorderly conduct. Fiacco was then handcuffed and taken to the police station. 13 Meyer testified that upon their arrival at the police station, Fiacco began screaming and spitting at Harrington and refused to get out of the car, forcing the officers to carry her from the car into the station; she continued to scream and swear at them. Harrington testified that once inside the station, Fiacco's handcuffs were taken off and she was told to wait on a bench while Harrington filled out the arrest report. Within minutes, however, Fiacco ran toward the entrance of the station where she was caught by the Officers, who returned her to the bench. Fiacco again jumped up and ran, this time exiting the building, pursued by Harrington and desk officer Alfred Syvertsen. Fiacco stumbled to the ground in the station parking lot, and Harrington and Syvertsen brought her back into the building and handcuffed her to a pipe. The Officers then noticed that Fiacco had scraped her arms and that her blouse had loosened, exposing part of her breast. Harrington testified that the blouse was fixed and that Fiacco was offered medical assistance but declined it. 14 Shortly thereafter, the police department matron arrived in response to Syvertsen's call. Fiacco verbally abused the matron and attempted to kick her while they waited for a judge to arrive for Fiacco's arraignment. Throughout this period, Fiacco never requested medical attention or complained about her treatment. 15
16 At the close of the evidence as to the events leading to Fiacco's injuries, the Officers moved for a directed verdict in their favor on the ground of insufficiency of the evidence. This motion was denied, and the jury was asked to answer special interrogatories with respect to the liability of each of the Officers. In response to these questions, the jury found that each Officer had (1) deprived Fiacco of her federal constitutional rights, (2) negligently injured her, in violation of state law, and (3) negligently failed to provide her with medical attention, in violation of state law. The jury found that neither Officer had assaulted Fiacco maliciously and wantonly in violation of state law. As to each of the claims of negligence sustained by the jury, the jury found that Fiacco had negligently contributed to her own injuries. C. The Verdict Against the City Defendants 17 Following the return of the jury's special verdict with respect to the liability of the Officers, evidence was presented with respect to Fiacco's claims against the City and Stark. In an attempt to show, as required by Monell v. Department of Social Services, 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 2037, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978), that her injury had been caused by a custom or policy of the City, Fiacco introduced evidence as to the City's official procedures for handling claims of police brutality and, over defendants' objections, evidence as to claims of such brutality lodged by third parties against the City during the five-year period preceding Fiacco's arrest. The latter evidence, described in greater detail in part III.B.2. below, consisted principally of notices of claims that had been filed against the City alleging police brutality, the testimony of several of the claimants, and the testimony of police chief Stark with respect to his handling of these complaints. Fiacco argued, inter alia, that the handling of these claims and complaints by the City defendants demonstrated a policy of negligent supervision that rose to the level of deliberate indifference to the use by City police officers of excessive force in violation of constitutional rights. 18 The City defendants introduced evidence as to their training of police officers, their investigation of complaints received prior to the events involving Fiacco, and the discharge of three officers from the police force because of their misconduct. In addition, the City offered expert testimony to the effect that its policies of supervision and discipline were in accordance with acceptable police practices. 19 At the conclusion of the proof with respect to Fiacco's claims against the City and Stark, the City defendants moved for a directed verdict in their favor. The court granted the motion in part. As to the Sec. 1983 claim, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support Fiacco's claim that the City defendants had a policy of inadequate training of police officers; further, it ruled that because none of the third-party claims had yet been adjudicated in favor of the complainants, there was insufficient evidence to support the contention that the City defendants had a policy of failing to discipline police officers. As to the state law claims, the court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to support the claim that the City defendants had negligently failed to instruct or supervise the Officers with regard to the provision of medical attention. In sum, the court ruled that only two claims against the City defendants would be submitted to the jury: that part of the Sec. 1983 claim that alleged that Fiacco's injuries resulted from a municipal policy of nonsupervision of the Officers, and the state law claim of negligent supervision of the Officers. 20 Accordingly, the jury was asked to answer, as to each of the City defendants, two interrogatories: (1) whether those defendants 21 [e]ngaged in a course of conduct or had a policy of deliberate indifference to the supervision of the defendant police officers which proximately resulted in the deprivation of ... Fiacco's right to wit: not to be punished or not to have excessive force used against her during her arrest or detention without due process of law in violation of her constitutional right under the 5th and 14th Amendments and pursuant to Title 42 Section 1983, 22 and (2) whether the City defendants [n]egligently failed to supervise [the Officers] which negligent supervision was a proximate cause of the injuries sustained by ... Fiacco. As to both Stark and the City, the jury answered each interrogatory in the affirmative. E. The Damages Verdict and the Remittitur 23 The jury also answered special interrogatories as to damages. It awarded Fiacco $75,000 in compensatory damages for the deprivation of her constitutional rights and $1,000 in compensatory damages for injuries caused by defendants' negligence. The jury specified the extent to which it found the negligence of each party contributed to Fiacco's injuries, finding that Fiacco had been contributorily negligent to the extent of 15%. A judgment was entered accordingly. 24 Following the trial and prior to the entry of this judgment, defendants had moved for a new trial pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 59 on the grounds that the liability verdicts were contrary to law and against the weight of the evidence, and that the amount of the verdict on the Sec. 1983 claim was excessive. After the initial judgment was entered, the court granted defendants' motion in part. It refused to disturb the liability verdicts but found that the amount awarded on the Sec. 1983 claim was grossly excessive and shock[ed] the judicial conscience, and it ordered a new trial on the issue of damages unless Fiacco agreed to a remittitur in the amount of $50,000. Fiacco agreed to the remittitur, thereby reducing the award on her constitutional claim to $25,000. 25 While the record before us is unclear as to whether a new judgment was ever entered reflecting this lower award, the parties have proceeded as if such a judgment was entered. We will proceed on the assumption that the new judgment was entered or that one may be entered nunc pro tunc following the issuance of our mandate. F. The Parties' Contentions on Appeal 26 On this appeal, defendants have challenged the judgment against them only to the extent that it holds them liable to Fiacco for damages on her Sec. 1983 claim; no error has been asserted with respect to the claims for negligence and negligent supervision. 27 As to the Sec. 1983 claim, defendants seek entry of judgment in their favor chiefly on the grounds that (1) the jury's answers to the special interrogatories established that the Officers had not violated any of Fiacco's federal constitutional rights but only her state law rights; (2) a pattern of negligent supervision of municipal employees, even if proven, is insufficient as a matter of law to establish the existence of the policy that is prerequisite to the imposition of municipal liability under Sec. 1983; and (3) the evidence was insufficient to establish that the City had a custom or policy of negligent supervision amounting to a deliberate indifference to constitutional rights. Defendants have not argued that, if the evidence was sufficient to prove the City's deliberate indifference to constitutional rights, there was any insufficiency in the evidence that that policy caused the deprivation of Fiacco's constitutional rights; nor have they challenged in any respect the interrogatories put to the jury or the trial court's instructions to the jury. 28 Defendants also contend that, if not entitled to judgment as a matter of law, they should at least have been granted a new trial on the grounds that the admission of evidence as to third-party claims against the City was unduly prejudicial and that the jury's award of $75,000 in damages on the Sec. 1983 claim, in light of its award of only $1,000 on the negligence claims, was inconsistent and excessive. 29 Fiacco has cross-appealed, contending that the conditional order of remittitur violated her Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial and that, in any event, given the weight of the evidence, the order was an abuse of discretion. She seeks reinstatement of the jury's award to her of $75,000 for the violation of her constitutional rights. 30 For the reasons below, we conclude that the trial court properly denied the motions for a directed verdict on the Sec. 1983 claim and properly denied the motion for a new trial on grounds other than the excessiveness of the damage award. We also conclude that Fiacco, having accepted the remittitur, is precluded from challenging on appeal the amount finally awarded to her.