Opinion ID: 78305
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Municipal Liability for the City of West Palm Beach

Text: In addition to the liability pegged on the police officers, Appellant also claims that the City of West Palm Beach is responsible for Lewis's death pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 because of a failure to provide adequate training to its police officers on the use and application of hobbles. Appellant contends that the pressure applied to Lewis's upper back and neck by Officer Luke and then Officer Shaw, along with the use of the hobble as a hogtie caused Lewis's sudden death, and that these actions can be attributed to City policy. A city may only be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 when the injury caused was a result of municipal policy or custom. City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 385, 109 S.Ct. 1197, 103 L.Ed.2d 412 (1989). Municipal policy or custom may include a failure to provide adequate training if the deficiency evidences a deliberate indifference to the rights of its inhabitants. Id. at 388, 109 S.Ct. 1197. To establish a city's deliberate indifference, a plaintiff must present some evidence that the municipality knew of a need to train and/or supervise in a particular area and the municipality made a deliberate choice not to take any action. Gold v. City of Miami, 151 F.3d 1346, 1350 (11th Cir.1998). A city may be put on notice in two ways. First, if the city is aware that a pattern of constitutional violations exists, and nevertheless fails to provide adequate training, it is considered to be deliberately indifferent. Id. at 1351. Alternatively, deliberate indifference may be proven without evidence of prior incidents, if the likelihood for constitutional violation is so high that the need for training would be obvious. Id. at 1351-52. Appellant's argument rests on the latter premise. Appellant claims that the need for training on the proper use of hobble restraints and the proper placement of weight on an arrestee's back during the restraint process is so obvious that it requires proactive training by the City to ensure avoidance of constitutional violations. In establishing this form of notice, the Supreme Court referenced the proper use of firearms and the correct use of deadly force as an area that would be so obvious as to require adequate training by the municipality to avoid liability. City of Canton, 489 U.S. at 390 n. 10, 109 S.Ct. 1197. In comparison, this Court refused to acknowledge the proper response to handcuff complaints as so obvious as to put the municipality on notice that training is required. Gold, 151 F.3d at 1352. Similarly, the application of a hobble does not rise to the level of obviousness reserved for a narrow range of circumstances [where] a violation of federal rights may be a highly predictable consequence of a failure to provide adequate training. Bd. of County Comm'rs of Bryan County, Okla. v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 409, 117 S.Ct. 1382, 137 L.Ed.2d 626 (1997). Despite the questionable use of the hobble in this particular situation, hobbles do not have the same potential flagrant risk of constitutional violations as the use of deadly firearms. Failure to provide training on hobbles is not a particular glaring omission in a training regimen. Id. at 410, 117 S.Ct. 1382. Notably, in both the case at bar and as previously decided in Garrett v. Athens-Clarke County, 378 F.3d 1274, 1280 (11th Cir.2004), hogtying or fettering under the given circumstances does not violate the Fourth Amendment. The City is therefore unlikely to be on notice of its potential legal ramifications in this context. Thus, the hobble, and the understanding of its proper application, does not carry a high probability for constitutional violations in the manner intended by the so obvious notice that would open the door to municipal liability. Additionally, the City of West Palm Beach does provide training on the use of the hobble. In resolving the issue of the City's liability, the focus must be on the adequacy of the training programs in relation to the tasks the particular officers must perform, and not merely on the training deficiencies for a particular officer. Canton, 489 U.S. at 390, 109 S.Ct. 1197. It is thus irrelevant what training each specific officer present at the scene was given or retained. Training Officer Gerald MacCauley testified that the City of West Palm Beach provides regular training on the use of force, and additionally provides specific training on the use of hobbles. The officers are also told that the proper placement of pressure or weight placed on an individual while restraining them should be on the back, near the shoulder blades, and not on the neck area. Officer MacCauley further emphasized that it is department policy not to hogtie arrestees; however it is acceptable to bring the ankles near the wrists briefly, if necessary, while attaching the hobble. While not under a specific constitutional duty under § 1983, the City takes actions to ensure that arrestees are not subjected to unnecessary or painful procedures when restrained. Because the City of West Palm Beach did not maintain a deliberate indifference to a potentially obvious constitutional violation and because the City provides some training on the use of hobbles, the City cannot be held liable under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.