Opinion ID: 798362
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims Against the Police Officers & Police Board

Text: Green's Fourth Amended Complaint alleged that police officers violated his Fourth Amendment rights when they arrested him without probable cause. [2] The district court granted the officers summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity, concluding that they reasonably relied on what the School Board's head of security told them, and that Green's refusal to leave a building after an authorized agent requests him to leave gave the officers arguable probable cause to arrest him for trespass in violation of § 569.140 of the Missouri Revised Statutes as construed in State v. Armstrong, 863 S.W.2d 374, 377 (Mo.App.1993). On appeal, Green argues that summary judgment was improper because there was evidence the police did not simply rely on what security officer McCrary told them. In support, Green cites a police report that, in places, can be read as a first person account of the events as they unfolded. Therefore, he argues, a reasonable jury could find there was no probable cause for his arrest because the officers had personal knowledge he was not loud and disruptive. We disagree. The report's summary of the events was consistent with the testimony and affidavits of McCrary and Miller  that they twice asked Green to refrain from loud outbursts, he continued to disrupt the meeting with boisterous comments, Green was asked to leave the meeting and refused, McCrary summoned the officers and told them Green refused to leave, and Green was then arrested when he refused the officers' request to leave. Read as a whole and in context with the other evidence, the report is not probative evidence refuting the officers' testimony that they had no knowledge of Green's behavior prior to being summoned by McCrary, and that they relied on what McCrary told them in asking Green to leave and in arresting him when he refused. Neither Green's testimony nor his three supporting affidavits disputed this testimony. Green does not challenge the district court's analysis of relevant Fourth Amendment principles. We agree they were sound. Probable cause exists if the totality of facts based on reasonably trustworthy information would justify a prudent person in believing the individual arrested had committed an offense at the time of the arrest. Brodnicki v. City of Omaha, 75 F.3d 1261, 1264 (8th Cir.) (quotation omitted), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 867, 117 S.Ct. 179, 136 L.Ed.2d 119 (1996). A person who is disruptive may be asked to leave a government facility and may be arrested for trespass if he refuses to leave. See State v. Guess, 804 S.W.2d 57, 58 (Mo.App.1991); accord Eichenlaub v. Twp. of Ind., 385 F.3d 274, 281 (3d Cir.2004); State v. Occhino, 572 N.W.2d 316, 319 (Minn.App.1997). Arguable probable cause in a trespassing case may be based at least in part on explanations given by internal security officers, such as the security supervisor.... Borgman v. Kedley, 646 F.3d 518, 523 (8th Cir.2011); see Gramenos v. Jewel Cos., Inc., 797 F.2d 432, 439 (7th Cir.1986) (a guard is not just any eyewitness), cert. denied, 481 U.S. 1028, 107 S.Ct. 1952, 95 L.Ed.2d 525 (1987). On this record, we conclude the district court did not err in granting the police officers qualified immunity, a doctrine that, in shielding government officials from damages liability, gives ample room for mistaken judgments by protecting all but the plainly incompetent or those who knowingly violate the law. Hunter v. Bryant, 502 U.S. 224, 229, 112 S.Ct. 534, 116 L.Ed.2d 589 (1991) (quotation omitted). Construing the facts most favorably to Green, the officers may have relied on inaccurate information from McCrary, but the mistake was objectively reasonable, particularly given the chaotic circumstances. See Orin v. Barclay, 272 F.3d 1207, 1216 (9th Cir.2001), cert. denied, 536 U.S. 958, 122 S.Ct. 2661, 153 L.Ed.2d 836 (2002); Paff v. Kaltenbach, 204 F.3d 425, 437 (3d Cir.2000). Turning to Green's § 1983 claims against the Board of Police Commissioners, we read his briefs on appeal to argue only that deposition testimony and settlement correspondence from completely unrelated litigation were sufficient evidence of custom and usage to prevent summary judgment. We disagree. Green's failure to present probative evidence of an unconstitutional policy or custom was fatal to his claims against the Police Board. See Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 694, 98 S.Ct. 2018, 56 L.Ed.2d 611 (1978); Bernini v. City of St. Paul, 665 F.3d 997, 1007-08 (8th Cir.2012); Wedemeier v. City of Ballwin, Mo., 931 F.2d 24, 26 (8th Cir.1991). We summarily affirm the dismissal of all other claims against the police department defendants.