Opinion ID: 573067
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims Against Chief Westcoat and the City of Taunton

Text: 33 Appellant argues that Chief Westcoat and the City of Taunton are liable under § 1983 because the decision of Detective Furtado to seek and execute the warrant authorizing the search of appellant's vagina constituted a municipal policy that sanctioned a violation of appellant's Fourth Amendment rights. Appellant also claims that the City, through Chief Westcoat, failed to adequately supervise or train Detective Furtado in the obtaining of search warrants. For the reasons given below, Chief Westcoat and the City of Taunton are entitled to summary judgment as a matter of undisputed fact and law. 34 The search of appellant's vagina was not unreasonable. Further, the conduct of Detective Furtado was objectively reasonable. Thus, there is no causal connection between any deficient city policy manifested by the search and an alleged deprivation of appellant's Fourth Amendment rights. See Burns, 907 F.2d at 239. 35 Irrespective of whether Furtado acted reasonably, his actions alone are insufficient to establish a municipal policy. See St. Louis v. Praprotnik, 485 U.S. 112, 123, 108 S.Ct. 915, 924, 99 L.Ed.2d 107 (1987). Furtado's authority to seek search warrants on his own initiative without prior approval of a superior officer is not the equivalent of policy making authority. 36 Regarding appellant's claim that the City failed to adequately train or supervise Furtado, Only where a municipality's failure to train its [police officers] in a relevant respect evidences a 'deliberate indifference' to the rights of its inhabitants can such a shortcoming be thought of as a city 'policy or custom' that is actionable under § 1983. Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 388, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 1205, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989). This same standard applies where the claim is a failure to adequately supervise. See Bordanaro v. McLeod, 871 F.2d 1151, 1158 (1st Cir.1989). Appellant offers no evidence of a policy indicative of a deliberate indifference to the rights of Taunton's citizenry, nor do we find any evidence of such reflected in the record. 37 Appellant's only predicate for her claim is the fact that the Taunton police force had no official training or supervisory policies regarding body cavity searches beyond those policies governing searches in general. However, an arguable weakness in police training [or supervision does] not amount to a 'policy of failure to train arising from deliberate indifference to citizens' constitutional rights.'  Burns v. Loranger, 907 F.2d 233, 239 (1st Cir.1990) (quoting Santiago v. Fenton, 891 F.2d 373, 381-82 (1st Cir.1989)). 38 Because there was no actionable § 1983 claim against Westcoat or the City of Taunton, we AFFIRM the granting of summary judgment as to them.