Opinion ID: 745482
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Daniel Ricciuti's Arrest

Text: 23 Plaintiff Daniel Ricciuti also challenges the objective reasonableness of his arrest. The circumstances of that arrest are in dispute. Daniel Ricciuti points to evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude that Officers Lopez and Wheeler first stood idly by, refusing to intervene, as Watson arrested him under circumstances indicating a clear lack of probable cause, and then falsified records and made false statements to indicate that Lopez was the arresting officer. If this evidence is accepted as true, plaintiffs declare, then Officer Lopez and Lt. Wheeler could be liable for damages under § 1983. 24 A police officer has an affirmative duty to intercede on the behalf of a citizen whose constitutional rights are being violated in his presence by other officers. O'Neill v. Krzeminski, 839 F.2d 9, 11 (2d Cir.1988). Failure to intercede to prevent an unlawful arrest can be grounds for § 1983 liability. Id. To recover on that ground, of course, a plaintiff must still overcome the hurdle of qualified immunity. A police officer cannot be held liable in damages for failure to intercede unless such failure permitted fellow officers to violate a suspect's clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. Harlow, 457 U.S. at 818, 102 S.Ct. at 2738. Further, the failure to intercede must be under circumstances making it objectively unreasonable for him to believe that his fellow officers' conduct did not violate those rights. Anderson, 483 U.S. at 641, 107 S.Ct. at 3039-40. 25 To obtain summary judgment on qualified immunity grounds in connection with a claim of failure to intercede to prevent an illegal arrest, a defendant must show that the only result a fair jury could reach is that reasonably competent police officers, faced with the information available to the non-intervening officer at the time of the arrest, could disagree about the legality of the arrest. See Lennon, 66 F.3d at 420-21 (discussing summary judgment standards in qualified immunity context). 26 Applying those principles to this case we agree with plaintiff that summary judgment was inappropriately granted. Crediting plaintiffs' evidence, a jury could find that Watson did not tell Lopez or Wheeler that Daniel had participated with Alfred in the assault; that Lopez and Wheeler believed Watson was arresting Daniel in the station house without cause; and that they then falsified evidence to make it appear that Daniel had been arrested at an earlier time, in a different place, and by Lopez, instead of Watson. 27 In sum, plaintiffs' evidence could support the view that Lopez and Wheeler cooperated with Watson in arresting Daniel and falsifying the circumstances, although they knew there was no probable cause to justify the arrest. Because such findings could permit the imposition of liability under § 1983, we reverse the grant of summary judgment dismissing Daniel's false arrest claims against Lopez and Wheeler. II The Fabricated Confession 28 We turn now to the plaintiffs' primary contention on appeal--that the district court erred in granting summary judgment for the defendants because genuine issues of fact exist as to whether the individual defendants knowingly fabricated and distributed a false confession to prosecutors. Although the district court failed to address this matter specifically in its opinion, defendants nonetheless urge that on this issue the grant of summary judgment should be upheld on several grounds. 29 As an initial matter, Officer Lopez maintains that summary judgment was appropriate as to him because even if the fabrication of a false confession is material, the plaintiffs have failed to put forth sufficient evidence to support a jury finding that he had any personal involvement with such a confession. In deciding a motion for summary judgment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and draw all factual inferences in the non-moving party's favor. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). Doing so here, we think a reasonable jury could find that Officer Lopez heard the content of the document in question, knew that Alfred Ricciuti had not made the statements attributed to him and nonetheless forwarded the statement to the prosecutor's office. Because a reasonable jury could find against Officer Lopez on this issue, a genuine issue of material fact exists with respect to it. 30 However, the primary argument of Officer Lopez and the other defendants goes not to the genuineness of the fact issues, but to their materiality. Each of the defendants insists that so long as there was probable cause for Alfred Ricciuti's arrest--independent of the allegedly fabricated evidence--the fabrication of evidence is legally irrelevant. In essence, they argue that as long as the arrest complied with the Fourth Amendment, the Ricciutis can have no claim for post-arrest fabrication of evidence against them. 31 This argument--an ill-conceived attempt to erect a legal barricade to shield police officials from liability--is built on the most fragile of foundations; it is based on an incorrect analysis of the law and at the same time betrays a grave misunderstanding of those responsibilities which the police must have toward the citizenry in an open and free society. No arrest, no matter how lawful or objectively reasonable, gives an arresting officer or his fellow officers license to deliberately manufacture false evidence against an arrestee. To hold that police officers, having lawfully arrested a suspect, are then free to fabricate false confessions at will, would make a mockery of the notion that Americans enjoy the protection of due process of the law and fundamental justice. Like a prosecutor's knowing use of false evidence to obtain a tainted conviction, a police officer's fabrication and forwarding to prosecutors of known false evidence works an unacceptable corruption of the truth-seeking function of the trial process. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 104, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 2397, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976); Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 153, 92 S.Ct. 763, 765-66, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972); Mooney v. Holohan, 294 U.S. 103, 112, 55 S.Ct. 340, 341-42, 79 L.Ed. 791 (1935). 32 When a police officer creates false information likely to influence a jury's decision and forwards that information to prosecutors, he violates the accused's constitutional right to a fair trial, and the harm occasioned by such an unconscionable action is redressable in an action for damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. United States ex rel. Moore v. Koelzer, 457 F.2d 892, 893-94 (3d Cir.1972); see also Smith v. Springer, 859 F.2d 31, 34 (7th Cir.1988); Geter v. Fortenberry, 849 F.2d 1550, 1559 (5th Cir.1988). Here, a reasonable jury could find, based on the evidence, that defendants Lopez and Wheeler violated the plaintiffs' clearly established constitutional rights by conspiring to fabricate and forward to prosecutors a known false confession almost certain to influence a jury's verdict. These defendant police officers are not entitled to summary judgment on the ground of qualified immunity. Qualified immunity is unavailable where, as here, the action violates an accused's clearly established constitutional rights, and no reasonably competent police officer could believe otherwise. Anderson v. Creighton, 483 U.S. at 641, 107 S.Ct. at 3039-40. 33 Hence, we hold it was error for the district court to grant summary judgment to defendants Lopez and Wheeler on qualified immunity grounds with respect to the fabrication of evidence claim. III Malicious Prosecution 34 Plaintiffs declare further that dismissal of the claims against the defendants was improper because a reasonable jury could find Lt. Wheeler lacked probable cause to charge them with second-degree assault. To prevail on a claim of malicious prosecution, four elements must be shown: (1) the defendant initiated a prosecution against plaintiff, (2) without probable cause to believe the proceeding can succeed, (3) the proceeding was begun with malice and, (4) the matter terminated in plaintiff's favor. See O'Brien v. Alexander, 101 F.3d 1479, 1484 (2d Cir.1996). 35 Here, with regard to the first element, a jury could clearly find that Lt. Wheeler started the assault prosecution because no one disputes that he started the prosecution by filing the charges of second-degree assault. A jury could also find that Lt. Wheeler was instrumental in bringing about the charges of second-degree aggravated harassment. Although these charges were added by the Bronx district attorney's office, and thus not directly filed by Lt. Wheeler, a jury could find that Lt. Wheeler played a role in initiating the prosecution by preparing the alleged false confession and forwarding it to prosecutors. 36 The second element is whether probable cause to charge the plaintiffs for seconddegree assault was clearly lacking. A charge of second-degree assault is appropriate only when there has been serious physical injury--which New York law defines as physical injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes death or serious and protracted disfigurement, protracted impairment of health or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ. N.Y. Penal L. § 10.00(10). Wheeler admitted in his deposition testimony that at the time of arrest, he did not think Watson's injuries were sufficiently serious to meet the statutory definition and, in fact, nothing in the record suggests the injury was even arguably serious enough to meet the standard required for the charge. A reasonable jury could clearly find lack of probable cause for the charge of second-degree assault. 37 Likewise, if plaintiffs' testimony is believed, they never uttered any racial epithets or took any action that would justify a charge of second-degree aggravated harassment, which requires a finding that the victim was harassed on account of his race. N.Y. Penal L. § 240.30(3). If so, a jury could find that there was no probable cause for the harassment charge. 38 To succeed on a malicious prosecution claim, the plaintiffs also must demonstrate that the proceeding was instituted with malice. As we noted in Lowth, lack of probable cause generally raises an inference of malice sufficient to withstand summary judgment. 82 F.3d at 573. In the present case, as we have just noted, a jury could find that probable cause for the charges against the plaintiffs was lacking, and that finding alone would support an inference of malice. 39 The final question is whether a reasonable jury could find that the proceedings terminated in the plaintiffs' favor. When the termination of a case is indecisive because it does not clearly address the merits of the charge, the underlying facts must be examined to determine whether the failure to proceed implies a lack of reasonable grounds for the prosecution. Rounseville v. Zahl, 13 F.3d 625, 629 (2d Cir.1994) (quoting Conway v. Village of Mount Kisco, 750 F.2d 205, 215 (2d Cir.1984)). In the case at hand the Bronx district attorney's office reduced the charges to misdemeanor assault on June 7, 1989, and all charges were dismissed by the court prior to trial on July 13, 1989. Plaintiffs contend both the reduction of the felony charges by the prosecutor and the ultimate dismissal of all charges by the court came about because of a lack of reasonable grounds for prosecution. As evidence that the reduction of charges implied a lack of reasonable grounds for prosecution, plaintiffs point to the minimal nature of Watson's cut--requiring only a few stitches and then only to prevent a scar--as being insufficient to constitute serious physical injury under New York law. Lieutenant Wheeler, in opposition, declares the reduction and dismissal resulted from purely procedural matters. Where, as here, the reasons for a dismissal of charges are in dispute, the matter should ordinarily be submitted to a jury. Id. Because a jury could find in plaintiffs' favor with regard to each of the four required elements, we agree with the plaintiffs that the district court erred in dismissing the malicious prosecution claim against Lt. Wheeler. 40 We also agree with plaintiffs that the district court erred in concluding that no jury could find that defendant Lopez was implicated in a conspiracy to maliciously prosecute the plaintiffs. Taking all of plaintiffs' evidence as true, a jury could find that Lopez knowingly took part with Wheeler in the distribution of a confession he knew to be false, and that he, together with Wheeler, lied about the circumstances surrounding Daniel Ricciuti's arrest. A jury which so found might rationally infer that Wheeler and Lopez were jointly involved in a common scheme--a conspiracy to ensure that plaintiffs were detained on false charges. See generally Hinkle v. City of Clarksburg, 81 F.3d 416, 421 (4th Cir.1996) (setting forth requirements for civil conspiracy under § 1983 and noting that agreement can be proved by circumstantial evidence). If so, a jury could assign responsibility to Lopez for acts taken by Wheeler in furtherance of the conspiracy. Summary judgment should not have been granted to Officer Lopez on the malicious prosecution claim.IV Municipal Defendants 41 The district court granted summary judgment in the municipal defendants' favor after concluding that no reasonable jury could find a constitutional or civil violation based on the evidence. Because a claim of inadequate training and supervision under § 1983 cannot be made out against a supervisory body without a finding of a constitutional violation by the persons supervised, City of Los Angeles v. Heller, 475 U.S. 796, 799, 106 S.Ct. 1571, 1573, 89 L.Ed.2d 806 (1986), these claims were dismissed. 42 As our discussion of the above issues indicates, a reasonable jury could find that Officers Lopez and Wheeler violated the plaintiffs' constitutional rights by failing to intercede to prevent the unlawful arrest of Daniel Ricciuti and by fabricating a false confession and forwarding it on to prosecutors, and by maliciously prosecuting them for second-degree assault without probable cause to believe that injury of the requisite seriousness had been inflicted. The district court's grant of summary judgment to the municipal defendants on the ground that no constitutional violation could be shown was thus error.